Hello and welcome back to another episode of Therapist Pages! I'm your host Michelle Landeros LMFT, coming to you from sunny San Diego!! Today is Sunday, September 11th. This month of September but specifically today we honor and remember all the heroes that lost and sacrificed their lives in the 9/11 tragedy. They can be sure they will never be forgotten.
Today, I'd like to cover a topic in getting teens professional mental health help when it appears and/or express feelings anxiousness. This mental health podcast will help those who suspect there are possibilities of anxious characteristics or someone who may be clinically diagnosed with anxiety and be able to get them the services that they need.
There has been a vast of evidence in the number of teenagers diagnosed with anxiety and after the Pandemic those numbers have grown. According to the National Institute of Health 1 in 3 teenagers ages 13 to 18 years of age will experience an anxiety disorders.
Thinking back when the Pandemic started there were multiple challenges teenagers had to go through during that time frame. The mandates had limited teenagers access to gather with friends, they had to stop outside activities, and transition to long distance learning. All these changes lead many teenagers to experience isolation from their friends, activities, and education. Since the mandates were lifted many teenagers after the Pandemic were resilient but other teenagers who were anxious before the Pandemic experienced worse symptoms.
Teenagers usually feel worried about themselves, their performance in school or sports, or how they are perceived by others, and the changes that occur in their body.
Some parents may have been aware of it, but knew their child functioned well despite the distress, so nothing was done about it. Or others received treatment and got better. But when they reach Middle or High school, and more is expected by them the anxious symptoms resurface and become worse.
For teenager, school is one setting that may provoke anxiety. Focusing their attention to academics, sports, social life, and activities. In general teenagers are aware and slightly vigilant in how others perceive them, but anxious teenagers are worried of being seen as incompetent, stupid or do something embarrassing. Yet the school demands, and pressures gear them to perfectionism.
Another worry for teenagers is body changes that cause discomfort if their physical development. It’s before or after their peers leave them feeling left out or different.
For example, for girls if they develop before all their peers, it may affect self-esteem and confidence than developing puberty on time or even late, and for boys they are worried about their heigh compared to other peers.
The symptoms of anxiety vary from withdrawn and avoidant to irritable and lashing out. Anxiety is often overlooked because teenagers can hide their thoughts and emotions. But there are behaviors that can be identified as a sign that a teenager is anxious
- Recurring fears and worries about routine parts of everyday life
- Irritability
- Trouble concentrating
- Extreme self-consciousness or sensitivity to criticism
- Withdrawal from social activity
- Avoidance of difficult or new situations
- Chronic complaints about stomachaches or headaches
- Drop in grades or school refusal
- Repeated reassurance-seeking
- Sleep problems
- Substance use
Anxious teenagers that use recreational
