Is your kid suffering from “reemergence anxiety”? Here’s how you’ll know

Do you think this might be affecting your child?

Life has changed for all of us since the start of the pandemic, but particualrly if you're a child, all these feelings of anixety and fear can be hard to preocess. Not only have children had to hear constantly about Covid in the news but they've also been removed from school, had events such as communions cancelled, not been allowed to play with friends and not been allowed to visit their grandparents. Needless to say all of these things have a knock on effect and children who have lived through the pandemic are now dealing with 'reemergence anxiety'. So what is reemergence anxiety and how do we look out for it in our own children? Reemergence anxiety is a fear of reentering what was once our normal daily lives post lockdown. Signs of reemergence anxiety will vary depending on your child’s personality, but there are some indicators that your child may be suffering with it. These signs include:

• Separation Anxiety
• Becoming more withdrawn
• Being more nervous than usual
• Being irritable nd throwing temper tantrums
• A noticeable decline in their grades or schoolwork
• Regressive behaviour
• Changes in their eating and sleeping habits

A child with reemergence anxiety may display one or all of these signs but if they are it is important that you speak to them about their concerns and fears. According to Dr. Ilisse Perlmutter;

"After any disaster or traumatic experience, while the wish and hope is for a rapid return to ‘normal,’ the psychological and emotional aftermath greatly exceeds the more defined boundaries of the trauma itself. Children’s reactions may appear immediately… or may not appear for days, weeks, even years. We also need to remember that innumerable children and adolescents lost parents, grandparents and other loved ones during this pandemic. The resulting grief and anxiety can take many forms, and recovery, or moving forward from these losses, is not necessarily correlated with a return to life as it was before."

Our children have gone through a lot during the last couple of years and have had much upheaval to their lives so it is only natural some may be dealing with reemergence anxiety. If you feel like your child may be having mental health issues caused by the pandemic and you're not sure how to help them it's important to seek medical advice from your doctor or a trained mental health professional.