How can I help my child with anxiety?
 
Get educated on anxiety in children.
Children often exhibit and experience anxiety differently than adults. Children who are experiencing anxiety are often fearful and worried. They also may present as irritable and angry. Other symptoms include trouble sleeping, fatigue, stomachaches, and headaches.
Help your child express what itÔÇÖs like to be anxious.
Ask them how anxiety feels in their body.  Ask what they think about when they are anxious?
Help your child identify if anything in particular is making them anxious.
This could be a problem with a family member, bullying, difficulty with school work, or a combination of several things. Address the problems that you identify.
Help your child manage anxiety, not avoid the things that cause it.
When children are removed from a situation that makes them anxious, they feel better in the short term but also learn to avoid the triggers. This makes it harder for them in the long term.
Encourage your child to engage in activities that lower their anxiety
This might include playing outside, calling a friend, or doing art work.
Know when to seek professional help
Seek professional help if self-help strategies are not improving the situation and anxiety is affecting your childÔÇÖs life, for example if they are persistently distressed or avoiding important things, like school. ┬á
How can I help an adult friend or family member with anxiety?
Find out as much as you can about anxiety
Be a good listener
Just be there for your loved one. Listen in a non-judgmental, empathetic way.┬á DonÔÇÖt offer advice or try to solve their problems.
DonÔÇÖt let your loved oneÔÇÖs anxiety become the center of your relationship.
Your loved one is more than their anxiety. DonÔÇÖt let conversations continually turn to anxiety.
DonÔÇÖt enable anxiety
A person with anxiety may avoid doing certain things or going certain places. Remember that supporting a person with anxiety means helping them help themselves. Support does not mean doing things for them or helping them avoid anxiety producing situations. Avoidance only makes anxiety worse in the long run.
DonÔÇÖt give up
It takes time for a person with anxiety to find the right coping skills and to learn to use them appropriately. DonÔÇÖt get frustrated or take it personally.┬á Talk to a friend and take time for yourself.
Know when to encourage your loved one to seek professional help
Encourage your loved one to see a professional if they become unable to perform behaviors necessary for day-to-day living. This might include interacting meaningfully with others, self-care, or holding down a job.    
