All kids who experience anxiety have varied symptoms and reactions. But to give us some insight into what anxiety feels like to a child, we asked 8-year-old Addie to describe it for us. What does anxiety feel like … • I think I worry way more than other people do. • I worry a lot about something bad happening to my family or me. • Anxiety is like a voice in my head telling me scary things or telling me I’m not good enough. • I have a hard time sleeping because I stay up worrying. Kid perspective
What helps you feel better … • When I can’t sleep, reading a book or listening to a calming app helps me relax. • When I am worrying about something scary happening, I try to change the pictures in my head into something funny or silly. • I gave my anxiety a name and talk back to it to tell it the truth. • I ask myself if what I’m worried about is possible, then if it’s likely and if it is, what I could do if it did happen. • I talk to my mom, which helps because she has anxiety, too, so she understands how I feel. • When I’m feeling worried or scared all the time and I can’t stop it, I know it’s time to go talk to my counselor.
• Sometimes I get really mad or frustrated that I worry so much.
Dr. Erica Faulconer is native to Oklahoma City and enjoys being a part of this thriving community as a wife, mom of three beautiful children and pediatrician at Northwest Pediatrics. She received her bachelors degree in microbiology from Oklahoma State University, completed medical
training at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine and spent her residency in pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital, completing her training in 2013. Dr. Faulconer and her husband, Chris, are both avid sports fans who enjoy attending concerts and being outdoors at every opportunity.
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