Watching a child suffer a panic attack is a harrowing experience for a parent or care giver. Most of us think of being a child as a sweet innocent time in our lives with not a care in the world to bring us down. While for many of this is true, sometimes certain children, much like adults, are more prone to panic and anxiety attacks.

A panic attack is defined as recurring fear and/or intense discomfort, often accompanying a quickened heart beat, shortness of breath, and other physical symptoms that last as little as a couple minutes to many hours.

Before we can treat the problem we need to find the causes or the spark of the panic attack in the child. It’s sometimes harder to find the root cause in children, especially in younger children as it’s not as easy for them to convey their feelings in a clear fashion. Usually the panic will be caused by one of the following below.

Separation Anxiety

This is obviously one of the most common found in children. By nature children often cling to their parents by instinct as this is where they will feel and be the safest. It’s important when you find this is the cause to always make sure that the child knows you will return, and that you always return. Over time stressing this basic fact will make the child feel more secure, because after you do leave and come back over and over they get conditioned, and are secure in the fact that you always return for them.

General And Social Anxiety

Some children like adults are just naturally more prone to not handle stresses in day to day life. Social Anxiety is another popular problem in children, as they are constantly under social duress in school and many have not developed adequate social skills. Many experts believe that our brains neurotransmitters play an important part, which would seem to give credence to medication, however many experts think these neurotransmitters are affected and released by the way we handle and essentially condition ourselves to react. Neither side has this pegged, and there is still much to be known. There is a ton of data that shows both work well in certain situations. If you click the banner on the course listed above you will see many testimonials for the natural treatment of these types of problems. Essentially known as Cognitive Behavior Techniques, that help you condition your mind to handle stressful situations. This takes some time, and often the combination of medication and CBT work well and give the best results.

Life events, such as a death in the family, or something similar can also trigger panic attacks, and kids sometimes are prone to hypochondria (health anxiety).

The best thing you can do for your child regardless of the type of anxiety or panic they suffer from is to be understanding and reassuring. People who suffer from panic and anxiety often need constant reassurances that things are going to be OK.

You should of course talk with a physician, just to be sure something is not physically causing your child’s discomfort, and often they can give you a referral if they think you need to see a therapist who specializes in children.

Many are scared of medication, and I usually recommend the course shown on the banner above for this reason. CBT is something that take a little bit of time and patience, but often pays the best dividends in the long run as you fight the problem not the symptoms that certain medications hide. It’s also scary to think about a child taking medication every day. The most important thing though, is to help your child find relief regardless of what it entails.