Anxiety is increasing worldwide; diagnostic interview data from the National Comorbidity Study Replication shows that 19.1% of U.S. adults had a high-pressure rate in the last few years. But it is not only seen in adults as teenagers also facing the same problem.
Anxiety is widespread in the pre-teen and teenage years. This is because adolescence is simultaneously a time of emotional, physical, and social change as teenage brains change. Pre-teens and teenagers are seeking new experiences and more independence at their age. It's natural for teenagers to feel anxious about these changes, opportunities, and challenges.
The hostile environment around teens and their inability to understand their problems may instantly make them anxious. Their parents are also busy with their work, so the teens do not get enough attention and guidance from their parents to resolve their problems. This may lead teens to get into the surroundings of anxiety.
For teens or anyone else, anxiety is a normal fear reaction. Meeting new people, writing tests, speaking in public, competing in sports, and going on a date can make you feel nervous. But some react much more strongly to stressful situations than others. Even thinking about the problem may cause them great distress.
Anxiety can be good when it helps you deal with a tense situation. For example, when studying for a test, a little stress can make you more concentrated on learning, so you do well. But at other times, anxiety can be harmful, especially when it is excessive and irrational and prevents you from being able to focus.
In recent years, the rate of anxiety, depression, and other behavioral issues has increased in the United States & become easier to indulge in social media, primarily for children and teenagers.
They follow social networking sites daily, giving opportunities for the presentation of the self, learning, building a wide circle of relationships, and managing privacy and intimacy. There is an increased concern about the risk to the self, loss of privacy, bullying, harmful contacts, and many more.
It is observed that 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 are more prone to experience anxiety—(National Institute of Health). The number of children with pressure has been increasing between 2007 and 2012. Anxiety disorders went up 20% in these years.
Also, there was a prediction that 31.1% of U.S. adults experienced an Anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Most cases of anxiety disorder have been seen in females compared to males.
There are stats combined with the growing amount of teenage suicide admissions in the hospital. The rates doubling over past decades are alarming. The Child Mind Institute reports that:
From getting a good job to being rejected by society, youngsters face many problems in their lives, and this is where they come into contact with anxiety. We have seen how fear is becoming global, mainly affecting youngsters' minds. Following are some reasons why youngsters face pressure.
Teenagers today stay in a culture of achievement, where they feel pressured to become successful in many ways earlier generations did not. Every year a survey is taken by Higher Education Research in which first-year college students are asked how they get affected by everything they do.
There were terrorist attacks in the U.S. and all around the world. People living there have seen shooting in public places. Teenagers may have seen the shootings which took many lives in front of their eyes. It is possible for anyone to feel scared to visit the places where they used to feel safe previously.
Today's teens are constantly connected to social media sites, the primary reason behind their attitudes and worldview. When teenagers see others posting lovely things in their lives, such as having vacations or hanging out with their families, they compare their lives. As a result, they get anxious about their life.
Teen hormone production will decrease during adolescence. Sometimes they may feel anxious, upset, depressed, and angry without any particular reason. These feelings come from hormonal changes.
Due to hormonal changes, teenage boys have to deal with the flow of testosterone, and adolescent girls have to deal with menstruation. At this age, teenagers lack the maturity to handle certain situations, and not having any experience handling these things makes them more anxious.
Teenagers want their parent's consent at a certain age, but sometimes they want to resist parental authority. Teenagers often continue their actions, even if their parents don't want them to do so. This stage of their life is natural and essential for their development, but it will cause anxiety in the parents and teens.
We all know that everyone is different from others, and that's why their problems don't match with others. Similarly, the level of anxiety varies from person to person. The following are some examples that include:
Social anxiety often happens in schools and peer settings as they fear being judged or embarrassed in social situations. It may appear while speaking with authority figures or older adults. Because of this, teenagers feel they are being negatively classified and judged by others as anxious, weak, dumb, dull, and unlikeable.
The most common Anxiety disorder in kids involves concern and thoughts about something terrible that will happen to the child after leaving their parents. This will lead to sleep disturbances, social dejection, physical anxiety symptoms, or school struggles.
Some familiar phobias are observed in teens and kids, including:
Anxiety symptoms associated with phobias will last six months or more.
Teenage emotional changes are widespread, including feeling jittery, nervous, annoyed, having trouble concentrating, agitation, and new attack. When teenagers hit puberty, their bodies undergo many changes, making it natural to feel uncomfortable. They become susceptible to their physical appearance resulting in irritation, anger, and depression.
Suppose you notice your child avoiding conversations with their usual friends, not participating in extracurricular activities at school or college, staying away from peers, and spending alone time frequently; it is a call for help! This can be a situation where your child has a social phobia. So try to be with your child and make them feel comfortable.
The physical complaints which can arise with an Anxiety disorder will appear the same as general complaints by teenagers. Rather than noticing these things, their parents ignore them, which may cause anxiety to teens later.
Frequent headaches/migraines, gastrointestinal problems, strange pains or aches, extreme fatigue, not feeling well without any medical reason, and changes in diet are the changes you should not ignore.
Teens must sleep atleast 8 to 10 hours daily. It is advisable to shut the screen 30 minutes before bedtime. Cause it becomes challenging to understand that exhaustion results from anxiety or a busy schedule. It is a call for a red flag if you observe symptoms like difficulty falling asleep, difficulty sleeping, persistent nightmares, and not feeling fresh after waking up in your teens.
Being a parent, teacher, or other, you should always be with your teen. Cause you don't know when your teen needs you. With the help of the following tips, you can reduce your teen's anxiety.
Search for the ways you can "check in" with your teenager. Forex, you can ask them about their day while preparing for dinner. What activities did they do today? When your teenager shares uncomfortable experiences and emotions, remind them you are always with them.
"I understand it must be difficult" and "yes, that makes sense" are some phrases that will give them assurance and encouragement. Try to notice efforts taken by your teenager, even though it includes simple tasks like cleaning their room and keeping their clothes organized.
At such times if you praise them, they will be happy and will continue to do these things regularly.
Set up a routine with your teen, which can be done by making achievable daily goals. Allow them some free time from school, homework, and housework, as independence is essential at this stage.
They need their own space to do some things, which is normal. If they are stuck while working on something, sit with them and brainstorm some ideas to help them, but don't give instructions like, "you should do this" or "don't be irresponsible." These are some ways you can show support.
Listen to your teen's views and try to sort it out whenever there is a conflict since everyone gets stressed. Never talk about any problem if you are angry. Empathize with them rather than controlling them or fighting back with them.
If you try to control your teenager, they will not listen and might get angry. Be transparent and honest with them about how much stress you are going through. Also, talk to them about how you can resolve the conflict.
Here are some tips that you can do to make your teen feel free and relaxed.
If you observe the following things happening with your child, seeking professional help as soon as possible will be better.
Prescription medications are helpful in Anxiety treatment. They are used in association with CBT(cognitive behavioral therapy). When teenagers have mild to moderate impairments, they must change their medicines. Following are some medications that are used to treat anxiety.
It works as a mood booster. You are combined with passion flower and valerian, reducing anxiety and attention disorders in children up to 12 years. Before using this medication for your child, talk to the doctor about the side effects of this herb.
Passionflower doesn't have the therapeutic properties of attention disorder medications. It helps to deal with Anxiety symptoms. Passionflower has been reported to calm the anxiety of patients about to undergo surgery in the hospital.
Exercise is considered to be an essential factor in mood stability. It has many benefits, including protecting against heart disease and diabetes, improving sleep, and lowering blood pressure. Exercise can revive symptoms of depression and anxiety. It also helps the brain's nerve cell growth in the hippocampus, which regulates our mood.
Teenagers often feel lonely, depressed, isolated, and confused due to emotional and physical changes. They start to perceive the world around them differently, affecting them.
Therefore it is necessary to meet friends and have dinner with family. Connecting is required in times when they are growing. It's essential for teens to feel supported, and this will come from close family members. Making your teen feel seen, heard, and understood is important. For that, it is essential to set some goals to create a family time to talk, connect, have family therapy, and be with each other.
Teenagers might experience different negative emotions like anger, confusion, frustration, jealousy, self-criticism, and rejection as changes happen in their bodies. It can be challenging to handle these emotions since they are new.
It will be better if we as a caregiver help them, support them, and encourage them to do things in which they need help. Often, these changes are natural, and most teenagers will learn to deal with them.
Still, if your teen is showing changes in sleeping and eating habits, is quieter than usual, and avoids social interactions, you should seek professional help. You can also try some natural remedies for mild Anxiety symptoms.
