What is anxiety?
Anxiety is defined by feelings of worry, nervousness, or physical unease. Some anxiety is normal, expected, developmentally appropriate, and contributes to optimal performance. However, when anxiety becomes excessive and debilitating, an anxiety disorder may develop.
Anxiety disorders are characterized by high levels of distress, impairment and dysfunction in daily living. Often, people with anxiety struggle with intolerance of uncertainty, engage in avoidance behaviour and seek excessive amounts of reassurance from family and friends.
Types of anxiety
Anxiety often shows up in different ways, especially for kids with ADHD. It might look like:
- constant worry about everyday things, like school or health concerns (generalized anxiety)
- feeling extremely nervous in social situations (social anxiety)
- struggling with goodbyes and transitions (separation anxiety)
- intense fears of specific things, like needles, dogs, or thunderstorms (phobias)
- sudden waves of panic that seem to come out of nowhere
Diagnosing anxiety
To diagnose and fully understand how anxiety is affecting your child, teen, or young adult, a combination of age-appropriate clinical tools should be used. This typically includes caregiver and/or self-report questionnaires, clinical interviews, and behavioural observations.
For younger children, the assessment may involve play-based tasks and caregiver input, while adolescents and young adults may engage in more reflective discussions and self-report measures.
Anxiety tests
Self-administered anxiety tests are widely available. They are helpful for identifying and assessing the severity of anxiety symptoms, but they should be used as a screening tool to decide if further evaluation by a healthcare professional is needed.
Anxiety treatment and support
At Red Oak, we support kids and teens experiencing anxiety with warmth, compassion, and evidence-based care. We provide age-appropriate services:
- Eight and under support is typically provided by our occupational therapists
- Over eight support is typically provided by our psychologists
Our team helps children and teens build coping skills and strategies to strengthen mental health hygiene, including mindfulness, grounding exercises, and self-compassion practices. We also consider how anxiety shows up across settings—at home, school, and in social situations—and its impact on daily functioning such as sleep, focus, and emotional regulation.
Treatment plans are tailored to each child’s needs and often include evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).
Learn more about psychology or occupational therapy at Red Oak
If your child is experiencing anxiety that inteferes with their daily life, we can provide valuable support and strategies.
Book with a qualified, compassionate professional:
Anxiety and ADHD
Many kids and teens with ADHD also experience anxiety. Anxiety can make it harder to focus, manage emotions, and navigate social or academic settings.
In children with ADHD, anxiety can be harder to recognize; it may show up as irritability, trouble focusing, or emotional outbursts. Noticing these patterns helps us better understand what your child is experiencing and how to support them
