Fight Panic and Anxiety

Tina is eight years old. She’s very bright and energetic. But recently, something has been happening to her. At times, she would stop in the middle of playing, and then suddenly grow pale. She would sit down afterwards and close her eyes, while sweat pours down from her forehead. She would clutch her chest or her stomach and she would breathe hoarsely and rapidly.

Her parents thought that it was an upset stomach. They treated it as such, with stomach medicine. But after it happened several more times, they all went to the doctor. It wasn’t an upset stomach. It was something else. It was panic attack.

Unfortunately, panic attacks children too. Adults are not the only ones who suffer from anxiety attacks symptoms. They, in fact, share the same symptoms:

• Shaking
• Feeling unreal or dreamy
• Dizziness
• Shortness of breath
• Butterflies in the stomach
• Sweating
• Chest pain
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat
• Paleness
• Hot or cold flashes or chills
• Numbness or tingling sensations in the face and body
• Muscle pains
• Having the constant need to pee
• A lump in the throat

Having at least five of these symptoms or more, plus intense fear, means that a person is suffering from a panic attack. Whether panic attacks an adult or a child, it is a terrible disorder to have.

We may think, that a small child should have no worries or anything to be anxious about, but we would be wrong. Children have their own worries. They have their own reasons to feel anxious. It seems unfair that a child should have to suffer from symptoms of anxiety, but since it does occur, we have to look at what is in front of us to help the children (and adults) suffering from panic attacks.

Even if our childhoods have come and gone, we should remember that as children we too had feelings of fear and anxiety. It was certainly different from the reasons that we have today as adults, but being different doesn’t mean it’s less real. Remember your first day of school? Remember how terrifying it was? This was probably the first time we were separated from our parents for a considerable length of time. Many children feel anxiety over this. Some suffer from panic attacks.

Tina wasn’t suffering from the first day of school syndrome. She’s already a bit too old for that, but she was afraid of something else. Her family was moving to another town. She had begun imagining what it would be to lose her friends; how would it feel to never see the familiar playground. This would brought on all the anxiety and fear in the world for her.

Fortunately, children’s panic attacks are relatively easy to cure. Tina’s parents supported her with their love. They reassured her that there was nothing to be fear. They even made valerian root tea for Tina to drink to calm her down. They got this herbal treatment from a panic attack book which their doctor supported. Tina’s panic attacks subsided. They moved to another town with Tina. Though she misses her friends, she no longer suffers from panic attack.