Passage Five
Anxiety disorders are common and range from 10 percent to 20 percent of children and teens.Girls are usually more likely than boys to report anxiety symptoms or signs.Anxiety runs in families,due toa combination of inherent and environmental factors. Anxious parents may produce anxious children. When signs are so severe that they interfere with daily life activities,it is time to seek an evaluation from a mental health professional.
Consider the following example of a child who suffered stress disorder.Maria,age 12,was at her physician's office awaiting her yearly checkup.A bullet from a gun battle in the next building tore through the wall and struck her mother in the shoulder,severely wounding her.The mother was rushed to the hospital,but Maria did not know her fate for several days.
Unable or unwilling to speak,visibly anxious and fearful,Maria was evaluated by a child doctor in the same hospital several days later. He recommended a brief treatment and began by taking Maria to her mother's bedside.
Maria,reassured that her mother was alive,nevertheless could not be separated from her.During the following weeks she insisted on sleeping with her mother and would not let her out of her sight.Her mother was equally shocked,and told her daughter she was suffering great pain.
The doctor began a series of play treatment sessions using dolls and play surgical instruments in which Maria performed operations in her doll hospital.She began to get great pleasure in her sessions. Her mother did not recover so quickly,so the doctor recommended individual treatment for her.
The final sessions involved Maria performing the operation on,not a doll,but her mother,who submitted to patient status once again.Playing out the painful theme was extremely beneficial,and with a minimum of interpretation,both were back to their normal functioning by the month's end. Maria did not need any medication-
There are many ways of helping anxious children cope with their fears and worries.A careful evaluation and specific treatment plan can help these children get back on the path of normal development.
52.We learn from the text that anxiety in a family atmosphere is often_（ ）
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