How Social Anxiety Can Affect Child Self Esteem

Recent national surveys find that approximately 5% of children and adolescents in the United States have social anxiety disorder. Because of their symptoms, most experience some type of impairment in school, at home, and in their relationships. Young people with social anxiety may, over time, develop related problems such as loneliness, low child self esteem, and depression.

Loneliness: Children who are socially anxious tend to become isolated as they are unable to develop a normal friendship with other children. Often a socially anxious child will have one or two close friends and rely on them for all social interactions. But if the child’s family relocates and the child changes schools, it becomes necessary to make new friends. This is very difficult for socially anxious children, and it tends to become more difficult as they get older. Whereas parents can and should arrange play dates for their young children, this is not appropriate if the child is already in middle school and beyond. This is when socially anxious children often get left behind.

Child self esteem: When we play and work with others and things go well, we feel good about ourselves, but these opportunities are limited for socially anxious children. Often, these children blame themselves for the things they cannot do. They see other kids making friends and having fun and become angry at themselves for their inability to do so. When this goes on for a long time, low self-esteem can result.

Depression: Researches show that socially anxious children risk developing major depression in later adolescence or early adulthood. Depression in children and adolescents is now recognized as a serious public health concern and suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents in developed countries. Loneliness and low self-esteem, both of which may be outcomes of untreated social anxiety leads to major depression that often results in suicide.

But when do you worry? Is it safe to say that it is not a problem unless neither parents nor teacher is aware of a child's social anxiety? Yes, most of the time that is a reasonable conclusion. Most children with social anxiety will exhibit some of the behaviors described above. Let us say that you are concerned about the extent of your child’s shyness. When should you worry? Below are the following questions you need to ask yourself: Is my child avoiding social situations and spend too much time alone? Does my child express feelings of loneliness or boredom? Is the situation worsening or not improving? Are there others in the family who have (or had) problems with shyness or social anxiety?

If you answered yes to some of these questions, you should probably be thinking about ways to help your child overcome his or her shyness. But, if your child is expressing thoughts of not wanting to live, or of thinking about doing something to hurt or kill himself or herself or others, seek professional help immediately.

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What is the Cause of Low Self Esteem

What exactly do we mean when we use the term self-esteem? In everyday conversation and in the professional literature the term is often thrown about loosely, used interchangeably with self-respect, self-love and a sense of self-worth, and also with the term "self-concept." In fact, though, these terms are not all interchangeable.

The self-concept or self-image is the set of beliefs and images we all have and hold to be true of ourselves. By contrast, our level of self-estPublish Posteem (or self-respect, self-love or self-worth) is the measure of how much we like and approve of our self-concept. Or, as we've heard it put, "self-esteem is the reputation you have with yourself."

A person's self-concept will usually contain a wide variety of images and beliefs. Some of these are simply statements of facts whose accuracy is easily verifiable: I am a man; I am tall; I am black; I am a mother; I am a student; I am a woman; I am a secretary; I am poor. Others refer to less tangible aspects of the self, and their accuracy is not so easy to verify: I am smart; I am ugly; I am incompetent; I am sexy; I am unlovable; I am no good; I am worthless.

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Overcoming low kid self esteem

Many suffer a low kid self esteem level; though most will overcome their self esteem without special help. Even some severely anxious young children get better on their own. We believe that most children grow out of their low self esteem because they learn through repeated experiences that there is little need to be afraid to speak in front of others, that it is to their advantage to express themselves, and that it is no fun being quiet and alone. Through everyday interactions with peers, teachers, and other adults, their anxiety and fears disappears.

But some children do not grow out of it. If there is a family history of anxiety or depression, the risk is increased. The longer children have problems with social anxiety, the less likely it is they will outgrow it. If your child has had a problem since age 6 and now at age 10 is not any better or is worse, there is a greater chance the problem will persist. If your child is already showing signs of depression and low self-esteem, do not wait to see if he or she will outgrow it.

There is no exact way of knowing whether your child will outgrow low self esteem. The best thing you can do is to encourage social behaviors in your child. Help your child become socially confident!

Check out this useful resource:

An E-guide To Positively Influence Your Children In Powerful Ways That Lead To Higher Levels Of Self-esteem, Joy And Confidence. Help Your Children Create A Level Of Personal Responsibility That Allows Them To Succeed In Every Area Of Life.

Click Here NOW!

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