Anxiety

Anxiety is a normal part of life, but when it becomes overwhelming or interferes with a child’s daily functioning, it can significantly impact their well-being. Children and teens with anxiety may experience excessive worry, physical symptoms like stomach aches or headaches, avoidance of certain situations, or emotional outbursts when faced with stress.

Anxiety can present in various forms, including:

  • Separation Anxiety: Distress when away from parents or loved ones.
  • Sleep Difficulties: Fear of sleeping alone or bedtime resistance.
  • Test Anxiety: Overwhelming worry about performance and perfectionism.
  • Social Anxiety: Fear of embarrassment, rejection, or being judged by others.
  • Specific Phobias: Intense fear of particular objects, animals, or situations (e.g., dogs, elevators, needles).
  • Generalized Anxiety: Persistent, excessive worry across multiple areas of life.
  • Panic Attacks: Sudden episodes of intense fear accompanied by physical sensations like shortness of breath, chest tightness, dizziness, or heart palpitations.

Our Treatment Approach At Moroz Child Psychology Group, we understand that anxiety is both a mental and physical experience. Our approach goes beyond simply teaching children to “calm down.” While relaxation strategies are important, we know that true progress often requires helping children change the way they think about their fears and gradually confront what makes them anxious.

Key Areas of Focus in Treatment:

  • Understanding the Anxiety Response: We teach children how anxiety works in the body—the “fight or flight” system—so they can recognize that their feelings, though uncomfortable, are not dangerous. Understanding this response helps children regain a sense of control.
  • Challenging Unhelpful Thoughts: Children with anxiety often overestimate danger and underestimate their ability to cope. We work with children to identify and challenge these distorted thought patterns, replacing them with more balanced, realistic thinking. For children with generalized anxiety, this often includes evaluating the likelihood of their fears coming true, discussing how they would handle it if the worst happened, and focusing on what is within their control. These reflective, problem-solving techniques reduce the overwhelming nature of everyday worries.
  • Exposure & Fear Hierarchies: A cornerstone of anxiety treatment is gradual exposure to feared situations. We create individualized fear hierarchies with children, breaking down their fears into manageable steps. With support, children learn to confront their worries instead of avoiding them. This approach helps desensitize anxiety over time, reducing its grip. For children experiencing panic attacks, we sometimes work on gently recreating physical sensations (e.g., increased heart rate, breathlessness) in a safe setting. This helps reduce the fear of those feelings and builds confidence in their ability to manage them.
  • Building Coping Skills: While cognitive and exposure techniques are central, we also equip children with relaxation strategies, such as deep breathing and muscle relaxation, to help them manage physical symptoms of anxiety when they arise.
  • Combining Thought, Action, and Environment: We emphasize that true anxiety management is proactive. Rather than just reacting when anxious feelings strike, we help children:
    • Develop daily habits that reduce anxiety sensitivity (e.g., regular routines, sleep hygiene).
    • Practice “test runs” of feared situations before major stressors arise (e.g., mock exams for test anxiety).
    • Involve parents to reinforce coping strategies at home and reduce accommodating behaviors that inadvertently maintain anxiety.
  • Parent Collaboration: Anxiety often impacts the entire family. Parents may understandably step in to protect their child from distress; however, this can sometimes reinforce avoidance. We work closely with parents to balance support with gentle encouragement to help their child face fears safely and confidently.
  • Tailored to Each Child: Some children benefit most from practical skill development, while others may need gentler, play-based exposure depending on their age and temperament. We tailor our approach accordingly.

Our goal is to help children reduce anxiety's hold on their lives and equip families with the tools to foster resilience and confidence in the face of worry. By learning to think more rationally, manage physical symptoms, and confront fears gradually, children discover their ability to thrive—even when anxiety arises.