anxiety

Anxiety, stress and fear are a normal part of life at any age. Young children can be fearful of strangers and separation from parents. Early childhood fears include animals, the dark and monsters. Older children face academic performance anxiety, social anxiety and fear of natural disasters. Young adults often feel anxious before a first date, job interview or a speech to a large audience. Anxiety can help people cope with situations by giving them energy and focus. For instance, anxiety can provide the drive to study for a final examination. Many people, however, have an anxiety level that is too high for them. Anxiety in children and adolescents often does not raise concerns because many anxious children are high achieving, quiet and compliant. Such children may not feel safe enough to express their feelings openly and, therefore, not seek help. To further complicate matters, signs of anxiety are often misinterpreted as attention problems, slow processing speed, learning disabilities or argumentative behavior. Similarly, adolescents and young adults tend to be embarassed by their anxiety symptoms and they are hesitant to ask for help