THERE has been a 55% rise in the number of counselling sessions with Welsh children suffering from anxiety over the last two years according to new figures from the NSPCC.

In over 3,000 counselling sessions young people talked about having panic attacks which made them feel trapped, faint and left them struggling to breathe.

Young people have also experienced challenges at home in getting help, with some having their anxiety dismissed by parents as an overreaction or a passing phase.

In some counselling sessions young people are able to identify triggers for their anxiety such as starting a new school, moving to a new area or upcoming exams; but many don’t think there is any reason for their feelings.

One 16-year-old girl said to counsellors, ‘Recently I’ve been feeling anxious and the smallest things make me feel scared. I don’t understand because nothing has happened to trigger it. I’ve just been feeling worse and worse lately. It’s got to the point where I’ve felt so overwhelmed that I just want to run away from it all.’

In some cases, young people turned to self-harm as a means to cope with their anxious feelings, while others told counsellors they experienced other mental and emotional health problems, such as loneliness and depression.

The NSPCC has published advice for parents to help manage their children’s anxiety:

Listen carefully to your child’s fears and worries

Stay calm and offer reassurance and comfort when they become anxious

Find ways to help them relax, such as breathing exercises which is also a good way to control panic attacks

Des Mannion, head of NSPCC Cymru/Wales, said, ‘Anxiety is a growing problem in young people’s lives today, and it is not going away. We all need to help children and teenagers find ways to cope with their anxious feelings and not dismiss them as an overreaction.’