Sometimes anxiety can make you feel alone even in a crowded room. Even when you have friends and family to support you, you can feel they may not understand how to truly help you. Support can go a long way, but sometimes it can also come with frustration from those around you because they may not understand or know what to do to make things better. As someone with anxiety, … [Read more...]
Struggling with Depression? 5 Reasons Group Therapy Is the Way to Go
Unsurprisingly, the teen years are a very important and complex phase of a person’s life. We reach a period in which friendships and relationships experience many upheavals, the body undergoes hormonal changes, new and intense emotions take over, and the future is put under extreme pressure. The challenges we face during the teenage phase can bring an inexplicable amount of … [Read more...]
5 Ways To Survive Anxiety on Your Own Until You Are Able To Seek Therapy
So, you discovered you have anxiety, what is the next step? The usual way of treating anxiety is going to see a therapist. Sometimes however, seeing a therapist takes time, especially when you are struggling with financial or travel obstacles. The good news are that there are five important steps to get you through it anxiety temporarily, until you seek a therapist. Take a … [Read more...]
10 Ways to Get Through to Your Teen: Advice for Parents with Teens Struggling with a Mental Health Disorder
Having a child who deals with mental illness can be a difficult path to maneuver. You obviously love your child and would do anything to help them, but what exactly do they need from you? As someone who lives with anxiety, here are ten things that I would advise parents to keep in mind in warranted situations. Avoid snooping into their private business. While it may be … [Read more...]
Part 2: Q&A On My #PANDAS Storm: My Story of Triumph Over OCD Terror
Join us as Anxiety In Teens sits down with one of our AiT Contributors for a special Q&A section following her PANDAS and OCD testimony. This is a continuation from "Part 1: Finding Sunshine In A #PANDAS Storm: My Story of Triumph Over OCD Terror." AiT: How did you find out that PANDAS was the correct diagnosis? KR: My mother was discussing my symptoms with a close … [Read more...]
Part 1: Finding Sunshine In A #PANDAS Storm: My Story of Triumph Over OCD Terror
If I could describe the last four years of my life in one word it would be storms. There were storms ranging from some short-lived scattered showers to severe storms that threatened to obliterate everything in its path. My storms did not come with a loud alert message from my cell phone warning me of the upcoming inclement weather. It was not that simple. I had to brave out the … [Read more...]
Four Ways to Get Past Guilt and Blame and Help Your Struggling Teen
It is one thing when the individual suffers from a mental illness themselves. It is something else entirely when a parent or loved one is going through a similar turmoil by watching that individual suffer. Attempting to help the person suffering from anxiety is exhausting in every shape and form. Mental, physical and emotional exhaustion is present with a parent who has a young … [Read more...]
Exclusive AiT Interview: How to Deal with Bullying with Anti-Bullying Author Erin Frankel
Bullying is a serious epidemic, now pervasive on and off the Internet. Bullying has a direct impact on young adults' mental health and well-being, but there are strategies to help educate and empower young people to take charge. Anxiety In Teens is pleased to present an exclusive interview with Erin Frankel, M.A., a speaker and author of Weird! series, including books Dare! … [Read more...]
It IS possible To Get It Under Control: My Story.
I'm a senior in high school and pretty much all of my life I have lived with worry and anxiety. I can remember when I was still in grade school when I was out of school for weeks due to a stomach ulcer. I remember worrying ALL. THE. TIME. Everyone would get annoyed with me because any little pain in my body, anything that felt out of the ordinary with me and I would freak out. … [Read more...]
Tips for Convincing Your Parents That You Need Help
As someone who spent a solid chunk of time convincing my parents to take me to a psychiatrist, I know firsthand how tough it can be to get the ‘rents on board with seeking help. Every family is different, and one situation is never the same as the next, but here is some food for thought that might help you tackle the problem head on and get the treatment you need. For this … [Read more...]
Does Your Teenager Suffer From Mental Illness? Here Is What You Can Do To Help
Sometimes, the problems we see others facing are so huge and complicated that we think there is no way to help. The truth is, there is always some way to help, especially a loved one. When it comes to mental illness, parents are a huge factor of affecting it. You either make it better or you make it worse, there is no in between. The good news is, you can follow the steps in … [Read more...]
Rejecting The Need For Control In Anxiety
Perhaps one of the most common feelings that we experience every day is being anxious. In a world that constantly demands productivity regardless of any other current pressing stresses, it is easy to succumb to anxiety. Some of us however, may easily reject this hypothesis and claim that they don’t experience anxiety, but anxiety doesn’t have to exemplify the commonly … [Read more...]
On The Flip Side: A Peek Into Manic Depression
People call the weather “bipolar” when the morning storms give way to afternoon sunshine and light breezes. I’ve also heard people try to excuse their irritability by saying, “Oh, I’m so bipolar.” This illustrates how the general population sees the term “bipolar” as a colloquial term for something that alternates between two extremes. Going off of this observation, then, it … [Read more...]
The Power of Self-Care
Take care of your body. Take care of your mind. Take care of your soul. Or parents, doctors, coaches, and teachers are just some of the people that articulate the importance of self-care in our day to day lives. However, it seems self-care is usually associated with something we don’t want to do: exercise, skip the fries for a salad, go to bed early, keep your mind sharp with … [Read more...]
AiT joins Dr. Shari Manning, an Expert in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Teens
Anxiety In Teens joins Dr. Shari Manning, an expert in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) and founder of Treatment Implementation Collaborative. Here, she shares more about exactly what DBT is and how dialectic behavioral therapy for teens could be helpful. AIT: What exactly is DBT? How is it different from other therapies such as CBT? What is the goal? SM: DBT … [Read more...]