Now, let’s take a deeper dive into anxiety. As we touched on last week, it is not always a bad thing to be feeling anxious, and there is a reason why everyone gets anxious sometimes. Anxiety can communicate helpful information to us in times when we are really in danger or when we need to prepare for something. But feeling too much anxiety or feeling anxiety at inappropriate times can become a problem.
Anxiety can also show up in different ways. Sometimes, it can be easy to tell when your child is feeling anxious- they may become tense, shaky, or appear uncomfortable. Other times, it may not be as obvious. Your teen or child may find it difficult to determine when they are feeling anxious themselves. Watch this video to learn about the CBT triangle and the three aspects of anxiety.
As you just learned, our body and our thoughts can signal to us when we are feeling anxious. Anxiety also shows up in the ways that we act. Your child may avoid things that they are afraid of or use “quick fixes” to make their anxiety go away in the short-term. We will talk more about avoidance and quick fixes next week. But first, let’s take a minute to identify the things that make your child anxious and measure the amount of anxiety they experience.
