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 stress to our lives, leaving us to feel anxious, alone, and isolated from the present moment. When we experience an anxiety disorder or depression as a teen, it can be hard to manage and understand all our thoughts, feelings, and emotions.
For me personally, anxiety and depression first came into my life when I was a teenager. Both were very frustrating mental illnesses to deal with when I had just been trying to figure out my place in the world. Later, I was able to understand that many of my anxious and depressive feelings stemmed from my insecurities about my identity. Growing up as a first-generation teen of Brazilian immigrant parents forced me to constantly question my identity. Was I American before I was Brazilian? Or Brazilian before I was American?
I was born in the United States, but that single label doesn’t define me. Throughout my teenage years, my anxiety became fueled by the tension I felt between the two cultures I knew of. At school, I was completely immersed in an American culture, but at home I embraced the Brazilian culture that my parents brought with them when they immigrated to the U.S. The mix of the worlds I was living in brought a lot of feelings of doubt, uncertainty, and panic during an already stressful phase of life.
As a teen, I often refused any kind of professional guidance, and only sought strong advice from family and friends. While my family and friends who were close to me shined light on new perspectives for me, the greatest help I’ve received so far has been from a therapy group that I joined in college. It’s scary to share your personal thoughts and emotions with strangers, and that’s why most people turn to a parent or friend.
I think it’s wonderful to seek guidance from those who are close to our hearts, but sometimes talking to people who you can relate to can be extremely freeing. My therapy group allowed me to create connections with other people who I had never met before at school, some older, some younger. The age, however, did not matter because we all experienced our own kind of anxiety regardless of our separate experiences and age differences.
Therapy groups enable people to express themselves and their problems in a friendly environment that is guided by mental health experts (counselors, therapists, and psychologists). I highly encourage teens who are experiencing anxiety and depression to turn to therapy groups where they can be welcomed and accepted. Here are some reasons why I’d like to encourage this idea:
No Judgement Only Support
Talking to complete strangers about your personal life can seem intimidating, but there’s really no downside to a therapy group. Therapy groups are non-judgmental as each participant is grappling with their own kind of anxious feelings. Hearing from other people about similar issues you are facing can provide a sense of relief as you realize with each meeting that you are not alone in your struggle.
Inspiration
While some stories shared during group sessions might express the negatives of having anxiety, some of the stories shared are more positive. Group members analyze and evaluate their anxious feelings, but they also share stories of how they were able to overcome certain situations they were faced with. This kind of positivity is not only encouraging for others with the same struggle, but allows others to understand situations from a different perspective.
The Power to Give AND Receive
During group sessions, members take turns receiving individual therapy and insight from the therapists while others listen and observe. This, however, is only one part of the session. Often sessions, encourage members to turn to each other for support, and receive feedback that allows for greater connection. Members provide stories, but also advice for how they have overcome isolation.
New Found Awareness
During group sessions, members can express their own voice. By reflecting on feelings or past situations, members have a chance to become aware of their feelings and need to express them. Sometimes it can be difficult to know what we are feeling when we are experiencing anxiety during social situations. When we attempt to start conversations with others who have gone through similar experiences, we create meaningful connections to those people and ourselves, creating a new-found awareness and perspective.
New Skills
Group therapy is an extremely powerful tool for growth and change. Each member is able to share stories of their struggle with anxiety so that the therapists can guide group discussion into a direction focused on evaluation. As each situation, feeling, or thought shared is evaluated, members are also able to give constructive feedback. Once each member learns how to evaluate certain situations they are faced with, they gain new skills that allow them to deal more effectively with anxiety in the future.
By: Julia Mendonca, Anxiety In Teens Contributor