Teenage Anxiety Disguises Itself in Many Ways – Here’s Five:
1. Anger
Many junior and high school students miss daily interactions with their friends and the normalcy of pre-COVID life. The pressures of semester finals and the holidays are piling up. Kids with anxiety can perceive these situations as dangerous, stressful, or oppositional enough to trigger the fight or flight response, which may leave your child feeling angry. They may also struggle to communicate why.
2. Chandeliering
Chandeliering is a term used when a normally calm person flies off the handle for seemingly no reason. They’ve pushed hurt and anxiety so deep for so long that an otherwise innocent comment or event suddenly sends them straight through the chandelier.
Teenage anxiety is often a result of not feeling like they can discuss their feelings openly. Kids and teenagers must have a safe space with peers who understand their challenges. Online social groups and COMPASS at Zier Institute help kids and teenagers handle anxiety, among many other emotions.
3.Trouble Sleeping
In children and teens, having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep is one of the hallmark characteristics of anxiety. Their minds are working double-time overthinking and worrying. Any parent that has a child with anxiety knows the turmoil of sleepless nights, tears behind their bedroom doors, and worrying about them because they can’t stop worrying about everything else.
4. Overscheduling / Overplanning
Overplanning for events or situations where minimal planning is required or overscheduling their own activities is another sign of teenage anxiety. The root cause of both is trying to take back control through an almost defiant behavior. Avoiding anxious feelings does not make them go away. See #2 – Chandeliering…
#5.Negativity
Adults, kids, and teens with anxiety tend to experience negative thoughts greater than positive ones. In our clinic, we’ve begun to notice an uptick of parents concerned about the negative impact of anxiety. It’s understandable with all the changes and disappointments they’ve faced this year.
It’s important, during these times and always, that we all find ways to not allow anxiety to interfere with our ability to think and communicate happy and positive thoughts. If we can do this, everything is going to be alright.
Zier Institute Helps Teenage Anxiety
Call today to schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation to begin discussing your child’s anxiety or any other concerns you may have. Zier Institute is here to help.