Back-to-school is one of the more stressful times of the year for teens, and the barrage of worries the average modern teen faces can easily escalate from stressful to anxiety-causing. We thought this article from the Chicago Tribune about what parents can do to spot and help with teen anxiety was worth sharing. Here’s an excerpt, and there’s a link below to the full article. If you’re in the greater Cleveland area, recognize a teen in your life in this article and would like someone to talk to, we’re here.
High schoolers face “a powerful cocktail of worry,” agrees Ann V. Klotz, head of Laurel School in Shaker Heights, Ohio. Social anxieties about friends and romances compound anxiety about grades and college. Plus, a teen who does something dumb can expect it to be instantly photographed and widely shared. “Another tension for today’s teens is ‘What might someone have posted about me?'” Klotz says.
When should parents stand back? When should they step in? Some cues that parents should watch for, say experts:
Internalizing via insomnia, change in eating patterns, excessive headaches or stomachaches.
Externalizing via activities such as drinking, partying, hours of video games or binge-watching an entire television series.
That last one might surprise you.