I received a text from my granddaughter last week that scared the life out of me. My granddaughter was experiencing a panic attack while she was at school. I had to remain calm to get her through this while I was on my way to her school. I'm so thankful that the school is only 5 minutes away. But I can tell you those were the longest 5 minutes of my life because she has never experienced a panic attack before. Unfortunately, I have experienced panic attacks and was able to talk her through some breathing techniques to calm her down until I could get to the school.
When I finally got to the school, she was in the Principal's office looking so scared. All I could do at first was just to reassure her that everything was and will be okay. Some may ask why not send her to the Nurse's Office? I sent her to the Principal's Office because I know that she feels safe around her Principal. Once she was able to calm down and start breathing regularly, the Principal and I reassured her that everything was okay and was able to find out what triggered her attack.
So after that incident, I decided to do a little bit more research about kids/teens and panic attacks. Now here are some things that I found out and want to share.
According to NHS data, the number of young people being treated in hospital has risen by 42% in just a single year, with thousands receiving a diagnosis of "anxiety". A new research among 700 children aged 10-11 by the mental health charity Place2Be suggests that almost two-thirds worry "all the time". So I why are children becoming more anxious?
Some think it's because of the rise of social media. There are so many young people being introduced to social media at such an early age. And for some children, the exposure to these social networking sites have the potential to become a negative environment for young people. As parents, we know that some social media has been linked to cyber-bullying, low self-esteem, and shaming, which can raise the feelings of anxiety in a child. Sometimes the kids can find it hard to express their feelings and concerns and they tend to keep their emotions bottled up. I know that my granddaughter keeps at times her feelings bottled up.
Panic attacks are a symptom of anxiety. Some attacks can last from anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes. They have physical effects such as chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, or trembling. During my granddaughter's attack, she experienced the shortness of breath, dizziness, and nausea.
Here are some common symptons to look for in your kid/teen:
- Struggling to concentrate
- Difficulties in sleeping
- Eating habits have changed
- Become angry or irritable quickly
- Appear tense, fidgety or need to use the toilet often
- Crying for no apparent reason
- Clingy and don't want to leave you
- Complaining of having tummy aches or not feeling well
Here are some things to do while your kid/teen is experiencing a panic attack
- You as the parent must remain calm. You staying calm helps the child to remain calm. When a child is in the midst of a panic attack, they have lost control and that in itself can be very scary and overwhelming for them.
- Use a firm but a gentle tone of voice to let them know you are there for them.
- Use age-appropriate words, soothing words use their name to communicate a sense of security and safety. " I know you don't feel okay but you will be okay", " We will get through this and it will end soon", "I love you", "Take some deep breaths"
- Help your kid/teen to find their own way to handle an attack.
- Give your kid/teen time to calm down. Don't rush them because they will need time to regain their sense of self and composure. Don't rush them.
