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Journalism of Courage
These days, anxiety has become a part of our daily conversations. In adolescence, where the spotlight effect is high, which is basically where teenagers feel that they are the protagonist of a full-blown Bollywood plot, anxiety becomes a byproduct of it.
As parents, here are a few tips on how you can help your teen deal with anxiety.
A lot of times, parents dismiss anxiety, thinking that feeling worrisome is natural. However, understanding the difference between chronic anxiety and temporary worry is important. Dismissing their symptoms and feelings can make your teen feel invalidated and uncomfortable, which further exacerbates their tendency to overthink.
Anxiety often masks itself as distress; therefore, knowing the red flags can help you avoid confusion. Some of the common manifestations in adolescence may be through having difficulty concentrating in academics, being unable to sleep at night due to a myriad of thoughts, being tense and fidgety, feeling restless without apparent cause, experiencing frequent spells of crying and complaints of feeling lonely and lost, and changes in appearance, appetite, and sleep.
It can get overwhelming for parents to understand why a child is feeling the way he or she is despite having appropriate resources. It is at this juncture where your response can allow your teen to confide in you or move away. A gentle response and positive questioning about what triggers make him/her feel anxious will provide reassurance and encouragement for them to share without any hesitation.
Rather than avoiding dealing with their issues, helping them to build a repository of coping skills like giving positive feedback, praising their competency, and holding their hand in the face of setbacks can facilitate in reducing their negative thoughts. Teaching them to constructively utilise breaks like doing breathing exercises, journaling their thoughts down, etc., can also play a pivotal role in redefining their perspective.
Teens who have high self-esteem and worth tend to do better as adults under pressure and uncertainty. As parents, you can try to elevate their self-esteem by making them see through their strengths and making them aware of their weaknesses and how they can slowly adapt to their surroundings.
In any case, if as parents you feel things are getting out of hand, don’t hesitate to seek professional help.
Nishtha Grover is a child and adolescent psychologist, and a doctoral research scholar based in New Delhi
