Everyone experiences anxiety because it is a natural and important emotion. However, excessive anxiety can lead to unhealthy responses. And excessive anxiety disorder is a mental health problem.
Unfortunately, anxiety in teens is often ignored because teenagers are considered to be experiencing emotional changes. Even though in some cases the anxiety problems experienced by adolescents can hinder their development and potential.
The feeling of discomfort experienced by adolescents who are experiencing anxiety can interfere with their participation in activities in the environment. As well as this excessive anxiety can cause it to be difficult for adolescents to maintain supportive friendships and family relationships.
Causes of Anxiety In Teens
According to Stanford Medicine, the anxiety experienced by adolescents is influenced by environmental and biological factors, including:
Chemical Imbalance in the Brain
In adolescents who experience anxiety, the chemicals norepinephrine and serotonin in the brain experience an imbalance. This is a biological factor that causes excessive anxiety.
Heredity Factor
If one parent or other family member is experiencing anxiety, then there is a possibility that their child will have the same anxiety tendencies.
Parents Tell Anxiety to Children
When parents tell their children about their anxieties, this will make the children more sensitive. So that the cycle of anxiety in children will increase and form.
Traumatic Events
Traumatic events experienced will also cause anxiety disorders in children. Traumatic events can be in the form of parental divorce, death, accidents, and so on.
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Symptoms of Anxiety In Teens
Anxiety disorders can give different symptoms to each person. However, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), there are several symptoms of anxiety disorders that are commonly experienced by adolescents, including:
- Excessive worry
- Excessive fear
- Often feel restless
- Constantly feeling nervous
- Tendency to be overly alert
- Withdraw from the surrounding environment
- Extreme stress
- Emotional
In addition to psychologically disturbing symptoms, adolescents who experience anxiety will also experience physical symptoms, including:
- Headache
- Stomach ache
- Fatigue
- Muscle tension or cramps
- Back pain
- Leg pain
Anxiety disorders experienced by adolescents will usually also have an impact on appearance, social acceptance, and conflicts about independence.
When experiencing anxiety, maybe teenagers will look very shy. They will also likely avoid activities they used to do before, or refuse to engage in new experiences.
Adolescents also tend to engage in risky activities to deny or reduce the excessive anxiety, fear and worry they experience.
Impact of Anxiety on Body Health
In the long run, the excess anxiety experienced by adolescents will also affect their physical health. Some of the bad effects of excess anxiety on the health of the body are:
Causes Digestive Problems
Excessive anxiety can interfere with your excretory and digestive systems. When you feel anxious you will experience stomach pain, nausea, diarrhea, and other digestive problems. Sometimes, excessive anxiety can also affect your appetite. So it’s no wonder excessive anxiety is closely related to Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Disturbing the Central Nervous System
Long-term anxiety can make the brain secrete the hormones adrenaline and cortisol regularly. This can cause dizziness, headaches, and depression.
Weaken the Body’s Immune System
When you experience long-term stress, the brain will prepare itself in a state of constant alert. This causes the brain to never get the signal to return to normal.
That way, the immune system in your body will weaken and cause you to get sick more easily. Even vaccines can’t work optimally when you’re feeling anxious.
Increases the Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
When you’re feeling excessive anxiety, your heart will beat faster, and pain in your chest. When this happens you will also be at risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. If you currently have heart disease, then worrying about excess can trigger coronary heart disease.
Cause Respiratory Problems
When you are feeling excessive anxiety, your breath will become faster and shallower. If you currently have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, you are at high risk of being hospitalized for digestive-related complications. In addition, anxiety disorders can also exacerbate asthma symptoms.
How to Overcome Anxiety
In many cases, the best way to deal with excessive anxiety is to seek treatment. Routine treatment is one of the keys to a successful recovery process. Because, if this anxiety problem is not taken seriously, it can exacerbate the situation and become a long-term problem.
The treatment process for adolescents who experience excessive anxiety can be adjusted according to their age, symptoms, general health, and the severity of their condition. Here are some ways you can use to deal with this:
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
This is done so that teenagers can manage anxiety so can control situations that trigger their anxiety.
Drugs
Antidepressant medications prescribed by a psychiatrist may help some teens feel calmer.
Family
Parents and families who are in the environment of these adolescents must always support and help so that the treatment process goes well.
The above is information that we can convey regarding the causes, symptoms, and impact of anxiety in teens on body health. We hope this information helps, and you are always in good health.