Signs Your Teen May Have An Anxiety Disorder
While it’s true that it is normal for teens to feel anxiety on occasion, suffering from a constant feeling of gg is a serious condition that affect millions teenagers, nationwide. This widespread mental illness is known as, general anxiety disorder.
For sufferers of general anxiety disorder, life is often overwhelming and even terrifying. While most teenagers feel anxiety when speaking in public, taking final exams, or competing in athletic competitions, teens suffering from GAD feel extreme anxiousness for extended periods of time. In severe cases, teens who suffer from a general anxiety disorder will feel overwhelming anxiousness every minute of every day.
A teenager who suffers from an anxiety disorder like GAD experiences negative side effects that may greatly affect their relationships, extracurricular activities and schoolwork. Suffice to say, when overwhelming anxiety interferes with a teen’s every day living, life can become unmanageable and may lead some afflicted teenagers to ‘self-medicate’ with harmful substances or even cause them to commit self-harm.
The Prevalence of Anxiety Disorder in US. Teens
According to a recent report by the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 25% of teenagers (ages 13-18) suffer from an anxiety disorder. Up to 6% of these teens have a severe anxiety disorder.
Considering millions of teenage boys and girls are affected by GAD or other more severe conditions, it is imperative that parents fully know and recognize signs of a potential anxiety disorder. Below we have provided a comprehensive list of possible symptoms that may indicate an anxiety disorder. It is our hope that parents of anxiety-stricken teens are more easily able to identify, and therefore seek immediate treatment for their child’s anxiety disorder.
Emotional Changes/Symptoms Of Possible Anxiety Disorder
Some changes and symptoms are more obvious than others. However, when it comes to emotional changes that may indicate an anxiety disorder, symptoms are much more subtle.
These symptoms may include but are not limited to the following feelings/behaviors:
- Unprovoked, emotional outbursts
- Paranoia
- Nervousness
- Dread
- Fear/terror
- Uneasiness
- Jumpy or edgy
- Uncharacteristic display of apprehension
Behavioral Symptoms Of Possible Anxiety Disorder
Behavioral symptoms pertain to what a teenager does or doesn’t do when they are under anxious duress. In other words, behavioral symptoms are actions which reflect an afflicted individual’s inability to cope with their anxiety.
Behavioral Symptoms of anxiety may include:
- Avoiding everyday situations that may cause stress (Ie. social situations; taking stairs instead of elevator)
- Prematurely leaving a social engagement (such as lunchroom or crowded library)
- Isolating oneself from the rest of society (refusing to leave one’s room in order to avoid anxiety)
- Becoming overly attached to a ‘safety object or person’
- Self-harming (Cutting, scratching, etc.)
- Characteristic weight fluctuations (losing/gaining weight)
Physical Changes/Symptoms Of Possible Anxiety Disorder
(rewrite)Many of the physical complaints that can occur with an anxiety disorder mimic average teen complaints, which tend to increase as they get older. Pay attention to patterns. A couple of headaches here and there shouldn’t be a cause for concern, for example, but frequent headaches are a red flag. Watch for these common psychosomatic complaints:
- Muscle aches
- Muscle cramps
- Muscle pain
- Muscle stiffness
- Muscle spasms
- Muscle twitching
- Muscle weakness
- Blood pressure
- Hormonal changes
- Low blood pressure
- Cold sweat
- Fever
- Hotness
- Trouble moving
- Obesity
- Rash
- Skin color changes
- Eczema
- Hair loss
- Nosebleeds
- Drooling
- Lip biting
- Dry mouth
- Acne
- Nail biting
- Cold hands
- Sweating
- Wheezing
- Bowel issues
- Clumsiness
- Sleep apnea
Turning Winds Academy Treats Teenage Anxiety Disorder
Anxiety disorders are a severe mental illnesses that require immediate, professional help. Without effective therapeutic treatment, an anxiety disorder can lead to self-sabotaging behaviors – most of which can result in life-altering, negative consequences.
If your teenage son or daughter suffers from an anxiety disorder, it is crucial to find the most effective treatment that can help her overcome her emotional distress. While there are many forms of treatment to choose from, the most proven type of treatment remains to be that of residential treatment for troubled teens, otherwise known as therapeutic boarding schools for troubled teens. Having said that, Turning Winds is the perfect fit for anxiety-ridden teens.
Turning Winds is a residential treatment center for troubled, or emotionally suffering teenage boys and girls who are in need of therapeutic, behavioral treatment. At Turning Winds, you’ll find the benefits of a wilderness program, a therapeutic boarding school, and a residential treatment center (RTC), all in one safe, beautiful, and peaceful location. Our clinical, educational, and operations staff are among the best in the country and share a passion for helping anxious-ridden teenage boys and girls who are in crisis.
