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(Kopie 1)

Fear & Phobia

Fear is basically a normal, sensible reaction to danger and is part of normal child development. However, fears in children and adolescents can also relate to situations or objects that are actually harmless or can assume such proportions that they lead to problems in everyday life and severe suffering. There are various forms of anxiety disorders, among the most common in childhood and adolescence:

 

Social phobia

Social phobia is associated with great fear of social situations, usually due to fear of embarrassment or ridicule. Children often react to social situations with withdrawal, anger, or crying; older children and adolescents often avoid social situations completely as best they can.

 

Generalized anxiety disorder

This disorder is characterized in childhood by various diffuse worries and anxieties, concentration problems, restlessness, sleep disturbances, malaise, abdominal pain and tension, etc.

 

Specific phobias

Phobias are strong fears of specific situations, e.g., darkness or doctor's visits, or objects, e.g., spiders, other animals, needles, blood, etc., that exceed a normal level of fear and are excessively present in everyday life.

 

Panic attacks

Panic attacks can manifest in isolation in the form of panic disorder, in which they usually occur regularly, unpredictably, and for no apparent reason. They can also occur in conjunction with other anxiety disorders and mental illnesses.

 

Agoraphobia

This disorder is characterized by fear of situations in which there is no possibility of escape or in which those affected feel "trapped". This can manifest itself, for example, in fear of closed rooms, people or panic when riding the bus or train.

 

Separation anxiety

This usually manifests itself in the form of extreme fear of separation from parents or caregivers and strong emotional reactions to separation and being alone, accompanied by crying, screaming, stomach aches and problems falling asleep alone.