Anxiety Disorders in Later Life, Essay Example

Thesis statement

Early recognition and treatment of emotional disorders is essential for best developmental outcomes of children.

The term “emotional disorders” is most commonly applied to a range of psychological disorders that tend to affect emotions of a person. Emotional disorders are classified into several groups including psychological, anxiety, depressive, personality, behavioral, and psychiatric disorders.  In general all of these types of emotional disorders are characterized by unstable emotional conditions of a person, common changes of the mood, and low self-esteem.

Specialists agree that among all emotional disorders one of the most dangerous and wide-spread is anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are presented by a range of different abnormal and pathological fears and anxieties. In the USA about 18 percent of all population may suffer from one form or another of anxiety disorders. Calleo and Stanley (2008) have researched that anxiety disorders tend to continue throughout a person’s whole life and it may be quite difficult to treat them. Anxiety disorders may occur in the early childhood or may develop as a result of certain tragic, shocking or stressful events.

The most common and risky form of anxiety disorders is considered to be phobia. In the case of phobias fear and anxiety occur as a result of some specific situations or objects. The study conducted by National Institute of Mental Health (2008) showed that between 8 and 18 percent of all Americans suffer phobias. There are three basic groups of phobias – social phobia, specific phobia and agoraphobia. Social phobias include fears connected with other people or social situations, such as fear of embarrassment and performance anxiety. Specific phobias are connected with fears that are stimulated by a single panic trigger – it may be spiders, snakes, water, flying, etc. Agoraphobia is a generalized fear of leaving home or a small family ‘area’ and of possible panic attacks that may follow (Bourne, 2005).

One of the most important aspects of emotional disorders is that they have profound influence on a person’s whole life. If emotional disorders are not recognized and treated in the childhood there are great chances that a child who has a certain emotional disorder will never be able to learn and obtain emotional and behavioral patters necessary to live in the society. In their research Helgeland, Kjelsberg, and Torgersen (2005) found that there is a direct connection between the personality disorders of adults and adolescent emotional and disruptive behavior disorders. One of the main characteristics of a successful person is one’s ability to live and work effectively and peacefully with other people. In their adulthood kids that suffer from emotional disorders wouldn’t be able to perform such relationships with others. In the case of agoraphobia people simply are too afraid to leave homes and their families; in the case of depressive disorders an individual has such a low self-esteem that is unable to perform any successful actions; in the case of psychiatric disorders one may be too aggressive to communicate with others; and so on.

It has been researched that most often emotional disorders of children and adolescents occur as a result of biology (genes, damage to the central nervous system), environment (stress, violence), or a combination of both. As there are a lot of different types of emotional disorders it is important for teachers and parents to be able to recognize them on time and provide a child with proper treatment. Otherwise the symptoms of one or another disorder will continue to affect person’s whole life and may have very negative effects on developmental outcomes of this person (Helgeland, Kjelsberg, & Torgersen, 2005).

But specialists conclude that a child with symptoms of emotional disorders can be cured with the help of timely and appropriate treatment and support. Teachers and parents must be able to recognize the basic symptoms of emotional disorders. General signal that a child is suffering from an emotional disorder include inability to focus attention on some specific things, social withdrawal, impulsiveness or unduly aggressiveness, etc. The most important thing that parents must keep in mind is that before starting to use any psychotropic medication a thorough examination and diagnosis of a child by mental health professionals must be conducted.

In their article Helgeland, Kjelsberg, and Torgersen (2005) state that untreated emotional disorders of children and adolescents play major roles in their adult lives. These children may face difficulties not only in finding themselves in their lives, but also in following simple patterns of behavior required by the society. Another problem is that symptoms of emotional disorders may be the major cause of person’s aggressiveness and inability to communicate with others which may result in huge problems for the whole community. Thus a conclusion may be drawn that early recognition and treatment of emotional disorders is absolutely necessary to provide a child with proper developmental possibilities and opportunity to succeed in life.

References

Helgeland, M. I., Kjelsberg, E., & Torgersen, S. (2005). Continuities Between Emotional and Disruptive Behavior Disorders in Adolescence and Personality Disorders in Adulthood. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 162(10), 1941-1947.

Calleo, J. & Stanley, M. (2008). Anxiety Disorders in Later Life: Differentiated Diagnosis and Treatment Strategies. Psychiatric Times, 26(8).

Bourne, E. J. (2005). The Anxiety & Phobia Workbook, 4^th ed. New Harbinger Publications.

Phobia. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 12, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/457032/phobia