by Ashleigh Beason, LPCA
Anxiety is the leading mental health issue among teens. At least 1 in 3 teenagers between the ages of 13-18 will struggle with anxiety at some point during these teenage years. Not only are teenagers today under a lot more pressure, they are also growing up in an environment where schools have lockdowns, wars cross borders, and no one knows when or where the next environmental disaster will strike. They have pressures to succeed, social media, homework on top of school, sports, and work; our teens are juggling a lot. Anxiety has increased 20% over the last several years and is this why. Many adults cannot even handle what teens are trying to manage these days.
Anxiety is common for everyone from time to time. Some anxiety might be mild where one feels a sense of nervousness and uneasiness, and this is a normal reaction to stress. Some anxiety is more intense where one will feel fear, dread, or a sense of panic.
Teens are experiencing many changes from hormones to normal teenage drama so sometimes an anxiety disorder can be difficult to notice. There are several changes to notice in teens dealing with anxiety including:
Emotional changes: They might be on edge, feel irritable, have a hard time concentrating, or display restlessness and unexplained outbursts.
Social Changes: They may avoid people they used to hang out with, isolate, increase time alone.
Physical Changes: They may display frequent headaches, GI problems, fatigue, changes in eating habits, complaints of not feeling well without obvious reason, and changes in sleep patterns.
All these changes could be signs of anxiety and perhaps even panic attacks. Panic attacks look like chest pain, rapid heartbeat, sweating, upset stomach, dizziness, difficulty breathing, and numbness.
So with all of these changes, teenage pressures, and a waning sense of safety, it’s not hard to notice how overwhelming and anxiety provoking this world can be, but what can you as parents do?
1. Acknowledge your teen’s fear – don’t dismiss or ignore it. Your teen needs to know you take his or her fears seriously and you have full confidence in the ability to overcome.
2. Try to maintain a calm demeanor in front of your teen because if you have anxiety it can rub off on your teen.
3. Focus on the basics. Teens are notorious for going to sleep late, eating junk food, and not getting enough exercise. Make sure your teen is getting enough sleep, eating right, and exercising.
4. Encourage them to decrease social media. Social media contributes largely to anxiety today. Research has shown that it decreases self-esteem because it’s hard not to compare their social life and connections on social media.
5. Encourage them to write a gratitude list. Research has shown that giving thanks causes less stress, improves the quality of sleep, and builds emotional awareness.
6. Find something that they enjoy doing and utilize when stressed. Anxiety has been associated with stress and we know teens are stressed for a lot of different reasons. It is important when teens get stressed to take a break and do something they enjoy doing whether taking a walk, cooking, or exercising. Doing this will improve productivity and lower frustrations.
7. Have them take care of something–whether that be plants, chickens, fish, or a pet–the responsibility of caring for and protecting something can boost their confidence. This can motivate your teen to want to get out of bed and show up. It can give them a sense of purpose.
8. Remind them with truth. Anxiety will fill their heads with lies so reminding them of the simple truths of who they are can help.
Although everyone will experience anxiety, at some point in time when it occurs too often, is too strong, is out of proportion to the present situation, and effects the persons daily life, it might be time to get help. Parents are their teen’s biggest encouragers when it comes to taking on new challenges, coping with life, and developing resiliency when faced with adversity.
Hurley, Kate. (2019). 6 Hidden Signs of Teen Anxiety. Psycom. https://www.psycom.net/hidden-signs-teen anxiety
McCarthy, Claire. (2019). Anxiety in Teens is Rising: What’s going on? HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org
Ashleigh Beason, LPCA
