Signs Your Teen May Be Struggling With Anxiety

In my fifteen years of school experience, something I have frequently heard from parents and teens alike is that when kids experience anxiety in their teen years, it can be very hard for them to feel heard and understood, since they're often struggling to understand what anxiety looks like, themselves.

Common Signs of Anxiety in Teens

• Irritability or mood swings

• Avoiding school or social situations

• Physical complaints (headaches, stomach aches)

• Perfectionism or intense self-criticism

• Trouble sleeping

It can feel overwhelming when we are trying to support teens with anxiety, especially when the conversation doesn't go according to plan. Teens often struggle to talk about their experiences of anxiety.

Why Teens Don’t Always Talk About It

• Fear of being misunderstood

• Worry about being a burden

• Difficulty identifying emotions

If this feels like it can be overwhelming - you're right. It really can be. However, if you're looking for some ideas on how to best support, you've already taken a critical first step in helping your teen learn more about different ways that they can confront anxiety.

How Parents Can Help

• Validate feelings without fixing - this can be tricky, but it's important to remember to just listen without giving advice or trying to provide a lot of solutions.

• Normalize mental health support - How you talk about therapy and support at home matters. Let your teen know that we all need additional support at different times in our lives.

• Encourage, not force, conversation - This can be exceptionally hard when you are worried about your child. But remember, teens are very sensitive to forced topics, so try not to take too great of expectations into any one conversation about their anxiety. If your child feels pressured around this conversation, a less genuine interaction almost always results.

Another thing that is important to remember is that anxiety is a common aspect of life that we all have to deal with from time to time. As a parent, however, you know your child best, and when it looks like anxiety is beginning to interfere with your teen's everyday life, it might be a good time to think about therapeutic intervention.

When Therapy Can Help

Therapy gives teens a safe, neutral space to:

• Learn coping skills

• Build emotional awareness

• Reduce anxiety symptoms

Teletherapy can be an especially effective tool for teens who feel more comfortable at home. In addition, giving your teen some autonomy around the schedule and location of sessions can also go a long way in getting them to feel more excited and encouraged about starting therapy.