Avoidance goes hand and hand with anxiety. As mentioned in our series, anxiety is fed based on misconstrued input coming in from our limbic system. Because they are receiving false alarms of threatening things in their environment, anxious children commonly live in the realm of “what if”?
- What if I throw up at school??
- What if my mom drops me off at school and never comes back?
- What if my family doesn’t have enough money to buy food next week?
- What if I get sick and then make my whole family sick?
- What if my dad leaves me at soccer practice and doesn’t come back?
The exhausting presence of all of these “what if” questions may lead children to start avoiding things and situations. They may stop wanting to play a sport they love because they are afraid their parent will not come back to get them after practice. They may become avoidant of crowded spaces because of the fear of getting lost or getting sick. They may refuse to spend the night at a friend’s house because they worry about their family while they are away. They may avoid asking for money for things that they used to because they worry about their parent’s finances.
If a child begins to avoid things they love or have been comfortable with in the past, it is possible that they are struggling with anxiety.
This post is part of a series of posts describing how children experience anxiety. Be sure to check out commonly missed symptom 1 and symptom 2.
