Helping Your Anxious Teen : Positive Parenting Strategies to Help Your Teen Beat Anxiety, Stress, and Worry

Introduction; 1. Teens and Anxiety: A Perfect Storm; Understanding Anxiety and theUnique Nature of Adolescent Fears; 2. The Nuts and Bolts of Parenting an Anxious Teen; What Works and What BackfiresWhen Managing Teen Anxiety; 3. My Constant Worrier; Overcoming Fearful Thinkingand Repetitive Worries; 4. My Anxiously Avoiding Teen; Eliminating Avoidance andLearning How to Face Fears; 5. My Socially Fearful Teen; Reducing Social Fears andFacing Social Challenges; 6. My Perfectionistic Teen; Confronting Perfectionismand Procrastination; 7. My Irritable, Stressed-Out Teen.;"Parenting a teen isn't easy, but parenting an anxious teen is especially challenging. Written by a psychologist and expert on adolescent anxiety, this essential book will show you what really works to overcome all types of teen anxiety and how to apply specific skills to support your teen. Most parents find it frustrating when common sense and logical methods such as reassurance don't seem to work to allay their teen's anxiety. They want to know: Why is anxiety so hard to get rid of once it takes hold? Why aren't my efforts to help working? And how can I best help my teen break free from anxiety to become happy and resilient? This powerful book, based on cutting-edge research and cognitive behavioral strategies, will help you develop the know-how to effectively manage teen anxiety. You'll learn the best ways to support your teen in overcoming problematic thinking and fears, discover what behaviors and coping strategies unwittingly make anxiety worse, and understand how anxiety is best defeated with surprisingly counterintuitive methods. Step-by-step guidance, along with numerous real-life examples and exercises, will help you to: Sensitively redirect your teen's worries when they intensify Reduce social anxiety, perfectionism, and panic attacks Proactively address common triggers of stress and anxiety Implement a proven approach for decreasing avoidance and facing fearsFrom overcoming minor angst to defeating paralyzing fear, you and your teen will feel empowered by radically new ways of responding to anxiety. With Helping Your Anxious Teen, you'll have a wealth of research-backed strategies to lead you in being an effective anxiety coach for your teen"-- "... thoughtful tools for helping young people help themselves." —Library Journal Parenting a teen isn't easy, but parenting an anxious teen is especially challenging. Written by a psychologist and expert on adolescent anxiety, this essential book will show you what really works to overcome all types of teen anxiety and how to apply specific skills to support your teen. Most parents find it frustrating when common sense and logical methods such as reassurance don’t seem to work to allay their teen’s anxiety. They want to know: Why is anxiety so hard to get rid of once it takes hold? Why aren’t my efforts to help working? And how can I best help my teen break free from anxiety to become happy and resilient? This powerful book, based on cutting-edge research and cognitive behavioral strategies, will help you develop the know-how to effectively manage teen anxiety. You’ll learn the best ways to support your teen in overcoming problematic thinking and fears, discover what behaviors and coping strategies unwittingly make anxiety worse, and understand how anxiety is best defeated with surprisingly counterintuitive methods. Step-by-step guidance, along with numerous real-life examples and exercises, will help you to: Sensitively redirect your teen’s worries when they intensify Reduce social anxiety, perfectionism, and panic attacks Proactively address common triggers of stress and anxiety Implement a proven approach for decreasing avoidance and facing fearsFrom overcoming minor angst to defeating paralyzing fear, you and your teen will feel empowered by radically new ways of responding to anxiety. With Helping Your Anxious Teen, you’ll have a wealth of research-backed strategies to lead you in being an effective anxiety coach for your teen. "... thoughtful tools for helping young people help themselves." — Library Journal Parenting a teen isn't easy, but parenting an anxious teen is especially challenging. Written by a psychologist and expert on adolescent anxiety, this essential book will show you what really works to overcome all types of teen anxiety and how to apply specific skills to support your teen. Most parents find it frustrating when common sense and logical methods such as reassurance don't seem to work to allay their teen's anxiety. They want to know: Why is anxiety so hard to get rid of once it takes hold? Why aren't my efforts to help working? And how can I best help my teen break free from anxiety to become happy and resilient? This powerful book, based on cutting-edge research and cognitive behavioral strategies, will help you develop the know-how to effectively manage teen anxiety. You'll learn the best ways to support your teen in overcoming problematic thinking and fears, discover what behaviors and coping strategies unwittingly make anxiety worse, and understand how anxiety is best defeated with surprisingly counterintuitive methods. Step-by-step guidance, along with numerous real-life examples and exercises, will help you to: Sensitively redirect your teen's worries when they intensify Reduce social anxiety, perfectionism, and panic attacks Proactively address common triggers of stress and anxiety Implement a proven approach for decreasing avoidance and facing fears From overcoming minor angst to defeating paralyzing fear, you and your teen will feel empowered by radically new ways of responding to anxiety. With Helping Your Anxious Teen , you'll have a wealth of research-backed strategies to lead you in being an effective anxiety coach for your teen. "Parenting a teen isn't easy, but parenting an anxious teen is especially challenging. Written by a psychologist and expert on adolescent anxiety, this essential book will show you what really works to overcome all types of teen anxiety and how to apply specific skills to support your teen. Most parents find it frustrating when common sense and logical methods such as reassurance don't seem to work to allay their teen's anxiety. They want to know: Why is anxiety so hard to get rid of once it takes hold? Why aren't my efforts to help working? And how can I best help my teen break free from anxiety to become happy and resilient? This powerful book, based on cutting-edge research and cognitive behavioral strategies, will help you develop the know-how to effectively manage teen anxiety. You'll learn the best ways to support your teen in overcoming problematic thinking and fears, discover what behaviors and coping strategies unwittingly make anxiety worse, and understand how anxiety is best defeated with surprisingly counterintuitive methods. Step-by-step guidance, along with numerous real-life examples and exercises, will help you to: Sensitively redirect your teen's worries when they intensify Reduce social anxiety, perfectionism, and panic attacks Proactively address common triggers of stress and anxiety Implement a proven approach for decreasing avoidance and facing fearsFrom overcoming minor angst to defeating paralyzing fear, you and your teen will feel empowered by radically new ways of responding to anxiety. With Helping Your Anxious Teen, you'll have a wealth of research-backed strategies to lead you in being an effective anxiety coach for your teen"-- Provided by publisher Contents 8 Introduction 10 1. Teens and Anxiety: A Perfect Storm 18 Understanding Anxiety and theUnique Nature of Adolescent Fears 18 2. The Nuts and Bolts of Parenting an Anxious Teen 32 What Works and What BackfiresWhen Managing Teen Anxiety 32 3. My Constant Worrier 50 Overcoming Fearful Thinkingand Repetitive Worries 50 4. My Anxiously Avoiding Teen 70 Eliminating Avoidance andLearning How to Face Fears 70 5. My Socially Fearful Teen 92 Reducing Social Fears andFacing Social Challenges 92 6. My Perfectionistic Teen 114 Confronting Perfectionismand Procrastination 114 7. My Irritable, Stressed-Out Teen 136 Managing Irritability, Stress,and Anxious Meltdowns 136 8. Quieting the Body's Alarm System 158 Reducing Panic, Decreasing PhysicalSymptoms, and Calming the Mind 158 9. Anxiety Flashpoints Through the Teen Years 176 Modifying Triggers of AdolescentAnxiety and UnderstandingAnxiety Disorders 176 10. A Roadmap for Parents 198 Coping with an Anxious Teen,Challenging Your Worries, andLeading the Way 198 Acknowledgments 216 Appendix A: Socratic Questions 218 Parents’ Easy Guide toQuestioning Anxious Thoughts 218 Appendix B: Cognitive Errors 220 Appendix C: Anxiety Disorders Diagnosed in Children and Adolescents 222 Appendix D: Professional Associations 226 Appendix E: Useful Apps 228 Selected References and Recommended Readings 230 Introduction 1. Teens and Anxiety: A Perfect Storm Understanding Anxiety and theUnique Nature of Adolescent Fears 2. The Nuts and Bolts of Parenting an Anxious Teen What Works and What BackfiresWhen Managing Teen Anxiety 3. My Constant Worrier Overcoming Fearful Thinkingand Repetitive Worries 4. My Anxiously Avoiding Teen Eliminating Avoidance andLearning How to Face Fears 5. My Socially Fearful Teen Reducing Social Fears andFacing Social Challenges 6. My Perfectionistic Teen Confronting Perfectionismand Procrastination 7. My Irritable, Stressed-Out Teen. Managing Irritability, Stress, and Anxious Meltdowns8. Quieting the Body's Alarm System Reducing Panic, Decreasing PhysicalSymptoms, and Calming the Mind 9. Anxiety Flashpoints Through the Teen Years Modifying Triggers of AdolescentAnxiety and UnderstandingAnxiety Disorders 10. A Roadmap for Parents Coping with an Anxious Teen, Challenging Your Worries, andLeading the Way Acknowledgments Appendix A: Socratic Questions Parents' Easy Guide toQuestioning Anxious Thoughts Appendix B: Cognitive Errors Appendix C: Anxiety Disorders Diagnosed in Children and Adolescents. Appendix D: Professional AssociationsAppendix E: Useful Apps Selected References and Recommended Readings.