How to Diagnose Panic Attacks in Children
Panic attacks are scary no matter what your age, but they can be hard to deal with for children. When children suffer from Pediatric Panic Disorder, they often have a hard time articulating what they are feeling, so it may manifest in their relationships or actions. You need to be aware of your child's behavior and look for common panic symptoms in order to help diagnose panic attacks in children.
Looking for Panic Attack Symptoms
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Listen to your child's physical complaints. Children often find it hard to explain the emotional symptoms of a panic attack. Instead, your child may instead describe the physical symptoms that go along with panic attacks. These are the symptoms that they are more likely to understand. These physical symptoms can include:
- Trembling or shaking
- Chest pain
- Feeling dizzy or lightheaded
- Feeling chills or overheated
- Nausea
- Sweating
- Choking sensations
- Difficulty breathing
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Pay attention to your child's fears. Panic attacks are often coupled with psychological issues that affect your child. Your child may tell you about feeling as if he or she is going crazy or losing control of him or herself. Your child may also express an irrational fear of dying or losing control.
- Your child may not know how to express these feelings in the right way. Make sure you listen to what they are saying so you can determine exactly what his or her symptoms are.
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Notice unrelated triggers. Panic attacks are unpredictable, which means they can be brought on by anything. Your child may be triggered by a stressful event, an uncomfortable social situation, or any number of other external stimuli.
- Your child may express this as a cause and effect situation, such as "It started when I had to speak in front of class." However, when these situations happen at random in response to all different sorts of activities, your child is likely experiencing panic attacks.
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Distinguish panic attacks from phobias. Your child may have fearful experiences that are not panic attacks. Since panic attacks are unpredictable, there will be no common trigger to your child's panic. However, if your child has a predictable fear towards particular stimuli, then your child could have a phobia. A mental health professional, such as a psychologist or a professional licensed counselor, should be able to provide you with a diagnosis.
Monitoring Your Child's Behavior
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Look for a sudden change in your child's behavior. When your child has a panic attack, his or her behavior will change suddenly. Your child may become withdrawn or distant without any notice. Your child may also zone out or stop paying attention to what is going on.
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Notice a change in your child's socialization pattern. When a child suffers from panic attacks, she or he may start to withdraw from social situations. This is mostly due to the fear of others witnessing the panic attack.
- This may manifest by your child not wanting to go to school, asking not to go to social activities, or being isolated from his or her peers.
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Watch your child's reaction to particular places. There are places that your child may not want to go for fear of having a panic attack. These places where it would be hard to escape or handle a panic attack. The most common places your child may fear are:
- Crowded areas, such as shopping malls
- Public places, such as restaurants or stores
- Enclosed spaces, such as cars, elevators, or trains
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Be wary of depressive behavior. Your child may become depressed if he or she gets panic attacks. This may manifest angry outbursts, loss of interest or pleasure in everyday activities, feelings of sadness or hopelessness, lack of energy, or changes in appetite.
- Your child may also become suicidal or express feelings of not wanting to be alive.
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Watch for signs of alcohol or drug abuse. As a way to cope with the stress of a panic disorder, your child may turn to alcohol or drugs. This is more common with adolescents, but can happen at any age. Keep a watch if you have alcohol in the house or make sure you know what outside influences may come into contact with your child,
- Abuse of substances may actually make your child's panic disorder worse, so make sure you keep a watch on them.
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Translate problems at school. When your child has a panic disorder, it may manifest itself differently when he or she is at school. Your child may get continual reports of a difficulty to concentrate. This lack of attention is likely due to having panic attacks at school or to the fear of having one while at school.
- Your child may also have additional anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, or learning disabilities, such as ADHD. These conditions can go hand in hand and feed into each other.
Understanding Pediatric Panic Attacks
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Learn about pediatric panic attacks. Pediatric panic attacks are brief, recurrent episodes of severe and uncontrollable fear and anxiety. Panic attacks are typically followed by the fear of additional panic attacks. These attacks usually last about 10 minutes.
- These are unpredictable, hard to control, and can be triggered by many different factors. It is rare in childhood, but does exist. If it doesn't manifest in childhood, it often does during adolescence.
- Your child may go through many trips to the emergency room or the doctor in reaction to the scary and debilitating symptoms of panic attacks until his or her condition is diagnosed.
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Recognize the risk factors. There are some factors that might put your child more at risk for panic attacks. Your child may have a panic disorder despite having none of the risks and these situations do not guarantee that your child will have a panic disorder. These risks include:
- A family history of panic attacks and anxiety disorders
- A family history of other mental illness, such as bipolar disorder or depression
- A personal history of panic-like episodes that are not severe enough for panic attacks
- Respiratory symptoms, such as asthma
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Treat pediatric panic attacks. If you think your child has panic attacks, take him or her to the doctor. After a diagnosis, the doctor will work with you to decide on a treatment plan. The treatment for your child's panic attacks will vary depending on how severe it is, your child's age, and medical history. It may include psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both. Treatment for panic disorders is typically successful if followed through with.
- Your child will need your support during the treatment process. Make sure you help your child cope with the panic attacks and the treatment.
- You and your family may also be asked to go to therapy with your child in order to help him or her cope with the issues that led to the panic attacks.
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