Children – Anxiety disorder

Never before, in human history, has there been such a negatively influential world for children to grow up in!

Child mental and physical health is now a far larger concern than ever before…

…but why?

shutterstock_141224524By Charles Linden – Director – Linden Tree Centre

Children are living ever more static, stressful and anxiety enducing lives and the reasons for this are all around us.

Millions of catalysts and millions of environmental factors conspire to create less physically and mentally capable children.

It’s true that some children under four years of age can’t talk and the reason is clear, because adults are communicating with their children less and less due to almost constant interaction with phones, TVs, computers and tablets.

On average in the UK alone, an adult uses their phone 221 times a day… what else are these people doing? How do they find time for anything else?

A child’s world is far more stressful now than ever before in human history and children with, what we call, creative intellect, are the most vulnerable… they are the ones that develop school phobia, obsessions, panic disorder, agoraphobia, health anxiety, fear of death, seperation anxiety; they are the ones we see coming  through to the centre.

The development of our LAR Coaching accreditation will mean that school nurses or an interested staff member or parent, can train to recognise and deal with these conditions as they arise… faster intervention means faster curative outcomes and the curative results we create are far above any other treatment option – why? Because we know how to cure anxiety disorders.

A child’s life is complex enough but recent technological and social advancements have created some serious threats to physical and mental health and we see the impact of this every day.

Regardless of what has caused your child’s anxiety to develop, the solution is the same in every case.

What, in childrens’ lifestyles, are the most influential negative influences to health?

Computer gaming, tablets, phones… what happens to a child physically when they use them?

  • They sit in one position for extended periodsshutterstock_193759655
  • Their circulation is compromised due to their posture and lack of movement
  • Their thoracic cavity is compressed – compressing the heart, lungs, liver, digestive tract etc
  • Digestive transit is comprimised causing digestive issues
  • Muscles shorten in the legs, arms and chest (see the children in the picture to the right) – flexibility is compromised
  • The fingers and thumbs are ‘over used’ – RSI can develop and later in life, arthritis and other conditions
  • The eyes remain open for longer periods causing dryness and potentially damaging eye conditions
  • Diet becomes compromised due to compression but also due to bad eating habits
  • Children won’t recognise thirst as they would when active. This can cause dehydration
  • Joints in the knees, spine, pelvis and neck are subjected to bad posture
  • Core stability is almost totally lost meaning general strength and posture are compromised

What about the psychological and neurological effect on children?

  • The endocrine system is receiving incorrect evidence of threat from the game being played. Stress hormones, including adrenalin are released but not used up through fight or flight.
  • Increased stress hormones are perpetually cycled within the child’s body causing a myriad of physiological responses including high anxiety. These can lead to a range of anxiety related conditions including panic attacks, agoraphobia, school phobia, inappropriate thoughts, fear of dying/death, separation anxiety, insomnia, low mood, agression etc.
  • Stress and anxiety related stomach complaints can develop – IBS, indigestion, diarrhoea, nausea, butterflies etc.
  • Migraines and head pains through stress related tension and compression of vital blood vessels and nerves in the neck and scalp may develop
  • Depression – Low mood may develop due to the above reasons but also due to lack of sunlight, frsh air, social interaction, correct diet etc
  • Agressive outbursts may develop due to all the factors above – these are chemical in nature and not always due to the ‘Kevin’ stage of development
  • Sadness, tendency to cry and childish behaviour may develop
  • Surpressed immunity due to internal environment, heating etc but also due to a lack of contact with ‘good bacteria and viruses’ that strengthen the immune system
  • Lack of interest in external events and social occassions – avoidance behaviours may develop
  • Insomnia – inability to fall asleep or stay asleep
  • Nightmares or restless sleep – This can lead to daytime tiredness and lack of attention
  • Loss of the ability to communicate effectively due to minimal social development/interaction
  • Limited fulfilment – Due to a lack of ‘rewards’. Rewards, in this instance, mean the incoming sensory data that reflects the positive things achieved.
  • Limited happiness – What data goes in through the senses is mirrored by the chemical response to them. Put happy, pleasurable, interesting data in – get positive chemical and therefore, emotional responses out!
  • Separation anxiety/agoraphobia – Due to lack of geographic movement and heightened anxiety through game play, a child may become less ‘mobile’ or less interested in days out, trips or even visiting friends
  • Obsessive compulsive disorder – Children can become obsessive about their devices – If this is coupled with recognisable high anxiety, this is a form of OCD – The child may also display symptoms of classic OCD
  • Health anxiety – Children often become concerned about their health, asking questions about various conditions and checking with a trusted adult that the spot on their hand isn’t skin cancer for example

The lists could go on.

There are so many manifestations of stress and anxiety states and in children but none should be taken lightly.

Whilst gaming and devices are massively implicated in the current pandemic of anxiety related conditions, previously other factors had caused equally destructive conditions in people of all ages.

These devices are catalysts for ill health, of that there is no doubt and the impact of that will become more and more apparent over the next decades.

So, what can be done?

Our child anxiety programme is the antidote. Once an anxiety disorder has developed simply stopping your child from gaming isn’t going to undo the changes that have caused the anxiety disorder… but, we can help you to do exactly that.

Not only do our programmes provide young people with an anxiety recovery process, but within it is strict guidance with regard to implementing daily tasks and devices which provide equally fulfilling sensory feedback, but also have the effect of bringing about physical and mental equilibrium… a happier, healthier, more focused child.

All of our programmes include support for both the child and an adult by telephone and email.

You can call one of our Anxiety Recovery Specialists now to talk through the needs of your child or young patients on 01562 702720

Do not despair – Child anxiety isn’t difficult to overcome – Children are, by their very biology, more compliant than adults and our programmes and advice are so engaging and successful that the physical effect will sput them on to do more.

Charles Linden
Director – LAR & The Linden Centre

 

 “Charles Linden is the world’s leading authority on anxiety recovery” – Hay House Publishing

“Charles Linden is the Allen Carr of anxiety disorder recovery” – The Times