In my pediatric practice, I’m particularly attuned to the importance of identifying teen mental health issues, such as anxiety. And the data shows there’s need to be concerned. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 50% of all lifetime mental illnesses develop by age 14, and 75% develop by age 24.
Anxiety is a mental illness that millions of teens experience. It’s the most common mental illness experienced in America, and NAMI reports that 7% of children ages 3 to 17 experience an anxiety disorder, such as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
What do you do if you notice that you have an anxious teen? What are the best ways to manage anxiety, especially for someone going through so many life changes during their teenage years? In addition to scheduling an appointment with my pediatric practice for your teen, I’ve created the following list of how to deal with anxiety in teenagers.
7 of the Best Ways to Deal with Anxiety
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Dealing with Anxiety with Deep Breathing Exercises
Healthcare practitioners like myself have known for a long time that practicing deep breathing exercises helps during anxious moments. Additionally, practicing these throughout the day is also a great skill for coping with anxious thoughts and preventing them from bubbling up during the day.
There are a few deep breathing exercises that are easy to teach to teens. First, in deep breathing, we must inhale through the nose, then exhale through the mouth. One deep breathing exercise you can teach your teenager is to breathe in as if he or she was filling up her abdomen as if it were a balloon, then exhale as if he or she was slowly releasing the air in that balloon.
A second deep breathing exercise focuses on visualization. Ask your teen to imagine they are drawing a square in their mind. As they breathe in, they are drawing a line up to form the square. As they exhale, they are drawing a line to the right to form the square. When they breathe in a second time, they draw a line down to form the square. And finally, as they breathe out a second time, they draw a line from the right to the left to connect the square.
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How to Deal with Anxiety with Meditation
Managing anxiety can be easier for your teen if he or she practices meditation. There are a variety of different ways to start a meditation practice. First, your teen can find several free guided meditations on YouTube or in the App Store or Google Play. Second, your teen may want to practice a specific form of meditation called mindfulness, during which the meditator focuses on staying in the present moment and noticing what is currently going on. Learning to stay in the moment helps anxious teens from going down the rabbit hole of “what ifs” that all too often accompanies anxiety.
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Coping with Anxiety by Getting Adequate Sleep, Nutrition, and Exercise
Self-care is so important when it comes to living with anxiety. In a world where it’s common for teens to stay up late playing video games with their friends, it’s important that you talk to your teen about the importance of getting a full night’s sleep, eating healthy foods, and exercising regularly. Even daily walks around your neighborhood can help relieve the endorphins that naturally calm our bodies down.
There are several apps that can assist your teen in tracking these important self-care habits. They may already have access to one if they have a smartwatch like an Apple Watch or may be able to find a preferred app to track sleep, nutrition, and exercise in the App Store or on Google Play.
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How to Deal with Anxiety by Having Positive Peer Connections
Many parents know the difficulties of seeing their teens hang out with a group of less than supportive friends. But if your anxious teen is hanging around with the wrong group of kids, those peers may be increasing his or her anxiety.
As parents, we all know that if you tell a teen not to hang out with Jackson or Sophia, they’re going to want to be around them even more! Instead, I encourage you to provide positive feedback to your teens when they are hanging around good influences and create opportunities for your teen to find a supportive, positive group of peers to be around. Some examples are encouraging your teen to participate in an extracurricular activity, school club, or local volunteer organization. And as an added bonus, you can remind your teen that participating in these types of activities also looks great on college applications!
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One of the Best Ways to Deal with Anxiety is to Spend Time in Nature
Whether it’s the vitamin B from the sun or the fresh ocean breeze and air, there’s something to be said about being outdoors and improving our mental health. And what beautiful nature we have to enjoy right here in Miami!
Many people – both teens and adults alike – find that coping with an anxiety disorder is easier when they regularly spend time outdoors. You and your family should take advantage of all the outdoor opportunities our beautiful city has to offer to help boost your teen’s mental health.
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Dealing with Anxiety by Focusing on the Positives
So much of living with anxiety is fearing the unknown and the “what ifs.” Anxious teens are also known to experience more anxiety by reliving bad experiences or mistakes. This is not a healthy way to lead one’s life.
Encourage your anxious teen to focus on the positives that he or she encounters. Whether it’s a beautiful sunset, a good grade on a test or paper, or a fun day out with friends, focusing on the good helps to lift our spirits and reduce worry.
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Journaling is a Great Tool for Coping with Anxiety
A final tip for dealing with an anxiety disorder is to buy your teen a blank journal to write in. There’s something powerful about putting your thoughts to pen and paper. Journaling helps teens express themselves in ways they may not otherwise know how to do.
Another advantage of journaling is that it allows time for accurate reflection. Your teen can re-read over a journal entry he or she wrote when they were experiencing a heightened sense of anxiety, he or she can re-read it later after time has passed to see that experience through a new lens. Did the unknown or “what ifs” turn out as bad as he or she was anticipating them to? Most likely, the answer is no, and reflecting upon past anxious moments written in a journal will create a great learning opportunity for your teen.
Get Help Dealing with Anxiety in Your Teen
No matter how old our children are, it’s hard to watch them go through something like anxiety, especially when we feel like there’s nothing we can do to help them. But as you’ve seen from the above list, there are several things you can encourage your teen to participate in to help relieve their anxiety.
And if, at any time, you yourself are having struggles helping your teen with his or her anxiety, please reach out to my pediatric practice in Miami. My staff and I want overall wellness for your child, and I am happy to make further recommendations based on his or her unique case.
