Anxiety is real, but labelling too many children can be damaging

There is lots of evidence that these issues are very serious for some children - with a rise in suicides and record high numbers of referrals to child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). We in no way want to underplay this. However, mental health problems and anxiety have become common ways for children to define themselves. There is potential though, that this generation of children have simply been deprived of hope, optimism and a language/narrative of their lives that values what they can do rather than focusing on what they can’t. 

In addition, so many parents are struggling with real anxiety about how to keep a roof over their heads and feed their families. There is a risk this gets projected onto children and combines to make for risk of children carrying the weight of worry, being labelled and defining and believing that they have a personality trait of an anxiety that is permanent.