The Anxious Teenager
Anxiety has been at an all time high for teenagers these past few years. Specifically social anxiety. We all know the big bad “C” word disrupted our every day lives for a couple of years. Covid was something none of us were prepared for and teenagers seem to be impacted the most. I was a high school teacher at the time and witnessed, first hand, the dramatic change that occurred when we were all forced to shelter in our homes and figure out new ways to connect with each other. It was confusing, frightening and divisive and our kids felt it at the peak of their development. Life seemed to be frozen in time for them with no real sense of what life was going to look like at the end of the pandemic. Then we asked those same kids to just go back to business as usual. Realistic? Not at all but it didn’t stop it from happening.
Going back to school seemed like the obvious thing to do. I agree they needed to reconnect with society but I don’t think schools had any idea how hard it would be to push the reset button. After all, school districts were asking parents to send their kids back to school as if nothing ever happened. I would say it was a slow start back to normalcy because students weren’t exactly in a rush to go back to school as if nothing ever happened. By year two, I witnessed sixth graders running through a middle school’s hallways as if they were still in elementary school. Veteran teachers were so baffled with this behavior. They had never witnessed screaming 6th graders running down hallways. They were right we hadn’t seen anything like it before. As an SEL counselor by this time, I realized something interesting. Students were still developmentally 4th graders in 6th grader bodies! They never experienced the right of passage that every other 6th grader typically learns by time and experience. I found myself educating adults around me by reminding them that these students were robbed of the opportunity to learn how to do basic things like walk from one classroom to another during transitions. It seemed as though anxiety caused them to rush to the next classroom worried they would be late. Mind you, they were given plenty of time to get from one class to another but it didn’t stop them from taking off like a jet.
Then there were those kids who couldn’t get through a day without calling home to get picked up. Some would even throw up and cry because they couldn’t seem to figure out how to go back to a classroom without experiencing panic attacks that left them paralyzed in my office. This case was very extreme and not as common and yet it was clear that social anxiety had taken over their every day life. You may have a child or know of a child who never fully recovered from paralyzing feelings of fear and anxiety. Schools are still struggling to get students back in the classroom. I’m not sure if our education system will ever function as it once did. Educating parents and students is vital so they can do the work towards living their best life.
Anxiety
When a child does not outgrow the fears and worries that are typical in young children, or when there are so many fears and worries that they interfere with school, home, or play activities, the child may be diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Examples of different types of anxiety disorders include
Being very afraid when away from parents (separation anxiety)
Having extreme fear about a specific thing or situation, such as dogs, insects, or going to the doctor (phobias)
Being very afraid of school and other places where there are people (social anxiety)
Being very worried about the future and about bad things happening (general anxiety)
Having repeated episodes of sudden, unexpected, intense fear that come with symptoms like heart pounding, having trouble breathing, or feeling dizzy, shaky, or sweaty (panic disorder)
Anxiety may present as fear or worry, but can also make children irritable and angry. Anxiety symptoms can also include trouble sleeping, as well as physical symptoms like fatigue, headaches, or stomachaches. Some anxious children keep their worries to themselves and, thus, the symptoms can be missed.
Source Cited: https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/depression.html
Social anxiety has taken over so many teenagers. The good news is there is help. There are good therapists who can teach students coping skills to decrease anxiety so they can have a life worth living. I say this because anxiety can be exhausting leading teenagers to take desperate measures like taking their life. I know most think depression is what can cause suicidal thoughts. However, any diagnosis, whether it’s anxiety or depression, can be dangerous and life threatening. As parents or guardians, it’s important to be aware of the signs and get help as soon as possible. The sooner they get help, the higher the success rate.
