GENERALISED ANXIETY DISORDER (GAD)-Dr Rupa TalukdarIn recent past with small day’s gap I got chances meeting four or five children of age group 6-16 years old: they are overly sensitive to their environment, cannot even respond to the words of others normally; very cute in looking but indifferent in attitudes. As they enter my chamber they become extremely conscious about others present there. They behave not identically but in the eyes of psychologist they are similar in signs and symptoms. Before going into detail of the signs and symptoms I take interest to analyze their pattern of grooming and parenting style of their parents. I think the behavior of parents is very important as it helps a child to groom naturally if the parenting style is assertive. I find a common behavior in the parents of above mentioned children.

They are from either middle class or upper middle class family background

Only one child Parents expect their child to be good as per expectation

in subject which they teach/offer Over protective/over caring/over possessive nature of

parents Control their child in every aspect of life: child has no

freedom Overly sensitive parents, at least one of them Parent who takes the care of child is extremely anxiety

prone and insecure in nature Parent who takes the care of child has trust problem and

has tendency to dominate child Always criticize child, no mercy at any mistake done by

child, maintains a strict schedule in organizing child’s daily work

They allow child to enjoy life not as child’s enthusiasm, it is their decision and if they agree they can continue otherwise don’t allow child to be with the likeness.

Most problematic is that they cannot understand how it spoils child’s emotion, as child grows old s/he becomes (within 6-7 years old) Overly sensitive with stiff muscle appearance Cannot take failure easily Always overly conscious of their living environment,

cannot tolerate any cue irrespective of its nature( negative/positive)

Loss of attention, slow in understanding, increase of restlessness, deteriorating his/her standard of studies in school

No skill in taking decision, develops repeated thought process, even not willing to initiate conversation

Feelings of extreme insecurity, fumble in responding, only secure being at home, loss of skill of interpersonal communication

Becoming highly defencive, every time find fault in system and others, as they grow this blame proneness behavior takes the place of normal behavior

All time watching others and their reactions about themselves, it stop them behaving spontaneously and ultimate they prefers staying at home rejecting whole out world

The children suffering from GAD has no particular issues, in general they suffer from extreme anxiety. Their tolerance level almost reduces to zero. ‘Mind full’ brings anxiety but ‘mindful’ exercises on feeling of happiness that helps human being to be free of anxiety.How to behave with them (start from home):

First work is to allow them behaving normally without any hesitation. Instead of criticizing them parents should allow to react as they think and make them understand after their reaction in a friendly gesture

Parents of GAD children in most cases are anxiety prone, so make it a habit to visit/watch always places/movie that will help to stay in positive mood: Art Museum, Science Museum, attend Science Workshops

Allow children practising comedy, learning musical instruments, colourful drawing-it soothes them for living a entirely positive life

Keep children away of visiting general museum as it may bring anxiety and the its vibes may not be suitable for them till 8-10 years

Practising regular drawing with colour will keep them colourful Children with GAD suffer from general muscle tightness, so they need relaxation and meditation on a regular basis:

so Progressive Muscle Relaxation is highly helpful for them-meditation is nothing but being concentrated or focus: it is really essential and its approaches may be of different types, with the child suitability parents may change its process time to time for overcoming the boredom of following same routine

Breathing practice: it helps to enter oxygen into the body and that creates a freshness in mind and remove fatigue Mindfulness training for parents and child both: If the child has anxiety problem mindfulness practice needs to be

followed by both child and also parents, specially mother.

Now we should have good idea of MINDFULNESS TRAINING:

What will be the MINDFUILNESS TRAINING that depends on the lifestyle of individuals: apparently the lifestyle of Indian parents and children are same, but no, there are some sorts of differences at individual level. So here I introduce some instances of how it can be, it is you to find situation from your way of living.

GAD child is always pre-occupied so it should begin with breathing exercise, parents will initiate it and child will follow them: more oxygen means more energy, if child and parents start together, it will bring happy moments in life and child enjoys togetherness, that will reduce fatigue and brings freshness

Parents needs to try not to be specific and too much organized in their daily life, GAD child is always anxiety prone, so allow them to do their job on their own style, it may be not in order like their parents, but executing a job is here priority instead of organizing well

Parents may sit together and initiate a soft story from their past and ask child to finish it from their imagination

Parents will make their children to say story from his life and help to finish it with a positive ending "Kids are sponges. So at the end of the day that's really good modeling for the kids because the kids are also going to

be imperfect in their lifetime.": parents will help them to behave perfectly with openness and compassion, and maybe that's enough at any moment

Help kids to be with purpose, it always keeps them motivated and focus Practise kid to say something or invite kids to participate in storytelling session from imagination: initiation made

by parents Help kid to identify their negative thought by themselves: For these parents/teachers should give them a little more

space and freedom and be with them being non-interfering.

Stress reduction and self-acceptance are two of the major perks of mindfulness, benefits Winston says, are particularly important during the drama and turmoil-filled teen years. "Emotional regulation, learning how to quiet one's mind—those are invaluable skills."In daily life keep kids/adolescents busy with constant analysis of events around them, as for example, say about TOUCH; how does your own skin feels? Explore your own hand. Ask your family members and friends if you can touch their skin and how they feel of your skin. Is there any difference? Is one softer or harder? Cool? Smooth? Or warm? Rough? Silky? In this way not with ‘TOUCH” only, parents can encourage their kids also to think and analyze any other interesting cues: it helps them to enhance their analytical skill and at last they can feel that there are actually no differences in approach of life.

GAD has been found in a family where some members are suffering from anxiety, so if there is any symptom found in child of the same family, parents need to teach themselves how to mend their child’s anxiety: parents’ positive gesture will be a great help in managing the kid’s anxiety.