Anxiety Disorder in Children and Teens

When anxiety causes distress or interference that is much greater than anxiety experienced by other children of the same age, it may be called an anxiety disorder. In this case, the term "disorder" simply indicates that the anxiety problem is significant enough and has lasted long enough (usually at least a number of weeks or months) to be considered a problem that warrants intervention. Commonly, children and teens experience anxiety problems that are characteristic of more than one anxiety disorder. Fortunately, the helpful approaches are similar for various anxiety problems.

If your child has been diagnosed as having a mild to moderate anxiety disorder, it will most likely fit into this list of seven anxiety disorders and subtypes:

• Separation Anxiety Disorder
• Specific Phobias
• Social Anxiety Disorder 
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder
• Panic Disorder
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder