Information night sheds light on childhood anxiety

“What was really, really impressive was the sheer number of parents present,” says Dr. Anand Prabhu, a psychologist who leads CHEO’s mood and anxiety team, noting the turnout displayed a sign of increased willingness to learn and discuss mental health issues. “I think the barriers are coming down in terms of parents or families feeling stigmatized and needing to keep it quiet.”

Prabhu was one of five presenters who addressed the crowd on various topics related to childhood anxiety and how parents can identify the problem and help their children. Organizations such as the Cumberland and Eastern Ottawa resource centres, Ottawa Public Health and CHEO also set up displays.

While it is fairly common for parent councils to hold smaller seminars on similar topics, Fallingbrook principal Denise Norris notes the event, which was a year in the works, marked a first for area schools.

“I’m seeing it’s more of a problem in a school setting, and more anxious parents with very anxious children,” Norris adds, suggesting mental health doesn’t receive the attention it should because society often associates troubles with severe cases such as psychotic or violent behaviour. “There’s a lot of people that deal with anxiety or depression or suicidal thoughts and we need to address it in our schools because it’s hidden.”

Prabhu explains childhood anxiety essentially boils down to children “overestimating the actual risk in a situation and underestimating their ability to cope with it.”

The symptoms of childhood anxiety can vary widely based on the child and their situation, he notes, but a few of the more common problems could be an inability to attend school, avoiding taking part in regular social activities, or showing a level of distress that doesn’t match the scope of the problem.

Most cases referred to Prabhu or other child psychologists come from a family doctor after someone from school has observed a problem, or because a family can’t function properly.

A method used in an attempt to reduce a child’s anxiety towards a situation is cognitive-behavioural therapy – getting the child to look at a situation in a different way to realize why their thoughts towards it are irrational – although much of the information night also focused on the idea of growing up resilient.

“I think what we need to do is focus on a preventative approach by having children be resilient and healthy,” Norris says. “Hopefully then we’ll alleviate some of the anxiety with a more proactive approach.”

Ideas were suggested for parents to help their kids become resilient, such as dealing with their own anxious feelings appropriately, and most schools that fall within the same superintendent area as Fallingbrook received a book on the topic of growing up resilient.

“Some people left saying, ‘I feel better knowing there’s other people who have concerns and issues, there are support groups out there and things to do,’” Norris notes, adding statistics were presented that stated only one out of five children who need mental health services receive them. “We needed an evening like this.”

For more information, visit www.cheo.on.ca for Dr. Prabhu’s article, “Helping Children Cope with Fear and Anxiety” and ementalhealth.ca for available resources.