Rising Rates
At least 60% of children and adolescents experience anxiety and related disorders.
Why is my child Anxious?
The incidence of anxiety in children and adolescents has exploded. Understand the contributing factors and discover what you can do to help your child manage anxiety effectively.
Not Rational
Anxiety doesn't play by logical rules—you can't simply "talk them down."
Comprehensive Support
Multi-dimensional approaches help children overcome anxiety and thrive.
Scroll
The incidence of anxiety in children and adolescents has exploded. For the past 15 or so years, I have had an ever increasing number of patients present to me with symptoms of different types of anxiety disorders. It is estimated that the incidence of anxiety and related disorders in children and adolescents is at least 60%!
Generalized anxiety, anxiety with obsessive compulsive symptoms, social anxiety, school phobia, and separation anxiety are the most common. Anxiety symptoms can present in a variety of different ways. In the most obvious form, a child may outwardly express worry. Some might worry about things, like academic performance or certain social situations. Others might worry about anything and everything.
Younger children, and sometimes teenagers will have anxiety but not express their worries outwardly. Instead they present with anger outbursts or irritability. If you think about it, being anxious can be overwhelming and some children will just "pop" occasionally to vent off some of this pressure.
Understanding Anxiety
Why Anxiety Isn't Always Rational
From an outside perspective, it can be hard to understand why a child might be anxious. After all, what could an 8-year old or a 12-year old have to worry about?
From an outside perspective, it can be hard to understand why a child might be anxious. After all, what on earth could an 8-year old or a 12-year old have to worry about? Life is simple, they don't have to worry about paying the rent or groceries or politics! As a parent, teacher or friend the advice to them might be "Just stop worrying. Everything is OK!" But in reality, it is just not that easy.
Anxiety is not rational most of the time.
I get anxious when I have to stand up high on a ladder and hang Christmas lights every holiday season. When I get down (thankfully) it's over. That is rational, very specific and understandable. When a 7 year old child has a complete melt-down every Sunday evening because they are anxious that school will be starting the next morning at 8am, it is hard to "talk them down" and tell them not to worry. Assuming that there hasn't been bullying or some identifiable reason, the school phobia/separation anxiety isn't something that you can negotiate a child out of. Anxiety doesn't play by logical rules.
Root Causes
Why Is This Happening?
Why are we seeing such an increase in the rates of anxiety in children? There are multiple factors.
Contributing Factors to Childhood Anxiety
Click each card to learn more
Genetic Predispositions
Often times anxiety can "run in families" and multiple family members can be affected, sometimes in different ways.
Research shows: Children with a family history of anxiety disorders are 4-6 times more likely to develop anxiety themselves. This doesn't mean it's inevitable, but understanding genetic risk helps with early intervention.
What you can do: If anxiety runs in your family, be proactive with emotional regulation skills, create a supportive environment, and don't hesitate to seek professional guidance early.
Digital World
Screens are everywhere. The immediacy of the internet is a blessing but also a curse.
The impact: Constant digital stimulation trains the brain to expect instant gratification, making downtime feel uncomfortable. Social media creates comparison pressure and validation-seeking behavior that fuels anxiety.
Sean Parker (Facebook's first president) said: "God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains."
Action steps: Set firm screen time boundaries, create tech-free zones at home, and encourage activities that promote mindfulness and creativity.
American Diet
Processed foods and additives like HFCS cause rapidly fluctuating insulin levels that strongly influence mood and anxiety.
The blood sugar-anxiety connection: High fructose corn syrup and processed foods create dramatic insulin spikes and crashes, directly impacting mood stability and anxiety levels. These additives are literally addictive.
The gut-brain axis: 90% of serotonin (the "feel-good" neurotransmitter) is produced in the gut. Poor nutrition disrupts this critical system.
Solution: Focus on whole foods, minimize processed items, and read our nutrition blog for detailed strategies.
Environmental Factors
How parents, family and friends respond to a child's anxiety can greatly affect the severity.
The accommodation trap: When parents constantly remove sources of discomfort, they unintentionally send the message that the child isn't strong enough to handle the feeling. This creates a spiral of increasing anxiety.
Better approach: Validate feelings ("I understand you're worried") while empowering resilience ("I know you're strong enough to work through this"). Let children experience manageable discomfort with your support.
Remember: You're not helping by removing all challenges, you need to support your child and let them know they can overcome them.
Technology Impact
The Digital World & Constant Stimulation
The internet and the immediacy that it brings has trained us to want and expect everything now.
One obvious component is the digital world in which we live. Screens are everywhere. The internet and the immediacy that it brings is a blessing but also a curse. When we ask for something, whether it is something we purchase on Amazon, a bit of information we seek out, or the newest pop song to download, we have trained ourself to want and expect it now. We can order a new computer from our phone and have it handed to us in a matter of 2-3 hours. The concept of having to wait for something, be patient, and be ok with that is becoming foreign to us.
The video game/screen culture that has become such a part of childhood and adolescence creates a storm of neurotransmitter release in the developing brain. Children become accustomed to constant neural stimulation to the point that they often become unable to entertain themselves with their own mind. Rather than experiencing downtime as an opportunity to relax, imagine things, and create new ideas, the tendency has become to seek out the next Tic Tok or Reel to keep the mind from having to be with itself.
"God only knows what it's doing to our children's brains." — Sean Parker, creator of Napster and first president of Facebook
Furthermore, with the pervasiveness of social media, school age children and adolescents are constantly seeking out approval and personal worth from the number of "likes" and followers that they have on Instagram and the ever evolving social media platforms.
Nutrition Factor
The American Diet's Role in Anxiety
Processed foods and additives create a never-ending roller coaster that fuels anxiety.
Technology is the most obvious culprit, however other factors surely have contributed to the anxiety epidemic as well. Of course there is the ever-worsening American diet. Processed, "ultra" processed food, and additives such as high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) cause rapidly fluctuating insulin levels that can strongly influence mood and anxiety levels.
The problem with many of these additives is that they literally are addicting. The more an individual consumes, the more insulin and other digestive hormone levels fluctuate, making that person crave the processed foods again. This creates a never ending roller coaster of insulin levels and blood sugar that just "fuels the fire" of anxiety.
Parenting Approach
Environmental Factors & Parenting Response
How parents respond to a child's anxiety can greatly affect the severity.
Finally there are environmental factors. How parents, family and friends respond to a child's anxiety and outbursts can greatly affect the severity. When a child expresses anxiety or emotional discomfort regarding a particular situation or event, it is understandable that a parent might take measures to alleviate those feelings. After all, right from infancy the parent is "trained" to respond to a baby's cries and fix the problem at hand.
If a newborn cries because it is hungry, the parent will quickly feed them. It is what they need. A newborn can't feed themselves. If a toddler falls and scrapes his knee, the parent will "kiss the boo boo" and make it better. It only seems logical that if a child expresses a fear about being away from the parent or about school, or a social situation, the parent will do what they have been trained to do: alleviate the discomfort as quickly as possible.
Alleviating a child's emotional discomfort is not always what is best, however.
Sometimes a parent needs to validate the child's feeling but let them know that they are strong enough to work it through. If a parent constantly tries to keep their child from experiencing feelings of discomfort, they can convey a message that the child doesn't have the emotional strength to endure the feeling. This, as you can imagine, can become a spiral that can progressively make things worse.
Action Steps
What Can We Do to Help?
Practical strategies to prevent and manage childhood anxiety.
Choose Healthy Foods
Build a foundation of nutrition
Minimize processed foods
Avoid HFCS
Whole grains
Quality proteins
Fresh fruits & veggies
Limit Screen Time
Reduce digital overstimulation
Set firm boundaries
Expect pushback
Encourage Lego
Arts & crafts
Get outside to play
Practice Mindfulness
Help quiet the brain
Alone time activities
Quiet brain exercises
Meditation
Deep breathing
Journaling
Empower Your Child
Build emotional resilience
Work through discomfort
Don't fix everything
Build confidence
Be patient
Celebrate progress
Key Takeaways
Remember These Essential Points
At least 60% of children experience anxiety and related disorders.
Anxiety is not rational and you can't simply "talk them down."
Multiple factors contribute: genetics, technology, diet, and environment.
Limit screen time and encourage creative, outdoor activities.
Choose healthy foods and avoid processed foods with HFCS.
Empower your child to work through discomfort rather than fixing everything.
Ready to Help Your Child Overcome Anxiety?
If you're concerned about your child's anxiety, schedule a consultation to develop a comprehensive approach that addresses all contributing factors.
Our Multi-Dimensional Approach
At 1-to-1 ADHD & Anxiety Solutions, we believe that it is crucial to address all of the contributing factors that influence your child's struggles. We take a multi-dimensional approach, calling upon nutritional and behavioral specialists in addition to working closely with a pediatrician with over 30 years of experience dealing with childhood anxiety and related disorders.
Maximizing your child's nutrition and providing evidence based recommendations regarding supplements is one aspect of what we do. We work with dieticians who focus on promoting healthy diets for children with anxiety and related conditions. Furthermore, we have assembled a handpicked group of therapists specially trained to address childhood anxiety from the child and parenting perspective. By doing so, both the child and parents will learn to revise how they respond to emotional triggers causing the anxiety. Both children and parents will learn to develop self-confidence in their respective roles.
Medication also may play a role in managing and treating anxiety. The hope is that, if needed, medication therapy can be used as a temporary measure to help "turn down" the intensity of the uncomfortable feelings making the therapeutic process more effective. In that way, healthier responses to stressful situations and triggers can be formed.
If you are interested in learning more about how 1-to-1 ADHD & Anxiety Solutions can help your child to overcome the ever increasing societal weight of anxiety, complete the information form to schedule an appointment. Our team will quickly respond and schedule you a consultation at a convenient time from the comfort of your home.
We look forward to hearing from you.Need Help Managing Your Child's Anxiety?
Schedule a consultation with Dr. Nash to develop a comprehensive treatment plan that includes nutritional strategies, behavioral support, and medical management.
Schedule Consultation Back to Blog