Anxiety is a basic emotion that we all experience from time to time. It mobilizes us against danger. Some individuals experience this emotion more intensely and affect their quality of life. Studies have shown that anxiety disorders begin in childhood and that genetics (biological) and parental behaviors (environment) are effective in the formation process.
Anxious, anxious children are extremely sensitive to the events around them. They worry more than necessary that the problems they encounter will result in negative results and bad things will happen. If families cannot recognize the intensity of their children’s emotions, they may want them to stay away from the problem instead of producing a solution. In this way, when families act with a protective instinct, on the one hand, they deprive their children of learning opportunities, on the other hand, they reinforce the avoidance that causes anxiety to continue. For example, let’s imagine a child and family who think their friends are laughing at them in the park and feel excluded because of this situation.
If parents immediately ask their children to stay away from the park and not go to the park, they suggest a hasty and harmful (anxiety-increasing) solution. Instead, it should be started by listening to what he feels and accompanying the emotion (empathic attitude). The second step should be to ask him to test the event that caused his exclusion and his interpretation (I am excluded) against it. The child who has already told about his anxiety will be able to think more realistically as he calms down. In this case, asking him to play with his friends again and to test whether the same things will happen will provide the child with the opportunity to learn. Remember, anxiety is an emotion that increases with avoidance. Teaching our children to face anxiety and to evaluate the causes of this emotion is one of the main duties of families.
With deep health..
