How To Help A Teenager With Anxiety

Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental health disorders for people of all ages, but anxiety in teens may be especially prone to more severe symptoms. Adolescent anxiety is common, and a natural reaction to the rapid changes the body experiences during this stage. This is the time when the body and mind of a child change into that of a young adult. Learning to accept changes in our bodies, hormones, and social spheres means there is more to worry about and cope with. Chemical changes in the brain that influence emotion can make managing symptoms of anxiety even harder.

Though most teens face situations where they experience some anxiety from time to time during their teenage years and adolescence, a disorder should not be taken lightly. Anxiety disorders can be unpleasant, cause fears, and even create other physical or mental health issues when left unaddressed. If you suspect that your child may be dealing with anxiety, there are several steps you can take to make sure they are getting the support and care they need to meet any challenges.

Understanding teenage anxiety

First and foremost, it is important to learn how to identify anxiety in a teenager. While you may think of them as younger children or even older children, they are growing up, possibly faster than you realize. While they ultimately have the most authority on how they’re feeling and what they’re experiencing, a teenager’s anxiety might be difficult for them to identify by themselves. However, note that this is not because they are unable to determine how they are feeling.

In fact, they will likely be paying attention to their emotions and can point out that they are feeling more amped up, anxious, worrisome, scared, or stressed. These heightened emotions might be brand new for them and therefore they might not know yet how to cope with them or respond to them on their own. Spotting anxiety in a teen might look like taking notice of certain changes in behavior, heightened emotional experiences, obsessive compulsive tendencies, or withdrawal. It is more than simply noticing that they have anxious feelings.

While children undergo lots of changes during puberty, which is when they become teenagers, including changes to their personality and habits, some of these changes may not be as healthy. For example, if a teen no longer participates in the activities they once enjoyed and also doesn’t seek out new ones, they might be experiencing some anxiety surrounding social situations or meeting expectations.

Recognizing anxiety and other mental health conditions in teens

You can also look out for teens complaining of stomach aches or headaches, as these can be further physical symptoms. They may have pain in various parts of their body when they feel anxious. Additionally, if a teen experiences intense bouts of crying or emotional episodes that appear like “tantrums,” they may be experiencing panic attacks, which can be a symptom of an anxiety or panic disorder.

Anxiety may also be connected to other mental health conditions. Anxiety and dyslexia are often connected. Persons with dyslexia may experience high levels of anxiety. If you have a teenager with dyslexia, it would be helpful to use resources for dyslexic teens or therapy to help them cope with the stress they are facing. Anxiety can also be associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Many people who experience an obsession may get anxious when their compulsions occur.

How to help a teenager with anxiety

To get a teen struggling with anxiety the support they need, it is necessary to establish a helpful, caring, and safe environment for them. Learning how to support a teen with anxiety can be difficult because some symptoms may cause them to shy away from support, push away others, or remove themselves from family situations. 

It may be challenging to get your anxious children to speak to you when they feel stressed or when they are upset about things that are happening in their life. To help a teen manage their anxiety, it can be helpful to set small goals and allow the teen to work through them. Knowing that you care about how they’re feeling can be beneficial in the long run, but it can feel suffocating for teens to feel that you are trying to closely monitor or limit their behavior.

Even though you care deeply for your child or teen, it may be necessary to take somewhat of a backseat rather than offer them constant advice or reassurance. Even while taking a backseat, however, you can offer them some resources that empower them to find solutions for their anxiety that work for them. Anxiety is a natural feeling and a normal part of life and learning how to manage anxiety and depression is an important life skill.

How therapy might help a teenager with anxiety

Talking to a therapist can be invaluable to treating anxiety in teenagers and help teens talk through challenging situations and develop self-compassion. Therapists can get to know the teen and offer them personalized treatment plans, such as giving a specialized teenage rehabilitation program and utilizing various techniques to cater to the needs that work for them. A therapist may teach your teenager about the importance of breath and breathing. Managing how we breathe is a way to reduce the symptoms of anxiety at the moment.

They can also try to uncover the root cause of the anxiety which could be linked to depression, to help improve their anxieties. A therapist may teach your teenager about the importance of breath and breathing. Managing how we breathe is a way to reduce the symptoms of anxiety in the moment and help the teen learn how to decrease negative symptoms through different coping mechanisms.

You might try talking to a school counselor

In addition to a therapist, a school counselor can be a positive, trustworthy source of support for children and adolescents. Their school counselor knows what is being asked of them at school more intimately than anyone else and they can provide academic strategies to help your teen succeed. They also know about your child’s academic performance and what the social scene may look like at school; they can reinforce that your teen's feelings are important and remind them that they matter.

For some teens with anxiety, a coping method is to avoid things. By avoiding things like schoolwork, social interactions, or other anxiety-causing situations a teen can delay feeling anxiety in the short term but will increase it in the long term. A school counselor can help a student to understand this and to manage the many different driving forces behind a teen's decision-making.

Speak with a trusted friend about your anxious feelings

When in doubt, talking to a trusted friend or family can also be a powerful resource for anxiety. Make sure your teen doesn’t feel alone and has a circle of friends while also making yourself available for any conversations they might want to have with you.

Try books about managing anxiety disorders

There are countless books with effective resources on teen anxiety that you or your teen could read to learn more about anxiety disorders and how to cope with them. Some helpful titles include “The Anxiety Workbook for Teens” and “Helping your Anxious Child.”

Online resources

Never underestimate the power of the web, especially when it comes to mental health resources. This can especially be helpful if your teen struggles with social anxiety disorder or stays away from social activities and opts for the Internet instead. Be sure to consider the following:

Apps for stress and mental health support

Nowadays, almost anything is available on your smartphone. Support for anxiety, when a child or teen feels anxious, is certainly no exception. Apps like Headspace and Calm provide guided relaxation and coping techniques that are easy to work into even the busiest routine. Additionally, some apps can help teens learn different types of physical activity that they can do for a few minutes each day to keep the endorphins flowing.

Try reading health blogs for anxiety disorder support

Online blogs can allow both teens and parents to get information from other people going through similar situations. Forums allow you to ask questions, read others’ questions, and crowdsource answers that might help you.

Psychology websites

Many websites, especially those constructed by major mental health groups like the American Psychiatric Association, provide plenty of information about anxiety during the teen years that could empower you and your teen to seek coping mechanisms that work alongside normal development to improve health. These websites contain articles and resources on a variety of topics.

Moving forward

It can be very tempting to tell a teen that things will get better, that you know exactly what they’re going through, or that they’ll get over this rough patch. Unfortunately, however, statements like these can have the opposite effect in calming down teen anxiety. For example, they may think that you don’t care about what they are going through in their life, and this could cause them to not confide in or talk to you about their problems.

For anyone who experiences feelings of anxiety, emotions can feel extremely intense and difficult to deal with. Hearing that one should “just get over it,” feels hopeless and antithetical. Instead, encourage a teen that their emotions are valid and assure them that while things are difficult, they have the power to work through their emotions and problem-solve in a healthy way.

Teens often feel intensely independent—for the most part, it’s the first time they have the opportunity to gain agency and control over their lives. They aren’t kids anymore. As a result, any interference from parents or other authority figures can feel overwhelming and unwanted, and this is normal child and adolescent development.

Online therapy with BetterHelp

Sometimes seeing a therapist in person is difficult; you or your teen may live in an isolated area, or you might have a hard time finding therapists who take your insurance. Further, your teen may have separation anxiety or feel anxious about meeting someone new. One solution is online therapy. You can connect with a licensed therapist through BetterHelp, an online counseling platform. After matching with someone who specializes in anxiety disorders, you or your teen can begin to receive treatment according to your needs.

The effectiveness of online therapy

Whether you’re the parent of a child with anxiety or need mental health support yourself, online therapy can be helpful. One study assessed the effectiveness of different online interventions for managing mental and behavioral health conditions among children and adolescents. Researchers found that these virtual treatments were efficacious resources for “addressing the mental health needs of youth.” 

Takeaway