 Hey there, Psych2Goers, and welcome back. According to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 7% of children aged 3 to 17 have been diagnosed with anxiety disorders. The types of anxiety which are commonly experienced by children include specific phobias or are more broad-based, such as separation anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder. Want to know the signs that someone may have grown up with anxiety? Let's delve into them together. Number 1. You live in a chaotic environment. What exactly does a dysfunctional family environment entail? Does this increase susceptibility to anxiety? Children crave a sense of belonging. A dysfunctional family impedes that need with a perpetual absence of support, blocking a child's integration with family. You're faced with multiple forms of aggression or neglect, such as being belittled, dominated, lied to, and controlled by your caregivers. There's limited affection in the way of physical and verbal affirmations of love, empathy, and time spent together. Neglect and discord around other family members always keeps you on edge. The emotionally unstable and untrustworthy environment causes children to develop certain defense strategies to maintain their safety and keep themselves intact. However, prolonged use of this defense strategy in the face of overwhelming stressors for far too long may pave the way to develop severe forms of anxiety. Number 2. Constant worry and negative thoughts have been the norm. Would you call yourself a chronic warrior? Do you always report being tense and finding it hard to relax and switch off? It's actually normal to worry from time to time. Perhaps you're worried about things like your health, finance, or some family issues, when anxiety is the monster under your bed for a long, long time, and you find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night due to your noisy brain. That's when your worry becomes excessive and uncontrollable, even when there's little or no reason for it to. This may indicate an increased chance that you may have anxiety, or more specifically generalized anxiety disorder. Number 3. You always find it hard to concentrate. Because your mind always tend to wander to the future, and you have to always ask your friends to repeat what they're saying. This might be due to your having developed episodic foresight. This is defined as the mental construction of potential events and the ability to flexibly organize action in light of such anticipations. When you've been faced with anxiety for a long time, you tend to think fast forward. You're constantly on the lookout, trying to foresee events, and so have fallen into the habit of preventing the next possible mishap. You tend to ruminate on minuscule details until they become the elephant in the room, making careful preparation for threats, opportunities, and circumstances to control important aspects of the future. Number 4. You have issues of separation. Throwback to the first day of school. Do you remember all those crying and wailing little faces? Or maybe you too? It's actually a normal stage in development and helps children understand relationships and master their environments. But separation anxiety is a whole other phenomenon. This term refers to excessive fear or worry about separation from home or an attachment figure. When a child turns two years old, separation anxiety will normally end. As they start to realize that the attachment figure may be out of sight now, but will return later. This situation dissipates with the developmental growth of the child. But when this level of anxiety surpasses the developmental years, it's most probably separation anxiety disorder. Being reluctant to sleep without being near a major attachment figure, refusing to attend camp or have a sleepover at a friend's home, or even needing someone to be with them when they go to another room in their house, are some ways this can manifest as opposed to other peers of the same age. Number 5. You experience bodily symptoms. Just before entering this stage, do you complain of tummy aches, nausea, and your muscles becoming tense? Or maybe you sweat profusely before a presentation. All this is regarded as normal in novel circumstance. But when such physical reactions constitute a major part of all your daily activities, it could be a nod towards a highly anxious self. Those growing up with anxiety can have trouble toggling their flight or flight state. Your body is ready to cry wolf at the slightest sign of distress. Their heightened vigilance is quick to translate into physical symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea, or digestive trouble. Insomnia, weakness, or fatigue, and shortness of breath are common experiences as well. And number 6. You are always tired. Did you just ache up from a good 8 hour sleep but still feel very exhausted? What? Yeah. Are you tired all the time, lacking the energy and motivation to do anything? I feel you. It's actually a very human thing to be tired and experience some form of fatigue, especially after doing certain strenuous activities. However, for people who grew up with anxiety, even a small and simple act such as making a cup of tea can feel like a mental struggle, anxiety pushes your body to be in survival mode all the time. You are highly alert all the time and your body is flooded with energy, causing a strain on your adrenaline supply. This condition is known as adrenal fatigue, causing it to feel drained. So do any of these describe your experience? Please feel free to share any thoughts you have as well. If you found this video helpful, be sure to hit the like button and share it with those out there with similar experiences. Don't forget to subscribe to Psych2Go and hit the notification bell for more new videos. And as always, thanks for watching.