Children and Social Anxiety
Social Anxiety Disorder, a disorder that affects millions of people, can affect children as well. Studies have shown that both boys and girls are equally affected by social anxiety disorder. The symptoms that children have are often the same as the symptoms that adults have, but their reaction to those symptoms is quite different.
Children may experience headaches, dizziness, tummy aches, diarrhea, joint pains, or nausea before or during a peer related social event. The symptoms can become so severe that they cause complete mutism, where the child is unable or unwilling to speak. Social phobia in children can accompany other disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, and depression.
Children who withdraw from social interaction, or become distressed in unfamiliar situations as toddlers are more likely to develop social anxiety disorder than toddlers who approach others and show no distress in unfamiliar situations. Since children who have social anxiety are usually quiet, and do not exhibit behavioral problems, the problem goes unnoticed by adults - unless they know what they are looking for.
Unlike adults, children do not have the capacity to realize that their fears are excessive or unreasonable. This can lead to even more problems. Children who suffer from social anxiety disorder often turn to drugs or alcohol in their teen years, to self medicate themselves, which helps them feel more comfortable, and ‘normal’ in social situations.
Children with social anxiety experience excessive shyness and tantrums. They tend to cry alot, and have a strong, clinging attachment to their parents. There is usually a decline in their academic performance at school, and they will usually avoid going to school. These children do not want to take part in social activities that are appropriate for their age. However, they are often quite comfortable in social situations with adults, and only seem to have problems interacting with their peers.
As adults, we often forget how hard it really is to be a child. Unless you have social anxiety yourself, you probably cannot begin to imagine what a typical day of school is like for a child who has social anxiety disorder. These children are filled with anxiety every single day. They have few friends, and often have no friends. They are viewed as loners by adults, and as ‘weird’ by their peers. These children are very lonely, and if left untreated, they will fail to develop adequate social skills.
Unfortunately, children can be very cruel to each other. This natural cruelty just increases the anxiety that these children feel, and causes them to draw even further away from their peers out of fear of ridicule or humiliation. Some children will eventually refuse to attend school. Others will drop out at the first opportunity.
Many medications that are used to treat social anxiety disorder in adults are not suitable for children. Psychotherapy is the preferred treatment for children - without medication, if possible. Often, when children are diagnosed and treated early for social anxiety, they go on to live very productive lives, with no traces of social anxiety disorder in their adult lives.
