How To Deal With Anxiety Disorders That Accompany ADHD?

As humans, we all have a natural tendency to become nervous and worry about some matters at some time or the other in our lives. To look upon it positively, having a minimal amount of anxiety is not considered abnormal; rather it actually motivates us to have a foresight to trace and face unexpected problems. But, this level of normality is not present in certain children and adults and within them; anxiety is up to such an extent that it badly affects their survival. Now, do you know the difference between having normal anxiety and anxiety disorder? Certainly, to some extent yes; but let’s understand about it clearly so that we can identify such disorders and follow an appropriate treatment for the same.

Anxious and Anxiety Disorder

If a child or an adult tends to worry about a certain matter, it cannot be looked upon as an anxiety disorder. For example, we all feel anxious when it is first day at the school, it is the first interview, or it is the exam day. Such anxiousness is certainly normal and they no longer exist once the event is passed or faced.

On the other hands, the symptoms of anxiety are quite intense and are exhibited quite often, which has a serious impact on the daily life. Further, the recovery from such a state takes a prolonged time and might lead to severe agony. According to a survey, approximately, 25-35 percent of ADHD children suffer from anxiety disorder. To contrast with this, in U.K., anxiety is found in 5-15 percent of children.

Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

Listed below are the general physical, mental, and emotional symptoms of anxiety.

• Worried and fearful
• Tiredness
• Increased heart rate
• Low concentration
• Dizziness
• Trembling
• Diarrhoea
• Dry mouth
• Restlessness
• Irritation
• Muscle pain
• Sweating
• Sleeping and swallowing problems
• Nausea
• Feeling hot or cold
• Headache and stomach upset (in children)
• Sickness

If a child is too young to explain about the feelings, try to look out for the following symptoms.

• Stress on tension (in behavior)
• Tiredness
• Sleeping problems
• Frequent visits to the toilet
• Looking or behaving as worried

Anxiety Disorder Types

There are four major types of anxiety disorders. Listed are those disorder types.

• Panic disorders
• Phobic disorders
• Obsessive-compulsive disorders
• Stress-related disorders

Panic Disorders

Attacks due to panic condition would not give you any intimation in advance. Further, they can be frightening for both, you and your child, to go through. Despite of these horrifying consequences, it is relaxing to know that it can be treated totally. The symptoms of panic disorders are:

• Intense fear
• Discomfort
• Increased heart beat
• Dizziness
• Sweating
• Feeling of shortness in breathing

Phobic Disorders

A phobia refers to an unreasonable fear that makes people stay away from the origin of the fear. This phobia occurs irrespective of a task, condition, animal, or person. Listed are the types of phobic disorders.

• Specific Phobia
  Includes fear cockroaches or water
• Social Phobia
  Includes fear of social interactions
• Agoraphobia
  Includes fear of public spaces and crowd

Obsessive-compulsive Disorder (OCD)

In this type of disorder, frequent obsessions and compulsions lead to grief. Obsessions are constant thoughts or impulses that are impractical and illogical. An example of an obsession could be of a persistent fear that someone will break into your office to rob the money. Compulsions are recurring mental or physical behaviors such as washing hands, verifying something in some manner or order, counting, or speaking words repeatedly in mind.

Now, let’s suppose that a person is having OCD. Then, he/she would constantly have a fear of break-in and not calm down until each window and door of the office has been checked every night in some fashion. Further, if the manner in which the checking is done is not proper, everything would start again.

Even though OCD is a matter of concern for parents, it can be treated totally through medication and behavioral therapies.

Anxiety Disorder Diagnosis

Anxiety disorders can be diagnosed by you, the victim, or by a medical expert. In certain cases, parents, teachers, or a medical expert can clearly make out the symptoms that a child reveals, which are not of exact ADHD. Examples of this clear indication are extreme nervousness or trembling.

Many a times, your child would express his/her feelings during a medical assessment or follow-up visits, for instance, while making an enquiry about the progress in school and family.

However, at times, it might be difficult to detect an anxiety disorder that exists with ADHD, as there are full chances that the symptoms may overlap. Here, the diagnosis of anxiety disorder will take some time while the behavior of your child will be monitored over time.

To sum up, children who have anxiety disorder along with ADHD are more inclined towards a stressful life as compared with those having only ADHD. Not only this, but they are more chances of facing problems at school and in society.

Anxiety Disorder Treatment

The treatment is completely dependent on the type of anxiety disorder a child or an adult is facing. Listed are the treatments that are recommended for anxiety disorders.

• Medication
• Behavioral therapies
• Complementary therapies (for children to relax)
• Counseling

Anxiety along with ADHD Affecting the Treatment

If both anxiety and ADHD walk hand in hand, the reaction of children to ADHD treatment, especially stimulants, might be affected; although not proved.

According to a Canadian research in 1995, children with ADHD and anxiety disorder do not react effectively to the treatment of stimulants. In contrast with this study, according to an American research conducted in 1997 and 1999, there are no problems with the treatment of stimulants and that receiving such an ADHD treatment actually leads to a state of decreased anxiety symptoms.

In short, each human being’s response might vary and so it is necessary to take the advice of a medical expert for the treatment of ADHD and anxiety disorder.

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