Navigating Anxiety
A Game Plan for Parents of Teens
Understanding anxiety in teenagers can be challenging, given the complexities of their developing brains and emotions. Anxiety, essentially, is a misplaced survival mode. Unlike the fight-or-flight response triggered by immediate danger, anxiety occurs when the brain perceives a threat that isn’t truly life-threatening. Identifying and managing anxiety in your teenager involves a thoughtful approach.
Defining Anxiety
Anxiety manifests through various symptoms such as sweaty palms, a racing heart, diarrhea, nausea, irritability, restlessness, and hyper-vigilance. Panic attacks, a severe form of anxiety, can make the individual feel overwhelmed, sick, claustrophobic, and desperate to escape. Recognizing these signs and distinguishing them as related to anxiety or from another source is the first step for both parents and teenagers.
Understanding Triggers
Identifying triggers is another step in managing anxiety. Triggers are situations or thoughts that precede the onset of anxiety. Stress about uncertainties, fear of failure, insecurity, spiritual angst, guilt, or undisclosed drug use can all be potential triggers. Understanding these triggers helps parents and teens address the root causes of anxiety.
Getting to Know Your Teen Again
Teenagers are navigating a period of significant change – physically, hormonally, and emotionally. Encourage them to explore their own identity, perhaps through journaling, therapy, group activities, or mentoring communities. Physical activity is beneficial, helping them understand their emotional limits.
When it comes to your teen’s physical health, do a general assessment. Start with the basics – sleep, exercise, and diet are the cornerstones of mental health. Ensure your teen is consuming nutritious meals regularly, maintaining a healthy calorie intake, engaging in 15 minutes of heart-rate-elevating activity daily, and getting 8-10 hours of sleep each night. While it’s rare for a teenager to meet all these criteria, focus on making improvements where possible. Consider factors like illness, excessive coffee consumption, menstrual cycle phases, and birth control usage, as these can contribute to feelings of anxiety. Understanding the impact of hormones and chemicals on their body is crucial.
Sometimes, anxiety leads to self-medication through behaviors like drinking, smoking marijuana, overeating, or shopping excessively. Look for these patterns and understand that they might stem from attempts to escape emotional discomfort. Developing distress tolerance muscles and addressing triggers will lesson the urges for substance use.
Exploring Treatment Options
Medication is a viable option, though it comes with potential side effects. If physical health and self-care efforts don’t alleviate anxiety, medication can be considered. In treating anxiety, it is best to start with therapy and then couple therapy with medication.
Counseling for Anxiety
Enrolling your teenager in counseling serves two essential purposes:
1. Creating a safe space for them to open up to a trustworthy adult.
2. Equipping them with coping skills.
Involving an unbiased adult can be intimidating but beneficial. Because they lack pre-existing knowledge of your family dynamics, a counselor can identify blind spots and bring unspoken issues to light for the betterment of everyone involved. Finding a counselor your teenager connects with is very important. The primary goal is to empower your teen with the tools to manage anxiety effectively.
Managing anxiety involves a combination of physical, mental and emotional changes. A therapist may encourage mindfulness techniques, muscle relaxation meditations, and deep breathing. Regular exercise, a healthy diet, and maintaining a consistent schedule contribute to improved mood. They might also receive guidance about recognizing thinking patterns and help them create affirming mantras to counteract negative thoughts. There are endless creative ways for therapists to engage with your teen and create a personalized approach that will help them thrive.
Fostering Hope
Remind your teenager, and yourself, that it’s okay to face challenges. Brains are resilient, counseling is a valuable resource, and as parents, you possess the strength to guide your teens through difficult moments. Embrace the journey, acknowledging the good, the bad, and the ugly. When things get tough, remember you can handle the complexities of anxiety.
- Rosenbaum Asarnow J, Rozenman M, Carlson G. Medication and cognitive behavioral therapy for pediatric anxiety disorders: no need for anxiety in treating anxiety. JAMA Pediatr. 2017;171(11):1038-9. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2017.3017
- American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry and the American Psychiatric Association. Anxiety Disorders: Parents’ Medication Guide.
- American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. Your adolescent – anxiety and avoidant disorders.
- Lijster JM, Dierckx B, Utens EM, et al. The age of onset of anxiety disorders. Can J Psychiatry. 2017;62(4):237-246. doi:10.1177/0706743716640757
- Pincus DB, Elkins M, Hardway CL. Intensive treatments for adolescents with panic disorder and agoraphobia: Helping youth move beyond avoidance. Psychopathol Rev. 2014;1(1):189-194. doi:10.5127/pr.033313
- Anxiety and Depression Association of America. Understand the Facts: Symptoms.
- Aslam N. Management of panic anxiety with agoraphobia by using cognitive behavior therapy. Indian J Psychol Med. 2012;34(1):79–81. doi:10.4103/0253-7176.96166
