Anxiety How to Support your Anxious Teen Kaitlin OLeary Family - - PDF document

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Anxiety

How to Support your Anxious Teen

Kaitlin O’Leary Family School Liaison Worker

Mental Health Statistics

• Young people aged 15 to 24 are more likely to experience mental illness and/or substance

use disorders than any other age group.1

• There are higher rates of mood disorders and of generalized anxiety disorder among

females, and higher rates of substance use disorder among males.2

• More than 30% of children and adolescents meet criteria for an anxiety disorder before the

age of 18.3

• 14% of youth (12-19) and 24% of young adults (20-29) described most days as being quite a

bit or extremely stressful.4

Sources:

1)

Statistics Canada (2013). Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health, 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/130918/dq130918a-eng.htm

2)

Ibid.

3)

Greif Green, J., Comer, J.S., Donaldson A.R., Elkins, R.M.. Nadeau, M.S., Reid, G., & Pincus, D.B. (2017) School Functioning and Use of School-Based Accommodations by Treatment-Seeking Anxious Children. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders, 24 (4), 220-232.

4)

Statistics Canada (2009). Canadian Community Health Survey, 2009: Annual [Share Microdata File]. Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada.

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Biggest Concerns at HTA

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Stress Anxiety Depression Drugs and Alcohol Relationships Friendships Self-Esteem Body Image Social Exclusion Bullying

Issues Affecting Students at HTA

Percentage

The Good News

• Anxiety helps people to be on their toes in

dangerous situations.

• Anxiety is considered one of the most

treatable mental health concerns.

• Anxiety doesn’t stay high forever: at some

point, it will always come back down.

• Everyone experiences anxiety!

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Teenage Emotions Per Minute…

Is my child irritable because of anxiety?

Normal Teenage Irritability

• Periodic frustrations with daily stressors
• Occasional moodiness but still has a sense
• f humour
• Sometimes wants to be alone
• Occasionally sarcastic or snappy
• Still appears content and joyful on many
• ccasions

Anxious Irritability

• Appears upset over very small things
• Acts irritable for frequent and long

periods of time

• Easily overwhelmed during social

interactions

• Frequently snaps at others
• Often appears tense and nervous

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Anxious Feelings vs Anxiety Disorder

It may be concerning if your child…

• Is prickly every time you try to interact with them
• Worry occurs more often than not for at least 6 months and is clearly excessive
• Experiences frequent panic attacks, vomiting, and/or muscle tension
• Refuses to do things or go places
• Is rigid, inflexible, and self-critical
• Has difficulty sleeping and tires easily

What do I do if my kid is anxious?

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Common Patterns

• Reassuring and overprotecting
• Identifying your child as anxious or a worrier because it runs in the family
• Giving too much information in order to reassure eg. Running through how

the day will look, letting child know your daily schedule, etc.

• Allowing negative behaviours because of ‘the anxiety’
• Modeling your own anxious behavior
• Pushing too hard and/or becoming angry

Source: Wilson, R. & Lyons, L. (2013). Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents. Deerfield Beach, FL: Health Communications Inc.

Avoidance

• Produces a major feeling of relief, becomes easy to get stuck in this rut
• Flawed beliefs never get tested as untrue
• Avoidance worsens fears by never teaching a person that they actually can

handle the situation they are trying to avoid

• Confronting fears is a better strategy for feeling less afraid

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IT’S NORMAL AND HEALTHY TO FEEL SAD, GUILTY, ANXIOUS, FRUSTRATED, DISAPPOINTED AND ANGRY.

Talk back to anxiety!

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Exposing teens to uncertain situations

Examples of Safety Behaviours:

• Checking over and over whether something is safe
• Engaging in too much distraction or coping mechanisms when confronting a

feared situation (eg. Listening to music, snapping elastic)

• Asking for reassurance
• Staying too close to someone/something considered safe

Example of Gradual Exposure

Source: Schab, L.M. (2008). Anxiety Workbook for Teens. USA: New Harbinger Publications, Inc.

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Increasing Motivation for Change

• How has anxiety gotten in the way of doing things they want to do?
• How will life be more enjoyable once fears have been faced?
• How might you behave differently if you were able to feel less anxious?
• What would be fun to try if you never felt anxious?

Accommodations

Reasonable

• Double time for tests when first

diagnosed with an anxiety disorder

• Smaller room for tests and exams

following diagnosis

• Taking short 5 minute breaks once or

twice during class when anxious feelings arise

Unreasonable

• Unlimited time to complete tests
• Isolation for quizzes, tests and

exams

• Taking three or more breaks or

breaks longer then 5-7 minutes

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To be a good coach

You must be able to:

• Be patient with setbacks or slow progress
• Tolerate seeing your child visibly distressed
• Resist checking in to make sure teen is okay and resist reassuring
• Be optimistic

Know How to Calm Down

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In Summary

• Expect worry to show up and normalize it
• Encourage your child to externalize and talk to their worry
• Support your child to be willing to feel unsure and uncomfortable in stressful

situations

• Help your child gain strategies for calming themselves down

Other Resources

Books:

• Helping Your Anxious Teen by Sheila Achar Josephs
• Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents by Reid Wilson and Lynn Lyons

Website:

• https://www.anxietybc.com/

Apps:

• Breathe2Relax
• Stop, Breathe, & Think
• Mindshift

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Questions?