4 Things You Need to Know About Adolescent Anxiety

Anxiety is like fire: it can keep us safe and warm, or completely devastate our property and our lives. It’s good to be a little anxious at times for protection and motivation. When walking down a deserted street at night, anxiety keeps us on alert and ready to fight or run should a dangerous situation arise.  It can also help by giving us the push we need to stay on track to get a paper completed or study for a test.

When anxiety becomes the norm instead of the exception, it stops being helpful and can cause serious pain and problems, especially for adolescents.  Without adequate coping skills, walking into a classroom or being with a group of people they don’t know can become crisis situations. The more they experience these scary events, the more they want to avoid similar situations, and the more anxiety becomes a chronic condition.

Here are 4 things parents and teachers should know about adolescent anxiety.

1. Anxiety includes Emotional Fear, Physical Symptoms, and Negative Thoughts

It is often difficult to tell, but the negative thoughts such as, “No one will like me,” or “Everyone is going to think I’m stupid” are often automatic and usually come first. These thoughts are then followed by physical symptoms such as a stomach ache, diarrhea, or shaking and shallow breathing and the intense fear.  Learning how to shift both their thinking (“This will feel awkward, but I’ll be okay”) and physical symptoms (take slow, deep breaths), will help young people learn to cope with these stressful events and decrease the fear. Over time, teens can gain confidence that they can handle uncomfortable feelings instead of avoiding them.

2. Dealing with Anxiety Requires Problem Solving Skills

Life is full of uncertainties and gray areas. Parents of very young children help them navigate through these situations. However, adolescents are often out in the world without adult support, and must be equipped with problem solving skills, so they may tolerate uncertainty instead of avoiding it. Avoidance only makes things worse, as it builds on itself and gives anxiety more power.

3. The Adolescent Mind is More Sensitive to Environmental Stress 

The adolescent mind is a jumble of chemical changes that can make any situation seem like time spent in a fun house. These hormonal changes make adolescence a particularly challenging time to cope with anxiety.  

As you may remember, everything feels bigger and more intense as a teenager.  Adults learn to handle the daily ups and downs through experience and the perspective gained over time. Hormones also settle down making us less reactive.  

4. Anxiety is a Vicious Cycle

When young people are anxious, it’s easy for the adults around them to become anxious as a response. In an attempt to help, parents and teachers can take over, leading to being more controlling and inflexible. As adults, it’s important we manage our own anxiety around our kids and students, so we can support their emotional regulation and manage the overall situation much more effectively.

If you or a loved one is struggling with anxiety, therapy can help. If you’re interested in exploring treatment, please contact me today for a free consultation session.