Anxiety, a problem for one in 5 kids: the 4 moves to fight it

Boys in the storm. They look for a compass to understand where to go, but they can’t find it. Psychological distress affects 9 million adolescents in Europe. One in 5 suffers from anxiety, a problem that can have tragic consequences. There is still little talk about it but more and more. The pandemic has brought to light thousands of cases, because for many teenagers the fear of the unknown has taken over, dismantling every certainty. Those safe tracks that accompany many children until childhood, tracks that seem to disappear with puberty. And so the cases of eating disorders, video game, web, alcohol or drug addictions rise. The number of hikikomori children, young people locked in their rooms, prey to social anxiety, is increasing.

In Europe 9 million adolescents have mental health problems

05 March 2024

“Not being enough”

There is a rain of disturbances that does not stop. They are often caused by the anxiety of “not being enough”, of not being “perfect”, in a world that runs wildly after yet another dazzling smile from the latest social diva. A theme that was the underlying theme of the 17th International Training Seminar in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry promoted by the Child Foundation and Telefono Azzurro.

“According to the latest research on the subject – he explains John Piacentini, professor of Psychiatry at UCLA University in Los Angeles – 56.3% of children between the ages of 10 and 19 have a problem with anxiety and depression. A phenomenon that has increased with the pandemic. Social anxiety grew as young people found themselves isolated for months. And anxiety and fear often lead to depression.”

The 4 moves to fight anxiety

According to experts, a lot can be done starting from four moves to combat this malaise in children: pushing young people towards independence, helping them find an identity, developing a sense of responsibility and social relationships.

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One in 5 kids is anxious

In Italy, according to the latest survey by Telefono Azzurro, one in 5 children feels anxious, and for one in 3 asking for help from an expert is a source of shame. More and more teenagers are struggling with discomfort caused by “having to prove something” to others. Over 6 out of 10 young people claim to suffer from discomfort due to the context in which they live.

This condition causes panic attacks, alterations in eating habits and sleep-wake rhythm and difficulty concentrating when studying. A fertile ground on which restlessness, loneliness, anger towards oneself or others proliferate, with the consequent need to “anesthetize” oneself so as not to think. How? Taking refuge in digital, between video games, films, TV series and social media.

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The echo anxiety

Today, young people live with fears that cause discomfort and which in the past were not present in the young population segment. “They fear climate change and many have eco-anxiety. But kids are also afraid of the dark side of technology and the fact that a war could break out. And then many suffer from excessive competition in schools and are afraid of not being accepted from others”, explains the teacher Anne Marie Albanoprofessor of medical psychology at Columbia University in New York.

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Let’s listen to young people

Listening to the voices of children and adolescents is essential to respond adequately and effectively to their needs. This is why adults must be able to identify the symptoms of anxiety before it becomes excessive.

“Anxiety is connected to a worry or a problem that is not serious. It is the person involved who perceives it as such, something very worrying even when, in fact, it is not. When you ruminate on an issue for a long time, the repeated thought becomes almost obsessive and you can end up developing a compulsive disorder. And the fact of fearing a catastrophic event every time is often linked to childhood. If a parent fears that their child will get hurt and makes it clear that they are worried, the child risks becoming an adult full of anxieties and fears.”

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I study

And then when anxiety becomes a difficult problem to manage, it is time to contact a doctor to choose the therapy. According to research, published on The New England Journal, in cases of pathological anxiety the best path is the one that combines pharmacological therapy with cognitive behavioral therapy. In the research, sertraline, a molecule also used for depression, was tested combined with a psychotherapy treatment and 81% of patients recorded benefits after 12 weeks. The drug alone led to 55% improvements while psychotherapy alone led to 60%.

Face fears

“Fears must be faced to stem them and for this reason psychotherapy is important – adds Piacentini -. If a child fears a football match, he must throw himself in and play. Work with parents is important: we must arrive at a change in expectations and help them manage relationships with their children. Recently we have also worked a lot with virtual reality to manage the anxiety of children and parents”, adds Albano.

But what are the fundamental objectives for freeing a child from anxiety and gradually leading him towards adulthood? “They must learn – concludes the expert – to be independent, only in this way will they be able to understand that they know how to do things independently. This will help them identify their identity, a fundamental aspect of growth. And then the children must become responsible beings and families must push them in this direction. Finally there are social relationships, sociality and insertion into the world is the fourth objective to be achieved. Only in this way will they be able to free themselves from their fears”.