AUSTIN, Texas — With back-to-school kicking off throughout Central Texas, starting a new school year with new teachers and a new environment can bring on anxiety for some kids.
Experts say since the start of the pandemic, there has been an incredible increase in anxiety symptoms, as well as depression symptoms in young children.
Dr. Allison Chase, the clinical director at Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center, said as school is starting up again, there's continued concern about how children and adolescents are going to navigate all their emotions.
"All of those kids that have been suffering from symptoms of anxiety are still dealing with it. So the new environment, the new school year, new teachers, different routine, change of routine from the summer, all of those things are quite significant," said Chase.
There was an increase in anxiety reported in children during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the isolation that occurred by not being able to go to school and socialize with friends.
"Oftentimes anxiety can occur even with their parents or caregivers at home. Kids are going to pick up on all of that. So kids are often like a sponge for a lot of the emotions that are going on in our world. I have no doubt that contributed to it," said Chase.
Experts say parents should keep an eye on any kind of behavior changes in their children. This includes sleep and eating patterns. Changes in behavior during social activities and extracurriculars can also be a key sign of anxiety.
But the good news is it can be treated.
"There are wonderful treatments that can help anxiety. At our centers, Pathlight Mood and Anxiety Center, we use a number of of different treatment strategies using cognitive behavioral therapy work, as well as behavior therapy, which is something called exposure plus response prevention," said Chase.
Chase uses acceptance and commitment therapy and the involvement of family therapy. Among those things, there are therapeutic techniques that help the child or adolescent be able to identify and understand their anxiety.
"They're able to really manage the emotions that are underlying it and that are going on. And that is the key. The key is to be able to navigate how to best manage your emotions and recognize that actually you can be successful in doing it," stated Chase.
It's strongly recommend that parents educate themselves on the different types of social media and increase their awareness of what type of social media their children are using.
"Then they can make a decision about what's appropriate or not, depending on the child's developmental level and how they're functioning," said Chase.
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