It’s hard for caregivers to see their teen struggle, especially when it comes to anxiety. It feels like anxiety in teens is on the rise, and families are left worrying about the well-being and safety of their loved ones.
Mind Works is here to help with expert clinicians and mental health care providers specially trained in treating children and teenagers. Our robust, compassionate, and individualized treatment plans ensure that your teenager receives the highest quality care possible.
But before your teen can get help, you must first understand what anxiety looks like in teenagers.
Anxiety Disorders and Teens
What Is Teenage Anxiety?
Teenage anxiety refers to the intense, persistent worry and fear that impacts how a teen interacts with their world. Anxiety itself is part of a group of common mental health problems that can affect adolescents in general. It’s normal for a teenager to feel anxious occasionally. However, when the anxiety persists, it becomes a severe issue that requires professional help.
Is Anxiety Common Among Young People?
The 2023 National Survey of Children’s Health has found that 16.1% of teens aged 12-17 have a diagnosed anxiety disorder. This number has been growing steadily over the past decade as more pressures are put on adolescents. Anxiety disorders are thus quite common among teenagers, along with other mental health disorders like depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Is Anxiety a Mental Health Disorder?
Anxiety itself is not a mental health disorder. It’s an emotion designed to keep us safe by alerting us to potential danger. Anxiety is part of our nervous system and is normal to experience throughout our lives.
However, anxiety becomes a mental health disorder when you can’t stop feeling anxious. Normally, you will feel anxiety for a little while, and then you relax once the “threatening” situation has passed. Anxiety disorders do not allow you to stop worrying or being afraid, which can have a cascading effect on your mental and physical health.
What pushes normal anxiety to an anxiety disorder are the following factors:
- You often perceive threats that don’t exist or overreact to minor threats
- The anxiety disrupts your life and makes it difficult to function normally
- You are consistently overwhelmed by intense fear and worry
Causes Of Anxiety in Teens
How Does Anxiety Present in Adolescence?
Adolescents tend to display anxiety a little differently from adults. Teenagers tend to hide symptoms. Sometimes it takes careful observation of your teen’s behavior to determine if there is a problem.
Anxiety can often present as perfectionism. This can be in sports, academics, or appearances. Teens who express anxiety through perfectionism may have severe reactions to perceived failures.
Social situations are another way in which anxiety can present in your teenager. Teens who develop a social phobia may find or invent reasons to avoid establishing a social life. A social life is critical for teen development, and avoiding social situations altogether can indicate underlying anxiety.
Panic attacks are another sign of anxiety. These are unexpected episodes of intense fear that cause mental and physical symptoms. Panic attacks can occur on their own or be part of a panic disorder.
How Is Anxiety Different in Teenagers?
Anxiety in teenagers often differs from that in adults because of their ongoing emotional and psychological development. They may express their anxiety through behaviors like withdrawal or irritability rather than verbalizing their feelings. They also might have fewer coping skills and may be less likely to seek help due to stigma or fear of judgment.
What are Teenagers Anxious About?
Teenage years mark a critical and confusing part of an individual’s life. Changes are happening that are hard for a teenager to understand. As adulthood approaches and responsibilities increase, so too does anxiety in teens.
Teens are primarily anxious about:
- Their bodies
- How they’re perceived
- Their performance (schoolwork, sports, etc.)
- The future
What’s Causing the Rise in Teenagers With Severe Anxiety?
There are several factors believed to contribute to the rise in anxiety in teens. Social media is considered one of the top culprits. One study reported that 46% of adolescents aged 13-17 said that social media makes them feel worse about their body image. Young children and teens exposed to social media without supervision or safety instruction can be exposed to content that can damage their self-esteem. Consistent access to the internet via smartphones also allows teens to be bombarded with upsetting news and world events without the proper way to process them.
Bullying, both online and in real life, is also a serious issues that impact teens. During the 2021-2022 school year, approximately 19.2% of students aged 12-18, enrolled in grades 6-12, reported experiencing bullying. Bullying can leave lasting harm and lead to the development of anxiety and other mental health disorders.
The pressure to succeed is another issue. High school teenagers may push themselves hard in the effort to please high standards they, or someone else, place on them, leading to constant anxiety.
Lastly, the COVID-19 pandemic left lingering fears and worries in countless teenagers. Many were isolated during lockdowns, causing them to miss critical social interactions that can lead to social anxiety disorders. Information and sensationalism about COVID also made teens more anxious about their physical health care.
Can Anxiety in Teenagers Affect Their Academic Performance?
Yes, anxiety can greatly impact your teen’s ability to thrive and succeed academically. Anxiety typically manifests in this case in four ways:
1. Your teen is a perfectionist and becomes increasingly afraid of potential failure.
2. Your teens have an intense overreaction to a setback, interruption, or failure in their schoolwork.
3. Your teen avoids school and schoolwork altogether.
4. Your teen panics at the thought of going to school or doing schoolwork.
Teens who are struggling with anxiety may experience signs such as slipping grades, uncompleted work, panic, or burnout.
Types of Anxiety Disorders
What Are The Different Types Of Anxiety Disorders?
Anxiety disorders are a broad category of mental health conditions that affect the nervous system. The current types a person can be diagnosed with are:
- Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
- Agoraphobia
- Selective mutism
- Panic disorder
- Separation anxiety
- Social anxiety disorder
- Specific phobias, such as social phobia
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
How Does Anxiety In Teens Affect Their Daily Life?
Anxiety can significantly impact a teen’s ability to participate in daily life. Social interactions are vital to our health, as humans are highly social beings. When teens are too anxious to participate in normal social interactions, it can prevent them from attending school, interacting with peers, or, in severe cases, leaving the house. Untreated anxiety prevents teens from practicing essential social skills they will need to be successful and resilient adults.
Teens may also give up due to anxiety. They may be too afraid to try a new, but scary experience (such as going to college), which holds them back from success. Teens may also be too fearful to accomplish critical independent milestones, such as getting a job or learning to drive.
What Is the Difference Between Anxiety and Stress in Teens?
Stress is the physical or mental response to external stressors, such as sickness or having an important project due. The feeling of stress goes away once the situation is resolved. Stress can be positive or negative, such as inspiring someone to complete schoolwork or causing them to lose sleep.
Anxiety is the body’s internal reaction to stress and can happen even if no current threats exist. It involves persistent and lingering feelings of apprehension or dread.
Stress and anxiety are often used interchangeably because they have similar symptoms, such as excessive worry, tension, and headaches. However, stress is solved once the stressors are gone. Anxiety will persist even after a stressor or threat is gone.
Symptoms of Anxiety
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Anxiety in a Teenager?
Anxiety presents itself in both cognitive and physical symptoms. These symptoms can include:
- Sleep problems (sleeping too much, too little, or difficulty falling asleep)
- Chronic stomachaches and headaches
- Shortness of breath
- Muscle tension
- Excessive worry and recurring fears about parts of everyday life
- Withdrawal from social activities and hobbies
- Refusing to go to school
- Drop in grades
- Repeated reassurance-seeking behaviors
- Avoidance of new or difficult situations
- Extreme self-consciousness
- Irritability
- Extreme sensitivity to criticism
- Trouble concentrating
- Substance use
As a parent or caregiver, being aware of your loved one’s usual behaviors and activities is important. A teen withdrawing from people, places, and hobbies they once loved and were excited about is a sign of anxiety. Anxiety takes a physical toll on teens as well, so noticing a drop in physical wellness may be another sign.
Are There Other Underlying Mental Health Issues Contributing to My Teen’s Symptoms of Anxiety?
Undiagnosed mental health disorders can contribute to the development of anxiety in children and teens. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one such disorder, which makes concentrating and completing tasks difficult. Teens with untreated ADHD tend to become anxious over their grades.
Autism is another common disorder that often goes undiagnosed. This disorder can make social interactions confusing and difficult, which may cause teens to constantly worry about “messing up” when talking to their peers.
Trauma is perhaps one of the more serious underlying issues that contribute to anxiety. The development of OCD, specific phobias, and others often stems from a traumatic event.
When Should I Be Concerned About My Child’s Anxiety?
Your teen feeling anxious is always a cause for concern, but when they have an observable decline in physical health, stop participating in social activities, struggle in school, or have panic attacks, it’s time to seek professional mental health care.
Treatment for Anxiety in Teens
How Can Parents Help a Teen Exhibiting Signs of Anxiety?
There are several ways you can help your anxious child or teen. If your teen opens up to you, do not judge, invalidate, or dismiss their fears and emotions. Instead:
- Let your teen talk and listen
- Validate your teen’s fears and emotions
- Remind them that anxiety is something many people experience, and it doesn’t make them ‘weird’ or ‘bad’
- Offer to help them work through their anxiety, such as preparing for scary situations with practice and positive reinforcement
If your teen is reluctant to open up, there are still ways you can show your support without pressing them. You should:
- Express your love for your teen
- Empathize with their feelings
- Make time to talk to your teen every day without distractions
- Foster a strong parent-teenager bond
- Demonstrate and encourage healthy eating, moving your body, and practicing good sleep habits
If you still need further assistance, such as interventions or advice, contact the professionals. Treatment facilities specializing in teen mental health, such as Mind Works, are one such avenue. Pediatricians and school counselors may also have helpful advice.
What Is the Best Treatment for Anxiety in Teens?
There is a wide range of safe and effective treatments specially designed to help teens struggling with anxiety and anxiety disorders. At Mind Works, clients will mostly utilize a combination of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and medication management.
CBT is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy provided by a mental health professional. This therapy is used to help teens identify harmful thoughts and behavioral patterns and change them through healthy coping techniques. Trauma-Informed CBT is used to help teens whose anxiety stems from traumatic events.
Pediatric psychiatry is used in cases when a teenager can benefit from the use of medications, such as antidepressant SSRIS. SSRIS are not meant to be used forever and help reduce the physical symptoms of anxiety so your teen can undergo treatment comfortably.
What Natural Coping Strategies Can Help Teenagers Manage Symptoms of Anxiety?
Relaxation techniques are commonly used to help teens manage their anxiety. Some examples include:
- The 3-3-3 rule
- Guided imagery
- Breathing exercises
Teens may also benefit from mindfulness activities that help relax the body and ground their minds in the present. Yoga and meditation are examples of such activities.
How Is GAD Treated in a Child or Teen?
Child anxiety is treated a little differently in young children compared to teens. Young children are in a different developmental stage and process things differently. As a result, young children will often utilize techniques such as play therapy and specialized CBT (such as exposure therapy) to help them process and cope with GAD.
Teens can also utilize the same therapies, but they’re always tailored to match their current developmental stage. Medications are only used as necessary and for short-term relief in treating anxiety.
Can Teenagers Recover From Anxiety?
Yes, with the help of clinicians, psychiatrists, and other mental health care professionals, your teen can recover from anxiety. Mind Works is here to remind you that you are not alone, and help is here.
FAQs
Should my child use anxiety medication?
Not every child or teen will need to use anxiety medication. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIS) are only used as needed, especially if the child is in discomfort from the physical symptoms of anxiety. Your pediatric psychiatrist will be able to determine if anxiety medication is right for your loved one.
What is the 3-3-3 rule for anxiety?
The 3-3-3 rule is a technique used to bring your attention back to the present when consumed by anxious thoughts. They are often used to help prevent or reduce the length of a panic attack. To use it is simple:
- Identify three things you can see
- Find three sounds you can hear
- Move three parts of your body
The trick is to pay attention and focus, and eventually, these sensations will overcome your anxious thoughts.
Does Benadryl help with anxiety?
Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved Benadryl to be a long-term solution to anxiety, some people still use it as a calming aid. Benadryl itself has several side effects, including drowsiness, dry mouth, dizziness, blurred vision, and digestive issues. Before taking any OTC medication to treat a disorder, it’s imperative to talk to a doctor first to prevent harm.
Can melatonin reduce anxiety?
Melatonin is used to help regulate sleep cycles. It can help people who feel anxious feel relaxed enough to sleep, but it’s not a replacement for anxiety treatment and medication. Before using melatonin and other OTC medications for anxiety, talk to a doctor first.
Does yelling at my child cause anxiety?
Yelling can cause anxiety in children. This is because yelling at a child can trigger their fight-or-flight response, making them feel anxious and disconnected. Children are also sensitive to the moods of their parents and caregivers. Anger directed from a parent or caregiver can be more devastating, and they will worry about making you angry.
Reacting to a mistake by yelling can also cause anxiety in that the child will constantly fear making a mistake again. Over time, these negative responses can cause a child or teen to experience anxiety, and in severe cases, develop an anxiety disorder.
Is your teen struggling in school? Are they having difficulties expressing themselves socially to others? Do they hide in the house or experience frequent panic attacks? A yes to any of these questions can indicate the presence of anxiety or an anxiety disorder. Anxiety is a treatable condition, and teens can successfully recover with the right treatment and support. Here at Mind Works, we specialize in helping children and teens overcome anxiety and other mental health conditions. With values of respect, compassion, and quality, your teen will get the best treatment possible. If you’d like to learn more about our anxiety treatment program for teens, call Mind Works today at (210) 366-3700.