As a preschooler,Amanda Sprague would cling to her mum or dad around new people,slept with the bedroom door wide open and the hall light on,,and was skittishabout bugs. To her parents this didn't seem all thatunusual for her age.But when she started school Amanda's worries multplied and intensified,says Laurie,her mother. She would cower in bed, paralyzed with fear during a thunderstorm. When she spotted two ladybugs on the ceiling, she ran screaming from her bedroom and refused to go to sleep.
Food was also a major source of anxiety for Amanda, and she Constantly worried about choking. When she was eight, she suddenly stopped ea5ing completely, "she said she coldn't swallow and tyought something was stuck in her throat," says her mother "Our doctor ruled out a throat infection and X-rays showed nothing was medically wrong with her."
Days later Amanda developed a morbid fear of dying. She cried at bedtime and thought her heart was hearing too fast. Admitted to hospital, she was diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder. She was so anxious that her throat had considered,making swallowing impossible.
Amanda's case is extreme, but it represents the tip of a serious problems facing youngsters today. Experts suggest that thousands of children experience ancient disorders such as this. Many more struggle with anxiety problems-the mid-range anxiety that is above normal but not extreme.
Children often suffer on they dont't recognize that thve a problem, don't understand what's happening to them or can't explain their feelings. Parents might overlook or minimize their child's problem. Or they might have trouble interpreting the signs-children can express anxiety in many ways, from extreme shyness to irritabjlity or even defiance.