Social Phobia In Children
Social phobia is the most common type of anxiety among children and adolescents. Anxiety is an anticipated and diffuse response that is maintained over time and that makes normal development difficult for those who suffer from it.
In this sense, it should be remembered and clarified that a person can suffer from anxiety when they feel fear and want to flee, as a constant sensation, in which every stimulus constitutes a threat (fictitious) and therefore, identifying a cause to that fear is difficult and often even too overwhelming.
A continuous, inexplicable fear and dread
This type of anxiety disorder is characterized by the presence of constant and accentuated fear in social situations. The child feels fear when interacting with other people and before the possibility of being judged or evaluated by them.
Social phobia constitutes an obstacle to the integral development of minors. Social skills are diminished, and self-concept is negative. It is necessary to attack this condition early to avoid problems in adolescence and adulthood.
The child with social phobia is afraid that others will make fun of him. Feel this is what happens when they watch you. It begins to be noticed around the age of six, when the child begins to interact more with others. At that stage the opinion of the peers begins to be important to him.
What Causes Social Phobia in Children?
The cause is not known with certainty. However , a series of factors that could be responsible for this condition have been determined. Heredity is one of the possible causes. If either parent has suffered from social anxiety, the chances of the child suffering from it increase.
Having low self-esteem makes you equally prone to this kind of anxiety. Another factor that can trigger it is having suffered a bad experience, the death of a family member or being the victim of harassment by peers.
Symptoms of social phobia in children
The biggest difficulty in diagnosing this type of anxiety is that it can generally be mistaken for shyness. Some symptoms can betray the presence of social phobia in children.
- Faced with the possibility of a social event, the child may claim to feel ill. Stomach pain is the most used excuse. You may sweat excessively and have trouble breathing. Even just thinking about going to school can trigger these symptoms.
- For a correct social adaptation, the child tries to go unnoticed. He hides to avoid establishing any type of interaction with friends and family around him.
- Speaking in public, standing in front of their classmates or having conversations with adults are extreme situations for these children.
- The child shows a constant need for approval in relation to everything he does.
- He may have attitudes like nail biting, hair pulling, or thumb sucking.
A child with social phobia may also present the following signs: blush, sweat, feel dry mouth, and may break his voice in a social situation. You may have tremors or tense muscles. At any given moment, you may become paralyzed by the situation or try to flee from it.
What to do to find out if a child has social phobia
- Investigate how the child feels about himself.
- See if he avoids group activities, if he prefers to play alone.
- Be aware of how you assume the situation of exposing yourself to a group.
- See the child’s behavior when being in situations where others are watching.
- Observe the child’s behavior by having to defend his opinion when something is not to his liking.
- Detect if the child constantly expects approval of his actions from others.
As in everything that concerns the well-being of children, the key is to be alert to their behavior. This will make it more likely to detect any changes that may indicate that something is wrong. Social phobia in children is treatable . An adequate diagnosis will allow the timely application of pharmacological, cognitive and behavioral treatment that allows you to overcome this mental pathology.
