Anxiety in Children is Prevalent and Pervasive

Conservative estimates are that 20% of school-age children experience anxiety to the extent that it disrupts their quality of life. This can include physical issues such as tummy trouble or headaches. It can also interfere with a child's ability to socialize or participate in activities.
 
The numbers are even higher with teenagers. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 32% of adolescents have an anxiety disorder. Of adolescents with an anxiety disorder, an estimated 8.3% have a severe impairment (according to DSM-IV criteria).

And that was before Covid. There are a lot of children who need our help!

The CDC reports that children with anxiety or depression are more likely than those without to have:

• Another mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, learning disability, or speech or language problems
• Other chronic health conditions, like asthma or hearing problems
• Challenges with school
• Parents who report high levels of stress and frustration with parenting
• Unmet medical and mental health service needs

What is Anxiety?

Look around you anytime, anywhere. Up to half the people you see have anxious feelings on a regular basis. We all do sometimes. Then, there are all the folks at home you can’t see because they feel too anxious to go out. Anxiety is the number one mental health challenge in the world today - for both children and adults.

There are many kinds of anxiety.

• Panic is when feelings of fright strike suddenly. You may or may not be in a frightening situation when this happens.

• Post-traumatic stress (PTSD) may develop following a distressing event or series of events. The scary situation has passed but the scary feelings are still there.
• Some people have an intense fear of something specific. This is called a phobia. Fear of heights and snakes are common phobias.
• Social anxiety involves overwhelming worry about everyday social situations, like going to school or a concert or participating in afterschool activities.
• Obsessive and compulsive behavior (OCD) happens when a ritual or routine must be performed, many times, to feel safe and to keep something bad from happening.
• Generalized anxiety means that whether you are in a stressful situation or not, you still feel anxious.

These all have the same effect on the body and mind. Long-term exposure to stressful situations and/or chronic stress can disrupt nearly every system in the body.

Signs & Symptoms of Anxiety

Different people experience different emotional, physical, mental and behavioral symptoms.

You may feel:

• Like hiding in your room and avoiding people/situations
• Overwhelmed and out of control
• Easily agitated, frustrated, and moody
• Negative about yourself/depressed/lonely
• Frequently worried
• Hopeless about the future

You might have:

• Frequent headaches and/or stomachaches
• Low energy
• Sweaty palms
• Grinding teeth
• Restless sleep/can’t sleep
• Racing thoughts
• Difficulty focusing
• Changes in your appetite – overeating or not eating
• Nervous habits such as nail biting, hair twirling, fidgeting or pacing

How to go from Anxious to Awesome 

Move your body with awareness, shape your breath, tend to your mind, engage with nature and with others. It will help you feel better. Sometimes a little bit and oftentimes a lot. In this free workshop we'll share enjoyable activities anyone can do; no experience needed! These tools help you address anxious feelings minute-by-minute, day-by-day and year after year. We'll show you how in this fun free workshop.

Get a simple system any family can follow, along with mindset shifts for living an empowered life.

If you have a child in your life who deals with anxious feelings, you know how heart-breaking it is to watch them struggle. We want to help! In this free workshop, Mira will share a few simple tools to help kids (and adults) feel less anxious and more awesome.

Meet Mira 

Your guide on the journey from anxious to awesome is Mira Binzen, C-IAYT. Mira has worked with children with disabilities and mental health concerns like anxiety since she was in high school. Mira was an anxious kid and is sometimes still an anxious adult. But she’s got tools and a lifestyle that helps her handle it with grace. And now you will too.

In addition to being a certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), she is also a certified iRest® Yoga Nidra teacher, a certified essential oil specialist and has a degree in Child Psychology from the University of Minnesota. She has been teaching wellness strategies to children and families since 1999. Mira has a knack for taking the complex and seemingly mysterious practices from ancient wisdom and making them fun and accessible for families today. She’s been teaching her signature Anxious to Awesome™ classes to families like yours for more than a decade.