Anxiety is a sense of worry or unease that is usually triggered by uncertain outcomes. In the first article I read about anxiety, it states that childhood and adolescence are when symptoms of social anxiety occur the most. The emotional response of the brain already occurs in infancy and childhood, so the level of severity may vary. The researcher reviewed epidemiological evidence and risk factors to conduct this article. The article says that most separation anxiety starts around twelve to eighteen months, but in class, we discussed how anxiety can occur as early as seven to eight months of age. This anxiety can create an “insecure attachment.” This insecure attachment can occur when the child notices an issue between them and their caregiver. A child can respond to this insecure attachment is three noticeable ways.
They can have an avoidant attitude, anxious-ambivalent attachment, and disorganized attachment. An avoidant attitude is where they do not show signs of separation anxiety and they simply do not care if their caregiver is present. An anxious-ambivalent attachment is where they are clingy and nervous once their caregiver has returned. And a disorganized attachment is where they behave in a bizarre manner or frightened by their caregiver’s return.
The article talks about how anxiety at such a young age could result in communication issues and a lack of emotional understanding. For example, if a child has an anxious-ambivalent attachment to their caregiver, it would be hard for that child to calm down after being detached from their caregiver. That attachment creates a barrier between the child and teacher because the language skills, emotional understanding, and basic interactions are not there.
All in all, anxiety is an issue throughout our country, occurring as early as infancy and toddlerhood. It is important to learn and understand what anxiety is so that it can be helped before the child transitions into adolescence. It is also important to realize when a child is having anxiety issues so that medical attention and help can be present.
In the article I read, it talks about anxiety disorder in adolescent teens. Adolescence ranges between the ages of ten and nineteen. This researcher organized this article by determining the hospitalizations and suicide rates in adolescents because of anxiety. The article states that one out of three teens will experience an anxiety disorder. There are key factors in this article that can relate to our classroom discussions about why anxiety is so high in adolescent teens. High expectations and the pressure of becoming successful is one. Parents and teachers push teens to graduate and go to college to have a good job, but do not consider that school is not meant for some teens, so they develop anxiety in trying to become successful in the way of their parents. Another reason anxiety is high in adolescent teens is because of social media. In class, we discussed how girls with average BMI’s will see themselves as “too fat.” This behavior is an example of the “thin ideal.” Social media has an influence on young teens, especially girls, that think they should look a certain way and it causes girls to focus more on their body image.
Anxiety is adolescent teens can be caused by the environment that they are in. In class, we discussed why puberty in young teens is starting to occur more frequently and earlier in age. In the article, it discusses how anxiety is caused by a scary world. I feel these two can relate because if a child is living in an environment where they must grow up fast and learn survival skills as an adult, it can put stress on their body’s, which increases that teens chance of starting an early puberty process. Our book discussed how researchers believed that an “unhappy” childhood gives the body signals of maturity and shortening of life, so it speeds up the process of puberty.
Both our class discussions and this article tie puberty and anxiety together because they both have similar triggers. It is important to be aware of teens going through anxiety and understanding the steps and precautions before hospitalization or suicide occurs.
In the article that I read about anxiety disorder in emerging adults, it says that is it common to have anxiety as an adult. In class, we discussed how being an emerging adult can result in having an unpredictable pathway and as a result, these major life decisions can cause anxiety. Some emerging adults have a fear of failing, so it is not uncommon to be prone to panic attacks or anxiety disorders. This article talks about how anxiety can affect one’s daily performance. I feel like this comes into play with the “on time” and “off-time” social clock that many emerging adults are on. This social clock puts an adult at an “age norm” for what they should be doing with their lives. I feel like adults who are on this clock stress more about staying on time and it causes them to develop anxiety because they are not where society wants them to be. As the article states, this anxiety can also cause stress on friendships and relationships. In our class discussions, the intimacy between partners is an important factor in a relationship. With having anxiety, it can stress the partner and/or make it difficult to find a partner. It can also cause a more erratic dating phase. As an emerging adult, the pathway is not always clear so having anxiety about being an adult and taking on a relationship could cause more of a disconnect between partners.
A risk factor that is stated in the article talks about how anxiety can develop through traits of shyness as a child. Shyness and self-esteem can relate when it comes to developing anxiety. While discussing adulthood in class, we discussed how low self-esteem while finding a job is more difficult because one doubts their ability and limits themselves on what they can do. Like low self-esteem in adulthood, shyness as a kid can be more difficult because they are more likely to not speak up if they are having an issue in class or at home. Anxiety is just as important in adulthood as it is in infancy, toddling, and adolescents. It is important to know the risks of anxiety and how to treat it before it gets too dangerous.
