Podcast Discusses How Anxiety Can Affect Children’s Brains
The latest Thriving Kids podcast episode is a discussion on how anxiety can affect the brain and how children who suffer from it often fly under the radar.
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In the podcast, Dave Anderson, PhD, senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education for the Child Mind Institute, joins neurosurgeon Brian Hoeflinger, MD, for a discussion on anxiety.
They discuss a scenario involving a boy who went from being the seventh grade class president to slipping out of class with his heart racing and thinking he was going to die. The boy started skipping school, his parents never noticed, and his teachers never asked why. For the next 20 years, anxiety controlled his life.
In the podcast, Hoeflinger said it shouldn’t have taken the boy so long to get help, and explains how anxious children can go unnoticed by parents, teachers, and counselors.
The podcast’s topics include what panic attacks feel like from the inside and how to face them and what parents should know about head injuries and helmets.
Tips for recognizing signs of anxiety in children and offering support include:
Know that anxiety often hides in plain sight; anxious children are often quiet, well-behaved, and outwardly OK, which is why their struggles can go unnoticed.
Watch for avoidance, not just worry. A child who skips school, dodges social situations, or finds reasons to opt out of doing things may not be lazy. Anxiety often shows up as avoidance.
Learn what a panic attack feels like - racing heart, trouble breathing, sweating, trembling, or a sense of dread.
Don’t help a child avoid what they are afraid of; avoidance feels better in the moment, but makes anxiety worse over time. Prioritize gradual exposure to the thing they are anxious about.
Validate the feeling without amplifying it; saying “I know you’re scared, and I know you can handle this” works better than dismissing the fear or promising nothing bad will happen.
For more information, listen to the Thriving Kids podcast.