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Mental Health HomepageConditions LibraryConditions CategoryConditions CategorySteps Your Teen Can Take to Reduce Chronic Anxiety
Table of Contents:OverviewGet Enough SleepIncrease Levels of Physical ActivityDefine Specific Anxiety Triggers and Take Small Steps to Combat Them
Anxiety DisorderRead Time: 5 Minutes
Published On: May 2, 2017
Reviewed On: May 2, 2017
Updated On: December 28, 2023
OverviewParents know being a teenager can be stressful and anxiety-provoking. There is a barrage of tests, social pressures, and people constantly nagging teens about their future. It’s no wonderone in eightadolescents have an anxiety disorder.If your teen is feeling stressed out, worried, and nervous about various aspects of life, they’re not alone.Anxietyis a feeling everyone experiences.Chronic anxiety, however, whether it be seasonal, general, social, or specific phobia-related, is something that should be addressed. When anxiety begins to take a toll on day-to-day life and starts affecting social interactions and relationships, yourteen could be suffering from an anxietydisorder.Below are some steps your teen can take to get chronic anxiety or an anxiety disorder under control.
Overview
Parents know being a teenager can be stressful and anxiety-provoking. There is a barrage of tests, social pressures, and people constantly nagging teens about their future. It’s no wonderone in eightadolescents have an anxiety disorder.
If your teen is feeling stressed out, worried, and nervous about various aspects of life, they’re not alone.Anxietyis a feeling everyone experiences.
Chronic anxiety, however, whether it be seasonal, general, social, or specific phobia-related, is something that should be addressed. When anxiety begins to take a toll on day-to-day life and starts affecting social interactions and relationships, yourteen could be suffering from an anxietydisorder.
Below are some steps your teen can take to get chronic anxiety or an anxiety disorder under control.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleepand anxiety are part of a pretty vicious cycle; anyone with anxiety knows this all too well. High levels of anxiety can disrupt sleeping patterns. In turn,poor sleep is a major cause of chronic anxiety.
Increase Levels of Physical ActivityIncreasing levels of physical activity can help teens manage how they deal with anxiety. They will bemore balancedand able to prevent anxiety from disrupting their decision-making.Exercise has numerouspositive benefitson the brain, sleep, and overall wellbeing. Ask your teen to attempt to increase physical activity if they’re dealing with a lot of anxiety. If some of this activity can be social in nature — like team sports, working out with a friend, or joining a yoga or running club — all the better.
Increase Levels of Physical Activity
Increasing levels of physical activity can help teens manage how they deal with anxiety. They will bemore balancedand able to prevent anxiety from disrupting their decision-making.
Exercise has numerouspositive benefitson the brain, sleep, and overall wellbeing. Ask your teen to attempt to increase physical activity if they’re dealing with a lot of anxiety. If some of this activity can be social in nature — like team sports, working out with a friend, or joining a yoga or running club — all the better.
Define Specific Anxiety Triggers and Take Small Steps to Combat ThemBeing dismissive or overly general about anxiety, and what causes it, prevents teens from beginning the process of overcoming it. Anxiety is real, and it won’t go away if they try to ignore it.Ask them to write it all down, to grab a pen and paper (yes, old school) and make a list of specific things that are causing the anxiety. They can write down how these things make them feel both mentally and physically. Then they can rate their anxiety triggers in terms of how much they affect them. Then write down plans to begin to combat those specific sources of anxiety.Try to be specific. Here’s an example:“Falling behind in math class is stressing me out. This makes me unable to focus on the work at hand, which only leads to more anxiety. I plan on staying after school to work on math as well as looking into getting a tutor to help.”Anxiety is sometimes simply a reaction to life’s stressors. If your teen commonly experience anxiety, and it often overwhelms their ability to think reasonably about issues, know that these tips can helpmanage their anxiety. Sometimes, however, the help of alicensed therapistis required to completely alleviate it. With some work, they can reduce anxiety levels to well within the norm for a teenager.There can also be a great deal of stress for parents dealing with anxious teens. It’s important to remember to take care of your mental health as well!Bio: Noah is part ofWellnessVoyager, which offers travel tips and advice.
Define Specific Anxiety Triggers and Take Small Steps to Combat Them
Being dismissive or overly general about anxiety, and what causes it, prevents teens from beginning the process of overcoming it. Anxiety is real, and it won’t go away if they try to ignore it.
Ask them to write it all down, to grab a pen and paper (yes, old school) and make a list of specific things that are causing the anxiety. They can write down how these things make them feel both mentally and physically. Then they can rate their anxiety triggers in terms of how much they affect them. Then write down plans to begin to combat those specific sources of anxiety.
Try to be specific. Here’s an example:
“Falling behind in math class is stressing me out. This makes me unable to focus on the work at hand, which only leads to more anxiety. I plan on staying after school to work on math as well as looking into getting a tutor to help.”
Anxiety is sometimes simply a reaction to life’s stressors. If your teen commonly experience anxiety, and it often overwhelms their ability to think reasonably about issues, know that these tips can helpmanage their anxiety. Sometimes, however, the help of alicensed therapistis required to completely alleviate it. With some work, they can reduce anxiety levels to well within the norm for a teenager.
There can also be a great deal of stress for parents dealing with anxious teens. It’s important to remember to take care of your mental health as well!
Bio: Noah is part ofWellnessVoyager, which offers travel tips and advice.
Noah SmithWriter at WellnessVoyager.com
Writer at WellnessVoyager.com
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