I don't suffer from anxiety much at all now, but when I think back to my childhood, I can't remember a time when I wasn't anxious or worried about something.
Trying new things was anathema to me.
I was always scared stiff I'd make a mess of whatever it was.
I attended boarding schools in England and strangely enough, I fitted in well, made friends and although I was always anxious, I thought that everyone was the same.
I automatically kept my anxiety in check.
It would have done me no good whatsoever to have complained about it, but as I say, I thought it was normal.
I thought it was normal right through adulthood, although I always envied the people who could go out, join sports clubs, start new businesses, meet new people, without apparently any nervousness at all.
I simply couldn't do it.
I've explained in former articles the pointlessness of going to doctors or seeking some sort of help.
It's really been only in the last twenty years that light has been shed in the dark corners of mental distress, and I thank God that children now at least have a chance of being listened to.
Some poor kid with social anxiety, who dreads meeting new people or mixing with strangers, does at least stand a chance of treatment.
This is always supposing that his or her parents are sensible and listen sympathetically to what the child has to say.
They ought to be on the lookout for any sign of their offspring showing reluctance in social circumstances.
The awful fear is that usually the father says some fool thing like; "Oh, he/she will grow out of it.
" No, my friend, they won't 'grow out of it.
' Left untreated, believe me, it'll follow them into adulthood and can only become worse.
Going hand in hand with social anxiety is selective mutism.
As far as anxiety is concerned, the parents ought to be the first to spot it, but with mutism this isn't necessarily the case.
The child can act perfectly normally at home.
They can be their usual chatty selves either there, or somewhere they feel comfortable.
Often it's the teacher(s) who tells the parents that the child simply won't talk at all at school.
Those who suffer selective mutism may well just stand there, motionless, twirling or chewing their hair and avoiding eye contact.
At the first opportunity, they'll withdraw into a corner where they can try to escape from everyone else.
This behaviour manifests itself when the child is between 4 and 8 years of age, and/or when they start school.
The parents are often very surprised to hear of this behaviour, because of the child's normality at home.
However, as soon as this is detected, and in just the same way as anxiety, they should be taken to a qualified psychiatrist for professional help.
The worst thing any parent can do is to wait and hope that it's 'just a phase.
'