Anxiety in kids, teens, and young adults

It often begins in your school years. When your head hits the pillow your mind starts racing. You have questions. You have worries that just do loops inside your brain. “Did I …” “How am I going to …” Or maybe you even wonder about things like why are there homeless people? Would I be ok if my parents were dead? Do my friend think I’m stupid or secretly hate me?

Parents are often witness to their child’s pain in this anxiety. They stay close and available to help, but wonder it they are actually helping at all. They might sleep next to their young child or talk over and over about the same questions and worries with their pre-teens and teens. They may try breathing or relaxation techniques to slow down the child’s heart rate or coach their children through anxious social situations. No matter how much they comfort or offer to help, things don’t seem to get better. Nothing seems to stop the constant anxiety, and nobody can relax.

If you’re ready to talk to a therapist about these issues, we are available for an initial phone consultation at (720) 295-9086.

What if This is Forever?

Anxiety can take over your daily life, and it can certainly consume the night. Maybe it feels better to constantly ask other people if it’s going to be ok – parents might continuously find themselves reassuring their kids and teens that things are fine. Or, maybe you’ve tried to feel better and avoid intense fears by isolating and avoiding other people. These things only seem to be making the anxiety worse, even leading to more severe anxiety or panic attacks.

The good news is that through therapy, children and teens can feel better. You can feel better. We provide therapy specific to addressing this awful feeling by helping families and individuals understand why it is happening and what to do about it. Our therapist can support you in finding the best ways to address and decrease your or your child’s level of anxiety.

Why Doesn’t it Seem Like Anyone Else is Struggling This Way?

Sometimes it can seem like everyone else is doing fine. They don’t feel worried all of the time, and they don’t understand you and what you are so worried about.

But sometimes, too, it can seem like you are perfectly normal because everyone around you worries just as much as you do. This can be really true for some families that have a lot of anxiety.

Parents can struggle to support their child, either because they recognize their own negative thought patterns or excessive fear in their child’s panic and worry, or because they can’t understand the way their brain is making sense of things. It’s painful to try so hard to comfort them without success. Let’s face it, sometimes anxiety grows and grows when others around us are struggling too.

We have worked with many parents who’ve come to us and said “I know what they are going through because I go through it too.” We’ve helped college students as they make the transition from living at home to living at college and are worried about being alone, or the kindergartener who is terrified to say goodbye every morning. We’ve also helped young adults who have watched their friends leave and have had to rediscover a new friend group and a new purpose for the day. We’ve supported teens and preteens as they manage the stresses and pressures they feel to succeed and manage friendships that are important and intense.

I’m Not Sure Anxiety Therapy Will Help

Are you feeling this way because you think that talking about it, even just asking about treatment, is just going to make it worse? You’ve been avoiding the topics and feelings that scare you or that you are sure would scare your child. It may feel better to protect them or to distract them with something else. Trying to stay distracted from real life issues and avoid these feelings may be the only thing that gets you through the day.

What is going to happen if you talk about it? If you put it out into the open and let your kids ask questions, or if you admit you’ve been thinking about it? Will a therapist force you or your child into exposure therapy or diagnose your with a type of anxiety disorder or other mental health disorder?

Many people have said in therapy that they are afraid of talking about the worries and their anxiety out loud, even to a mental health provider, because it will take over everything. It’s just better to go through the day ignoring the feelings that come up. You may not think anyone will benefit from hearing about the feelings. But that isn’t true.

Your anxiety about talking about the anxiety is creating a situation where there is no end to the struggle. Mental health therapy to address anxiety is the best way to feel better, alleviate anxiety symptoms, and improve your quality of life. There are effective treatments and several excellent forms of therapy available. Mental health professionals are skilled in identifying anxious thoughts and helping you or your child begin to identify them, to learn the feelings that are underneath, and begin to cope with and control your responses.

Anxiety does not have to be in charge. You can be in charge. Families can learn to cope and trust each other’s responses and trust that their child can and will be ok.

We May Need Therapy for Anxiety. Should I Call You?

At UpliftME Attachment-Based Therapy, our mental health providers understand how anxiety can spread within a family. We see how teens and young adults can carry anxiety with them into their school careers, their personal interests, and their own relationships. We see how the mental burden and physical symptoms of anxiety can impact someone’s physical health. We also know how the positive effects of therapy lead to better problem-solving skills, positive patterns of thinking, stronger social interactions, and life-long mental health benefits.

Most importantly, we can see the struggle and the pain that this is causing you or your child. For families struggling with anxiety, seeking therapy is often a stressful situation. We understand this and will work to lower your anxiety levels about therapy.

The therapists at UpliftME Attachment-Based Therapy will calmly join with you in a therapy session to begin to understand these tormenting thoughts and fears. We can be a support and an anchor when it feels like things are spiraling out of control. We can help kids and families find the root cause of social anxiety, put an end to negative patterns of thought, and regain a sense of control after traumatic events.

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