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Children’s anxiety: Symptoms and solutions

by | Apr 17, 2021

(Courtesy/Photo)
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(Graphic/Laura Stanton)

These are stressful times, and it’s natural for a child to feel anxious in difficult moments. But it’s not natural for that anxiety to be prolonged and interfere with his or her ability to handle everyday situations or cause him or her to avoid things other children enjoy.

Here is a list, compiled from mental health professionals, of signs of anxiety in children and teens:

(Graphic/Laura Stanton)

Where to get help and information

  1. Mental Health Association of Fauquier/Rappahannock (www.fauquier-mha.org or 540-341-8732): Can help finding a counselor or other local resources.

  2. Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services (540-672-2990, ex. 101): Provides guidance and mental health services for children. Has a 24-hour crisis hotline: Call 540-825-5656 and follow prompt for crisis services.

  3. Children’s Mobile Crisis Hotline (1-800-970-5897): Trained professionals come to the scene of mental health crisis involving children 18 and younger. Available Monday-Friday, noon to 7:30 p.m.

  4. Youth for Tomorrow (703-659-9900): Nonprofit with an office in Warrenton that provides outpatientcounseling for children above 5 years, teens and families.

  5. Child Mind Institute (www.childmind.org):Website with extensive information and guidance on children’s mental health.

  6. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/index.html): Government website with information about children’s mental health.

Also in this special report:

Can kids bounce back? 

Voices: One student looks back on a COVID year

How schools are catching up with students in need

“COVID-19’s Hidden Toll” is a recurring series produced jointly by four organizations: Foothills Forum and the Piedmont Journalism Foundation, two independent, nonprofit civic news organizations; and Rappahannock Media and Piedmont Media, two local media companies. In this series, Foothills Forum provided the research and reporting; the media companies decide when and what to publish in their newspapers and on their websites.

Foothills Forum focuses on Rappahannock County. See foothillsforum.org.

Piedmont Journalism Foundation focuses on Fauquier County. See piedmontjournalism.org.

Community support of the nonprofits makes this and other projects possible. Funding for this series comes in part from the PATH Foundation, which provides grants to improve health and vitality in Fauquier, Rappahannock and Culpeper counties.

Author

  • Randy Rieland

    Randy Rieland was a newspaper reporter and magazine editor for more than 20 years, starting with stints at the Pittsburgh Press and Baltimore Sun, and moving on to become editor of Pittsburgh Magazine and a senior editor at Washingtonian magazine. He made the switch to digital media in 1995 as part of the team that launched Discovery.com, the website for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other Discovery Communications Networks. He ultimately was promoted to senior vice president of Discovery Channel Digital Media. After his return to print journalism, Randy has written for Smithsonian and Johns Hopkins Magazine. He is a longtime, regular contributor to Foothills Forum. His stories, appearing in the Rappahannock News, have won numerous Virginia Press Association awards for excellence. When he’s not reporting, Randy is a volunteer with the National Park Service at Arlington House, above Arlington National Cemetery. He and his wife, Carol Ryder, have owned a house off Tiger Valley Road since 2005. Reach Randy at [email protected]

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By Randy Rieland

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Randy Rieland was a newspaper reporter and magazine editor for more than 20 years, starting with stints at the Pittsburgh Press and Baltimore Sun, and moving on to become editor of Pittsburgh Magazine and a senior editor at Washingtonian magazine. He made the switch to digital media in 1995 as part of the team that launched Discovery.com, the website for the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and other Discovery Communications Networks. He ultimately was promoted to senior vice president of Discovery Channel Digital Media. After his return to print journalism, Randy has written for Smithsonian and Johns Hopkins Magazine. He is a longtime, regular contributor to Foothills Forum. His stories, appearing in the Rappahannock News, have won numerous Virginia Press Association awards for excellence. When he’s not reporting, Randy is a volunteer with the National Park Service at Arlington House, above Arlington National Cemetery. He and his wife, Carol Ryder, have owned a house off Tiger Valley Road since 2005. Reach Randy at [email protected]