Effective Strategies for Helping Your Teen with Anxiety
If you’re a parent, you’ve always wanted what’s best for your children — from the time you and your partner found out you were expecting to now.
Parenting isn’t easy. Just when you feel like you’ve somewhat mastered your children’s sleep schedules or eating habits, they change. They grow up and everything starts at square one again.
You’ve gotten through the baby years and the toddler years. Now, you have a teenager on your hands, and with that comes added challenges that you haven’t had to deal with yet.
Your teen is struggling with anxiety and you want to show up for them in the best way you can. Here are some effective strategies for helping your teen with anxiety.
Be an Active Listener
As a parent, it can be tempting to want to jump in and solve your teen’s challenges for them. This can risk actually make your teen’s anxiety worse, and keep them from developing healthy coping skills. A good approach is to be an active listener.
Let your teen know that you’re there for them. Let them tell you what they need from you or how they’d like you to show up to support them so that you can be there for them however they need it. They may want help with their homework or help studying for a test. Or maybe they just wanted someone to hear them out to help them feel understood and that their feelings are valid.
Encourage Relaxing and Pleasurable Activities
Try to implement relaxing activities that you can do together as a family. Fun and relaxation can help ground oneself to cope with anxiety in the moment. This also helps be a little bit more proactive rather than reactive toward anxiety. These are some activities that you can practice together to help your teen with their anxiety:
- Art therapy
- Deep breathing
- Listening to music
- Meditation
- Writing in a journal
- Yoga or other exercise
Help Your Teen Take Care of Themselves
Modeling and encouraging healthy habits can help your teen feel good from the inside out and make sure that they’re taking care of their overall mental health and wellness.
Help them make smart choices when it comes to their meals by including them in grocery shopping and meal prepping. As much as possible, try to eat meals together as a family. Encourage your teen to fuel their body with foods that are filled with protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates.
Exercise has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety while also increasing one’s overall mood. If your teen is not active in sports or other physical activity, encourage them to get outside and get active. You can sign up for a fitness class together, go for walks around your neighborhood, plan a hike together, or hop on a bicycle or rollerblades. All it takes is thirty minutes each day to start seeing the benefits.
Anxiety can also get in the way of your teen’s sleep. Make sure they are prioritizing sleep each night by encouraging them to stay on a good sleep schedule and routine. You can remind them to follow a nightly routine before bed to help prep their body and mind to start slowing down. Encourage limiting their screen time and social media use before bed and try to model the same for them.
Seek Additional Support
You and your teen aren’t expected to have all of the answers. If your teen is struggling with anxiety, you and they are not alone. A therapist may be the answer you’re looking for. Reach out to us today to learn about the different therapy options for your teen and their anxiety.