How to Recognize Anxiety in Teens?
Anxiety in teens often develops out of the sight of friends and family members, until symptoms become too obvious to ignore. When anxiety symptoms in teens persist and begin to influence their quality of life, they may indicate an anxiety disorder.
Teenagers may feel anxious but not know how to label it; they may need assistance from adults to understand why they feel the way they do. Generally, anxiety is treatable with a therapist who can teach communication and coping skills.
Signs that your teen is stressed out:
Negative Changes in Behavior
Behavior problems result when a teen is stressed out. You may see increased behavior problems ranging from skipping school to talking back. Don’t excuse negative behavior just because it’s stress-related, however.
Changes to academic performance
Many teens and adolescents struggle academically, but sudden changes to performance may be a clear sign that your child is feeling overwhelmed, or that other anxiety symptoms (such as sleep problems) are having an impact. You may notice that they are missing to do homework or missing deadlines, procrastinating more often or simply losing interest.
Negative Words
You’ll often hear stressed-out teens use a lot of negative words. For example, a teen may say things like, “No one likes me,” or “Nothing ever seems to go right.” Although it’s normal for teens to make these comments sometimes, if you’re hearing them too often, it’s likely a sign of stress.
Changes in sleep and appetite:
Fluctuations in sleep patterns are normal, but when the changes are significant — sleeping a lot less or a lot more — it could be cause for concern.
Sleeping in late, or staying up late at night and being tired during the next school day, is pretty common for teenagers, so such sudden changes would need to be accompanied by some of these other shifts in behavior I’m listing.
Social problems
Anxiety disorders can have an immense impact on how a teenager feels when interacting with friends and family members. Relationships may suffer and you may notice that your teenager has less interest in their social life all of a sudden.
How To Find Help For Your Teenager
Communicate
Talking to a struggling adolescent about their emotional or behavioral issues may be challenging at first, especially if they are exhibiting confrontational behavior or are unreceptive to you. The more you encourage your teenager to open up about how they are feeling , the easier it will be to earn their trust and support them to overcome their difficulties.
Enhancing Self-Care
Healthy habits, exercises, and engagements that enhance feelings of wellbeing are also a great help with the treatment of anxiety disorder. These habits and exercises may include healthy nutrition, good sleep patterns, meditation, yoga, and effective communication with friends and family.
Seek a professional help
It’s normal to feel scared and maybe even a little helpless when you can see that your child is struggling. But there’s a lot you can do as a parent to help your kids manage and understand what’s going on.
A mental health professional can be a safe person for a young person to confide in. They can also teach skills to manage and reduce anxiety
