Anxiety is at a high level among children in the UK with a recent survey showing that almost 66% of children aged 10 and 11 worry ‘all the time’.
The mental-health charity Place2Be, responsible for the survey of 700 children, said concerns about family and friends and fear of failing at school are the top causes of anxiety.
Place2Be surveyed children in the top primary year at 20 schools across England, Scotland and Wales at the end of 2016 with the entire year group in each school took part. The survey found that the top concerns were family well-being (54%), well-being of friends (48%) and school work (41%).
In addition to this, 405 of the children said their worries got in the way of school work and almost 30% said that once they started worrying they could not stop while 21% said they did not know what to do when worried.
The charity’s chief executive, Catherine Roche, said primary school was often characterised as innocent and happy.
“But in reality we know that young children can worry about a lot of things, whether it’s something going on at home, with their friends, or even about bad things happening in the world. It’s perfectly normal to worry from time to time, but if these worries become more serious or persistent, it’s important that children know where they can turn for help.
“Schools and families play a crucial role in ensuring that children learn to look out for each other and know how to get help if they need it.”
Counselling was recommended by Place2Be and clinical hypnotherapy allows children to voice their concerns in confidence and be treated in a non-invasive manner.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy has more than 1,800 fully qualified therapists across the UK on its register. Many of these are experienced in dealing with children and continue to learn and improve the treatment they can offer.
“The NCH therapists who attended our annual conference in 2016, for instance, had an opportunity to learn from the insight and advice of Lynda Hudson – an expert in hypnotherapy for children,” says the NCH.
The national body adds that its register ensures all members are of the highest standard and have received the right training.
The Place2Be survey also revealed that there was a gender divide, with 36% of girls worrying about being bullied, compared with 22% of boys and more girls (28%) worried about their looks than boys (18%). But boys (24%) were more likely to worry about being angry than girls (16%).
Children said the most common ‘coping strategies’ were talking to family members (72%) or to friends (65%), while 65% of boys calmed themselves by playing computer games compared with 39% of girls.
More than 80% of the children surveyed said the best way for adults to help was to listen sympathetically and pupils said it was important to be kind to anxious classmates.
If you are concerned about your child’s anxiety, contact an NCH-registered therapist by clicking here. It can make a massive change to their life.
NCH therapists experience great success in dealing with anxiety and stress issues and, as the body points out, we live in a society where great demands and responsibilities are placed on us. Today, about one in seven people are suffering from stress or anxiety at any one time in the UK.
These anxiety issues can often, unwittingly, be picked up by children and affect the way they live their lives, too.