Teen Anxiety
Some teenagers suffer from more intense and frequent feelings of anxiety that prevent them from doing things. Here are some suggestions on how to help your teenager cope with and reduce their fears.
How to prevent your teenager from becoming anxious
- Encourage them to talk openly about feelings and how to cope with upsetting events
- Make positive comments about things they do well, especially when they are dealing with stress
- Encourage them to take part in rather than avoid appropriate activities
- Make sure there are plenty of positive interactions with parents and other family members
- Have consistent rules and appropriate discipline so that they feel their world is secure and predictable
What to do if you think your teenager may be anxious
- Watch them closely. Look for changes in your teenager's behaviour patterns. Anxiety is usually associated with your teenager trying to avoid or get away from certain situations
- Talk to your teenager. Ask him/her about schoolwork, friends and relationships, decreases in activities that they used to get excited about and other upcoming social events.
- Listen to them and don't ask too many questions. Listen for comments that indicate they are feeling overwhelmed or negative. Try not to let them avoid you. If you sense that they are trying to distract you, ignore their attempts.
How to help your teenagers manage anxiety
- Encourage your teenager to face their fears. Teenagers may feel ashamed or embarrassed about their anxiety and may not be willing to admit it at first
Three techniques to help reverse physical symptoms of anxiety attacks
- Help them learn how to slow down their breathing when they start to feel anxious. This signals the body that there is a false alarm and other bodily changes will then also begin to slow down
- Encourage them to tell themselves that they can cope. Telling yourself that everything is fine, you are under control, and nothing terrible is going to happen will turn off the body's threat response
- Ask your teenager to write down the thoughts they have when they start to get anxious - they will usually be negative. Now get them to write down positive thoughts that they can use to replace each of the negative ones. For example: I can't cope with this can be turned into I can handle this OK
When teenagers experience long periods of anxiety or when excessive worrying or fears appear to take over their lives, parents need to take action and consider seeking professional help.
Source: Triple P International
