6 Ways You Can Help Your Teen With Anxiety

The teen years can arguably be the toughest to get through. There’s a whole period of transformation happening, going from being a child to becoming a full-blown adult. They’re learning how to deal with multiple responsibilities, including academic work, working jobs, participation in extracurricular activities, and maintaining social ties.

They’re also developing emotional regulation skills in a time where social media can make emotions heightened and matters more volatile. With everything they’re attempting to juggle, it’s no wonder why your teen may be experiencing anxiety.

As a parent, you never want your child to struggle. Anxiety is something that can be managed with the right tools. Here are six ways you can help your teen.

1. Educate Yourself

Before you can jump right in to helping your teen, you need to have a thorough understanding of what anxiety looks like for teens. There may be some who are open and vocal about their experiences, but many bottle their emotions up or show them in less obvious ways.

Common symptoms include:

• Avoidant behaviors

• Isolation

• Sleep troubles

• Mood swings and irritability

• Concentration struggles

• Constant fear and worrying

• Physical symptoms like muscle aches, headaches, stomachaches, or fatigue

2. Promote Healthy Habits

Getting into a healthy routine and practicing healthy habits can have huge mental health benefits. And what better a time to instill these in your children than during their younger years?

Encourage your teen to participate in stress relieving activities and do routine exercise/physical activity. Promote getting good quantity and quality sleep. Stress the importance of maintaining a well-balance diet to ensure proper nutrition to fuel their minds and bodies to tackle anxiety and stressors. You can further drive this point home by modeling healthy habits yourself.

3. Create a Safe Space

At the end of the day, no matter what they’re going through, you’re always going to be their parent. You’re the constant, stable support system in their life. Be sure you’re creating a safe space for them to come home to. When they feel comfortable, they’ll be more willing to open up and discuss what’s going on.

When they do share information with you, be mindful that you’re not projecting anything onto them and you’re truly listening to what they’re saying with a judgment-free ear. Their experience is important and you can change the trajectory of that with this simple step.

4. Encourage Limited Screen Time

By the time they reach the teen years, they’ve likely got a cell phone glued to their hand. Social media is a 24 hour activity. Schoolwork is mainly done on the computer or online. Everyone has a TV on.

This constant exposure to screen time and newsfeeds can fuel anxiety. Encourage your teen to take media and screen breaks. Promote offline or outside activities, attending social gatherings, or even taking up a hobby to fill time.

While this may be more difficult at this age, encourage them to avoid screen time too late into the evening. The blue light in most phone screens can actually disrupt sleep rhythms, interfere with their brains' natural recovery time, and cause anxiety to worsen.

5. Teach Healthy Coping Strategies

Anxiety will manifest differently for different people. Symptoms may differ and coping mechanisms to alleviate symptoms can also be a trial-and-error process.

Give your teen exposure to mindfulness activities, meditation practices, and creative outlets that can be used as healthy options for coping with anxiety. This isn’t something taught in school and which is unfortunate because they’re often some of the most beneficial.

6. Get Them Professional Help

Anxiety is common and can have a wide range of severity. More mild anxiety can often be fixed or managed with lifestyle changes. If anxiety is more severe, additional guidance or services may be required.

If your teen is struggling, or you are having a hard time helping them, consider working with a therapist to take a deeper dive. Contact us to learn more about how teen therapy can help you!