# Anxiety at an early age?



## wanderingstar (Dec 1, 1999)

Hi everyone. Can anyone remember having anxiety as a very young child? My earliest memory of being anxious is at age 5. It's more of an unease about my situation which led me to be anxious. My mother said 'If only I knew, I could have helped', but of course as children, we don't know what is the norm so we don't know when to express those feelings of anxiety, unhappiness, unease. I think children can be such a mix of complex emotions, not all of them good. I realised this when I worked as a teacher's assistant for the age 4 - 5s. Often children are seen as care free, happy, simplistic in their feelings. This just can't be true. Any input anyone?


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## cookies4marilyn (Jun 30, 2000)

My nickname my parents gave me was "worry wart" but then they were the source of my worry!


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## rlo (Jun 3, 2001)

I think I was born anxious. I was 2 months premature, with some health problems. I spent my first 6 weeks in the hospital in an incubator. Had bowel surgery when I was about 3 yrs. I remember my mother was always watching everything I ate and did. So, I was raised in an anxious household. I feel that I was the "poster child" for anxiety.Take care.Renee'


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## wanderingstar (Dec 1, 1999)

Renee, I was born premature as well - 6 weeks and spent time in an incubator in hospital.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

WS, Yeah I've often wondered if disorders like IBS have something to do with development. Like because some of us (yeah me included) had that fight or flight thing turned on alot of the time while we were little & still developing our nervous systems, that somehow that screwed up the healthy development of our nervous systems. Interesting thought really. BQ


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## eric (Jul 8, 1999)

I was kindof and I am not sure if it was the IBS or me or both, probably both.


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## Clair (Sep 16, 2000)

Its interesting that you mention being born premature - I was born two months premature and only weighed 1lb 1oz - like a little bag of sugar!I had problems all throughout my childhood with chronic bronchitis partly because my mother smoked when pregnant with me and because of the premature birth. I was also extremely underweight until my teenage years.My childhood was also quite stressful - so its no wonder my brain and gut link is all screwy.I keep asking about a brain transplant but no-one seems to want to swap







Clair


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## Nikki (Jul 11, 2000)

This is quite an old post but i'll reply anyway.Iwas premature and was quite a little mircle. I was born premarure, a couple of weeks early by C section because my heart was beating very slowly. The Docs kept checking my mum because she had been ill, so she was hospitalised. She niticed that my heartbeat was slowing down on the moniter but the docs kept saying that i was fine blah blah. My mum got really worried and they said- ooh, hang on, thats not good and out i came! We were in ann incubater being fed by tubes and stuff for a while.Oh, did i mention i come as one of a pair? I was twin number 2!


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