How to Drive Away Tension from Child's Life?
The hectic school-schedules, tuitions, heavy syllabus, family issues and conflicts: all of these stresses out the children of today and causes them to worry which may affect their physical and mental development. The following resource explains the various factors which cause anxiety in children. It also deals with somatoform disorders,its symptoms, treatment, cognitive therapy and parents' role in eliminating their little one's tensions.
Have you been observing frequent body pains, head aches, vomiting and other physical disorders in your child lately? Has your child been showing much reluctance and worry against something? Such physical disturbances and tensions in the child may be due to a condition called Somatoform disorder which occurs in children due to excessive anxiety and tensions. If all medicines fail to cure such ailments of the child, then the child should be evaluated individually by guidance experts. Elements that cause anxiety in children
The factors which cause anxiety and related somatoform disorders in children can be divided into two kinds:
1.Internal factors like the child's physical and mental states and disorders.
2.External factors that mostly include family-related, social and study-related problems.
The common factors that cause anxiety in the child are:
•Backwardness in study and study-disorders cause excessive anxiety in the children.
•Bad-tempered parents.
•Arguments among the parents
•Lack of a calm family atmosphere
•Stress related to friends, classmates and teachers.
•Comparison with other children of the same age.Symptoms of Somatoform disorder
1.Lack of interest and concentration in studying.
2.Low standards of study, mostly bad grades and low marks.
3.Poor memory and frequent absent-mindedness.
4.Less decisive powers and reluctance to make decisions.
5.Very low self-confidence.
6.Rebellious thoughts and tantrums.
7.At teenage, dangerous habits like smoking and use of addictive substances.
8.Little or no interest to mingle socially.How to treat somatoform disorders?
Somatoform disorders are not seriously harmful if identified well and treated properly from the initial stages. Such disorders are not diseases or ailments but just disorders in the states of mind of a child that occurs due to the stressful schedules and worries of daily life. This disorder can be treated by following these steps:
1.Find the cause for the child's anxiety. Analyze the child's worries and give him opportunity to realize and analyze them himself.
2.When anxiety increases, encourage the child to think practically and positively. Make him realize that there is no problem which lacks solution.
3.If the study-load curbs the child's overall development, shift to less hectic study-syllabus.
4.The parents should first solve their issues and worries. Only then can they effectively act as role models to their children. The children should not be made to see their own parents stressing out due to their issues and sorrows. This will lessen the morale of a child and make him feel helpless.
5.If the real reason behind the child's tension can be identified, it can be solved through special training and counseling. Cognitive therapy
Cognitive therapy is a very effective treatment for tension-related issues of children. Cognitive counseling helps a great deal to eliminate negative thoughts and rebellious emotions that affect the child's mental well-being and instills confidence and good hopes in the child. It will neither be logical or practical to just take the child away from struggling situations. Rather, by helping the child to develop a positive and confident novel attitude towards issues and problems, the child will successfully overcome stressful situations.