Tamar E. Chansky lists some red flags for anxiety in a child in her insightful book, “Freeing Your Child: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Child’s Fears, Worries, and Phobias”:
1. Demonstrates excessive distress out of proportion to the situation: crying, physical symptoms, sadness, anger, frustration, hopelessness, embarrassment
2. Easily distressed, agitated, or angry when in a stressful situation

3. Repetitive reassurance questions, “what if” concerns, inconsolable, won’t respond to logical arguments
4. Headaches, stomachaches, regularly too sick to go to school
5. Anticipatory anxiety, worrying hours, days, weeks ahead
6. Disruptions of sleep with difficulty falling asleep, frequent nightmares
7. Perfectionism, very high standards by which nothing is good enough
8. Overly responsible, excessive concern that others are upset with him or her, unnecessary apologizing
9. Demonstrates excessive avoidance: refuses to participate in expected activities, refuses to attend school
10. Disruption of child or family functioning, difficulty with going to school, to a friends’ houses, religious activities, family gatherings, on errands, on vacations
11. Excessive time spent consoling child about distress with ordinary situations, excessive time coaxing child to perform normal activities–homework, hygiene, meals
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