Juvenile-HD

HOME

INDEX Page
Tools For Viewing
10 The Most Commonly Asked Questions
Clinical Trials & Research
Huntington's Disease~WeMove Info
Advocacy/Donations/Press Info
Clinical Definition & Search
Facing HD~Family Handbook
JHD Handbook-Chapter 1
JHD Info-Stanford Univ.
Physician's Guide To HD
Caring for People with HD
Physical & Occupational Therapy In HD
Understanding Behaviour in HD-Dr. Jane Paulsen
Understanding Behavioral-Dr. Edmond Chiu
Advanced Stages Caregivers Handbook
First Shift-Certified Nursing Assistants
Activities of Daily Living-HD
Unified HD Rating Scale (UHDRS) Motor Section
Westphal Variant
SECTION 1 - AT RISK
Age & Probability Chart
At Risk For HD-What Next?
At-Risk Checklist
Best Interest of Child?
Crystal Ball?
Food For Thought
Parent Hasn't Tested?
Q&A On Risk of Inheriting JHD
Testing Children
SECTION 2 - GENETIC TESTING
Genetic Disorders & Birth Defects
Genetic Testing for HD
Genetic Counseling-In General
Psychological Impact
Intro: Genetics/Genetic Testing
Prenatal & Preimplanation
Prenatal Testing-In General
o Genetic Testing Resources
o Personal Stories
SECTION 3 - JHD
Coping With The Early Years
Age of HD Appearance
Age of Onset-Historical
Family-HD Underestimated
Children of Parents With HD
Child~Parent Ill
Clinical Description JHD
HD - What Kids Are Saying
HD & Me
JHD-Duration of Illness
JHD-Clinical and Research
JHD Symptoms
Parenting With HD
Patients/Families Coping
Talking With Children About HD
5 Stages of HD
JHD Resources
SECTION 4 - SYMPTOM RECOGNITION
Parent Resources
8 Fears of A Chronic Illness
Anxiety/Apathy/Irritability~HD
Anxiety, Fears & Phobias
Apathy-Physician's Guide
Ataxia
Attention-Perceptual/Unawareness Physician's Guide
Bed/Pressure Sores
Bed/Pressure Ulcer Guideline
Behavior Management
Bi-Polar Disorders
Botulinum toxin therapy
Bradykinesia
Caring Tips
Child Abuse-Reconizing Signs
Chorea-Physician's Guide
Chorea
Cognitive/Decision Making/Impulsivity
Cognitive-Short Tips
Contractures~Joints Locking
Dehydration-Physician's Guide
Dehydration
Delirium
Denial of HD
Depression~Physician's Guide
Depression-Understanding It
Depression-How To Help
Depression - Treatment Resistant Patient
Depression-Other Resources
-Read If Your Child Is On Antidepressant
Disgust - Impaired Recognition in HD
Dissociative disorders
Driving - Physician's Guide
Dyslexia
Dyslexia Resources
Dystonia
Dystonia/Rigidity & Spasticity Physician's Guide
Dystonia-Predominant Adult-Onset HD
Epileptic Seizures and Epilepsy
Epilepsy-Seizures~PG
-Seizures ~Special Populations
Falling~Safety
Falling - Subdural Hematoma Risk
Fevers - Unexplained
Fevers, sweating & menstural cycles in HD
GERD (Stomach)
HD Principle Treatments
Hallucinations/Psychosis~PGHD
Hand muscle reflexes in HD
Hypothalamus - A Personal Theory
Insomia ~Physician's Guide
Irritability~Temper Outburst Physician's Guide
Learning Disability
Mania/OCD~Physician's Guide
Mood Disorder Rate In HD
Myoclonus (Movements)
Nails-What To Look For
Night Terrors
Obsessive Compulsive OCD
Panic Disorder
Personality disorders
Pneumonia
Pneumonia-Advanced Stages
Pneumonia - Aspirated (Inhaled)
Prosody - Social Impairment
Sexuality~Physician's Guide
Skins Sensitivity
Sleep Disorders
Smoking-Physician's Guide
Spasticity
Stress
Tremors
Why Certain Symptoms Occur
Symptom & Treatment Resources
SECTION 5 - COMMUNICATION
Communication Resources
Communication Problems
Communication Strategies For HD~Jeff Searle
SECTION 6 - EATING/SWALLOWING/NUITRITION
Hints For Weight Loss in HD
HD & Diet~HSA Fact Sheet 7
Nutrients: Some Possible Deficiency Symptoms
Nutrition and HD~Anna Gaba (Recipes)
Nutrition Information In HD~Naomi Lundeen
Speech & Swallowing~Lynn Rhodes
Swallowing & Nutrition Physician's Guide To HD
Swallowing & Nuitrition Resources
Swallowing Warning Signs
5 Swallowing Problems
Taste changes in HD
Weight Gain
Resources-Drinks/Shakes
-Feeding Tubes~Advanced Stages of HD
-Feeding Tube~Jean Miller
-Feeding Tubes: One More Word ~Jean Miller
-Feeding Tubes & Baby Foods
-Feeding Tube~Dental Care
-Feeding Tube Instructions~Jean Miller
-Feeding Tube Resources
SECTION 7 - THERAPIES
Finding a Therapist - Behavoir
What Is A Physiotherapist?
Physical Therapy In HD
Speech-Language Therapy
Therapy Descriptions
Therapy Resources- Easter Seal
Therapy Resources
SECTION 8 - MEDICATIONS
HD Treatments
Medications-Movement Disorders
Medication/Emergency Info Forms
Cutting Prescriptions
Drugs-Look 'Em Up
-Adolescents Under 25
-Antidepressant Adverse Effects
-Anti-psychotic
-Anxiety-Antidepressant
A-Z Mental Health Drugs
-Creatine
-EPA~Fish Oil
-Haldol/Haloperidol - Clinical Sheet
-Haldol~Clinician Description
-Haldol & HD
-Haldol/HD Patient Experiences
-Haldol~ Patient Handout
-Mood Stabilizers: ASK 3 Questions
-Neuroleptic Malignant Synd WARNING
-Olanzipine-Risperidone/blood tests
-Celexa/Luvox/Paxil/Prozac/Zoloft
-Psychiatric Drugs & Children
Sertraline ~Zoloft
-Spasticity Meds/Treatments
-SSRI Medications
-Tardive Dyskinesia WARNING
-Weight Gain Medications
-Sites/Help the Medicine Go Down
-Vitamin & Mineral Deficiencies
SECTION 9 - SURGERIES
Surgery-Movement Disorders
o Surgery Resources
SECTION 10 - PROCEDURES
Clinic Visits-How To Prepare
CT Scans, MRI's etc.
Swallowing Tests
Tests Commonly Used
o Procedures Resources
SECTION 11- ALCOHOL/DRUGS
Alcohol-Parent's Guide
Alcohol-Talking To Your Child
Drugs-What To Do?
Drugs-Talking To Your Child
Disciplining-Ages 0-13 & Up
SECTION 12- SUICIDE
Straight Talk On Suicide
Teen Suicide-You Need To Know
o Suicide Resources
SECTION 13 - DIVORCE
Divorce & Child Stress
Tips For Divorcing Parents
SECTION 14 - DISABILITY ISSUES
Guides To Disability Issues
Caring-Child & Medical Technology
Caring for a Seriously Ill Child
Child Long Term Illness
Disability-Special Education Plan
IFSP Early Intervention Process
Disability Resources
Financial Planning
Wishes Can Come True-Children's Wish Foundations
Special Needs Resources
Special Needs Camp - About
Special Needs Camp - Finding One
SECTION 15 - ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY
Child Assistive Technology
Adaptive Equipment Resources
Products
SECTION 16 - EMOTIONAL ISSUES
Signs of Unhealthy Self-Esteem
Emotional Behavior Links
o Emotional Support Resources
SECTION 17 - GRIEF
Helping Child Deal With Death
o Grief Addtional Resources
SECTION 18 - ADD/ADHD
ADD & Teens
Conduct Disorders
FAQS & Related Info
Understanding AD/HD
What Is AD/HD?
Research Articles
Resources
SECTION 19 - HD SUPPORT GROUPS
HD Support Groups
National Youth Association
SECTION 20 - HD LINKS
HD Links
Related Resources
Tips For Friends
SECTION 21 - BENEFITS/INSURNACE
HD Disability
Benefits Check UP - See What You Can Get
Medical Insurance Bureau's Facts On You!
Medicare-Medicaid
Medicare Rights-Home Health & Hospice
Medicare Rights Center Resources
No Insurance? Try This!
Prescription Drug Cards Part I
Prescription Drug Cards Part II
Social Security-Children With Disabilities
SECTION 22 - ARTICLES/JHD
JHD and ADD
SECTION 23 - CAREGIVING
Articles-Resources
Caregiver Self-Assessment
Caregiver's Handbook
"First Shift With A Person With HD"
Getting Respite Care/Help At Home
Helpful Forms-Info
Home Emergency Preparations
Symptom Management
Ten Tips
Useful Tools
SECTION 24 - BIO
Our Personal Experience
Coping At The End
Kelly E. Miller
Song & Verse
Letter From My Heart
GUESTBOOK
Anxiety, Fears & Phobias

INDEX Page

Everyone, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, experiences anxieties and fears at one time or another.  Feeling anxious in a particularly uncomfortable situation never feels very good. However, with children, such feelings are not only normal, they are also necessary. Experiencing and dealing with anxieties can prepare young people to handle the unsettling experiences and challenging situations of life. Read on to understand the differences between anxieties, fears, and phobias, and how you can help your child deal with them.

Anxieties and Fears Are Normal
Anxiety is defined as "apprehension without apparent cause." It usually occurs when there is no immediate threat to a person's safety or well being, but the threat feels real. Anxiety makes a person want to escape the situation - fast. His heart beats quickly, he may begin to perspire, and "butterflies" in the stomach soon follow. "However," says Katharina Manassis, MD, author of Keys to Parenting Your Anxious Child, "as uncomfortable as it feels, a little bit of anxiety can actually make people perform better because it keeps them alert and focused on what they have to do." Having fears or anxieties about certain things can be helpful too because it makes kids behave in a safe way. For example, a kid with a fear of fire would avoid playing with matches.

The nature of anxieties and fears change as children grow and develop:

  • Babies experience stranger anxiety, clinging to parents when confronted by people they don't recognize.
  • Toddlers around 10 to 18 months experience separation anxiety, becoming emotionally distressed when one or both parents leave.
  • Children ages 2 through 6 have anxiety about things that are not based in reality such as fears of monsters and ghosts.
  • Kids ages 7 through 12 often have fears that reflect real circumstances that may happen to them, such as bodily injury and natural disaster.

As a child grows, one fear may disappear or replace another; a child who couldn't sleep with the light off at age 5 may enjoy a ghost story at a slumber party years later. And some fears may extend only to one particular kind of stimulus, as in the example of the child who wants to pet a lion at the zoo but wouldn't dream of going near the neighbor's dog.

Recognizing the Signs of Anxiety
Typical childhood fears include fear of strangers, heights, darkness, animals, blood, insects, and being left alone. Children often learn to fear a specific object or situation after having an unpleasant experience, such as a dog
bite or an accident. Separation anxiety is common when young children are starting school, whereas adolescents may experience anxiety related to social acceptance and academic achievement.

If anxious feelings persist, they can take a toll on the child's sense of well-being. The anxiety associated with social avoidance, for example, can have long-term effects. "A child who is unable to make friends because she won't dare approach anyone for fear of being rejected can fail to learn important social skills, causing her to become even more isolated," counsels Dr. Manassis.

growlng dog

Many adults are tormented by fears that stem from childhood experiences. An adult's fear of public speaking may be the result of embarrassment in front of his peers many years before. A parent who was bitten by a dog as a child may unconsciously instill a fear of animals in a child by reacting negatively. This is why it is important for parents to recognize and identify the signs and symptoms of their children's anxieties so that fears don't become excessive.

When a child is anxious about something, he may become impulsive or distracted. Nervous movements, such as temporary twitches or problems in getting to sleep and/or staying asleep longer than usual are telltale signs of anxiety. Sweaty hands; accelerated heart rate and breathing; and nausea, headaches, and stomachaches are common. Apart from these signs, parents can usually tell when their child is feeling excessively uneasy about something. Lending a sympathetic ear is always helpful, and sometimes just talking about the fear can help the child move beyond it.

When anxieties and fears persist, problems can arise. As much as a parent hopes the child will grow out of it, the opposite occurs, and the cause of the anxiety looms larger and becomes more prevalent. The anxiety becomes a phobia, or a fear that is extreme, severe, and persistent. A phobia can be very difficult to tolerate, both for the child and those around him, especially if the anxiety-producing stimulus is hard to avoid. But the good news is that unless a child's phobia hinders his everyday ability to function, he will rarely need treatment by a professional because in time the phobia will be resolved.

Focusing on Your Child's Anxieties
When focusing on a child's anxieties, the following questions should be answered honestly: is the child's fear and the behavior he is exhibiting typical for his age?

If the answer to this question is yes, it's a good bet that his fears will resolve before they become serious cause for concern. This is not to say that the anxiety should be discounted or ignored; rather, it should be considered as a factor in the child's normal development. Richard Kingsley, MD, a pediatric psychiatrist, advises, "Many children experience age-appropriate fears, such as being afraid of the dark. Most kids, with some reassurance, and perhaps a night-light, will overcome or outgrow it. However, if they continue to have trouble, or there is anxiety about other things, the intervention may have to be more intensive."

What are the symptoms of the fear? How do they affect my child's personal, social, and academic functioning? If symptoms can be identified and considered in light of the child's everyday activities, adjustments can be made to alleviate some of the stress factors. "Often, however, parents don't pay attention to the child's symptoms," says Dr. Kingsley. "If parents don't recognize the problem, they won't think to do some very simple things, such as helping the child who is afraid of the dark feel more comfortable about falling asleep in a darkened room."

Does the fear seem unreasonable in relation to the reality of the situation? Could it be a sign of a more serious problem? If the child's fear seems out of proportion to the cause of the stress, this may signal the need to seek outside help, such as a counselor, psychiatrist, or psychologist. Dr. Kingsley suggests that parents look for patterns. If an isolated incident is resolved, parents shouldn't make it more significant than it is. "But if a pattern that is persistent or pervasive emerges, then you really do need to intervene," he advises. "If you don't, the phobia will impact a child over time. Your child's doctor can be consulted, as can a mental health professional who has expertise in working with children and adolescents."

How to Help Your Anxious Child
Parents can help children develop the skills and confidence to overcome fears so that they don't evolve into phobic reactions. The following steps will guide you in helping your child deal with his fears and anxieties.

Recognize that the fear is real. As trivial as a fear may seem, it feels real to the child and it is causing him to feel anxious and afraid. "Being able to talk about fears can help," Dr. Manassis says. "Words often take some of the power out of emotion; if you can give the fear a name it becomes more manageable. As with any negative feeling, the more you talk about it, the more it becomes less powerful."

Never belittle the fear as a way of forcing the child to overcome it. Telling a child, "Don't be ridiculous! There are no monsters in your closet!" may get him to go to bed, but it won't make the fear go away.

However, don't cater to fears. If your child doesn't like dogs, don't cross the street deliberately to avoid one. This will reinforce that dogs should be feared and avoided.

Teach the child how to rate fear. If your child can visualize the intensity of the fear on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the strongest, he may be able to "see" the fear as less intense than first imagined. Younger children can think about how "full of fear" they are, with being full "up to my knees" as not so scared, "up to my stomach" as more frightened, and "up to my head" as truly petrified.

Teach coping strategies. Try these easy-to-implement techniques. Using you as "home base," the child can venture out toward the feared object, and then return to you for safety before venturing out again. The child can also learn some positive self-statements, such as "I can do this" and "I will be OK," which he can say to himself when he feels anxious. Relaxation techniques are helpful as well, including visualization (of floating on a cloud or lying on a beach, for example) and deep breathing (imagining that the lungs are balloons and letting them slowly deflate).

The key to resolving fears and anxieties is to overcome them. Using these suggestions, you can help your child better cope with life's situations.

Updated and reviewed by: Kim Rutherford, MD
Date reviewed: September 2001
Originally reviewed by:
Steve Dowshen, MD, and Richard Kingsley, MD

Source:  KidsHealth www.KidsHealth.com is a project of The Nemours Foundation which is dedicated to improving the health and spirit of children. Today, as part of its continuing mission, the Foundation supports the operation of a number of renowned children's health facilities throughout the nation, including the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Nemours Children's Clinics throughout Florida. Visit The Nemours Foundation to find out more about them and its health facilities for children http://www.nemours.org/no/ 

====================================================

The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is a nonprofit, grassroots, self-help, support and advocacy organization of consumers, families, and friends of people with severe mental illnesses, such  as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders.
 
Anxiety disorders: Anxiety disorders include panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias (social phobia, agoraphobia, and specific phobias). More than 19 million American adults suffer from an anxiety disorder in a given year, and many people have more than one anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders frequently co-occur with depressive disorders, eating disorders, or substance abuse. Depending on the type of anxiety disorder(s) someone has, effective treatments can include medication(s), psychosocial therapies, or a combination of the two.

 
  • Anxiety Disorders Fact Sheet (Spanish Version) - Reference guide to types of anxiety disorders including panic disorder, PTSD, OCD, generalized anxiety disorder, and phobias.
  • Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents - Reference guide to types of anxiety disorders found in children and adolescents.
  •