What goes on in the anxious mind ? There's been a lot of talk lately about young people feeling overwhelmed, anxious and confused. So what's the best way of getting these feelings under control? Gwendoline Smith, a clinical psychologist and mental health expert, is especially well versed on dealing with youth anxiety. Her latest book on the topic is called The Book of Knowing. She also works closely with the University of Auckland's Faculty of Education to provide guidance to school counsellors and speaks regularly to schools, teachers and counsellors about youth anxiety.

What goes on in the anxious mind? There's been a lot of talk lately about young people feeling overwhelmed, anxious and confused.

So, what's the best way of getting these feelings under control? Gwendoline Smith, a clinical psychologist and mental health expert, is especially well versed on dealing with youth anxiety. Her latest book on the topic is called The Book of Knowing.

She also works closely with the University of Auckland's Faculty of Education to provide guidance to school counsellors and speaks regularly to schools, teachers and counsellors about youth anxiety.

She chatted with Kathryn Ryan about how to recognise the signs and address anxiety before it takes over.

Smith says that cognitive theory is, on the surface, very simple but has a depth that is "quite phenomenal" and is still applicable in the modern era after being developed by Aaron Beck in the 1960s.

Social media and the internet have their role to play in youth anxiety, but she says it's reductionist to try to pin it on one thing.

"There's so many cultural phenomena that contribute to this and obviously people are talking about it more, more people are presenting, so the figures go up," she says.

However, social phobia - which is now recognised as the third largest mental health problem in the first world - is certainly exacerbated by things like Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.

Smith says social phobia kicks in during late puberty around the mid-teenage years "when the importance of the peer group is paramount."…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details