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Supporting Anxiety Recovery in Teens

Picture of Stonewater Recovery By   ·  2 minute read
According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, 80 percent of the kids who meet the diagnostic criteria for an anxiety disorder will not get the treatment they need. Parents tend to patronize their children's symptoms, reducing their emotional experiences as personality traits or character defects. Kids aren't supposed to be stressed, anxious "worry warts" with vivid "imaginations" about their fears. Anxiety issues in childhood, adolescence, and teenagerhood can lead to a higher risk of substance abuse and addiction later in life, especially when untreated. Unfortunately, but also thankfully, some symptoms and side effects of adolescent anxiety come full circle early on, warranting early intervention and treatment. Numerous studies have shown that for adults as well as adolescents, early intervention and treatment produce the best long-term results. If your adolescent or teen struggles with anxiety and has turned to substances to cope, Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center can help. Please contact our team today at 662.373.2828 to discuss your child's treatment options. You can also use the strategies we've listed below to support their recovery.

Don't Act Fearless in The Face of Adversity

One of the driving forces in anxiety is believing that it is bad to be fearful and have anxiety. Everyone experiences varying levels of anxious thinking and fears. Rather than encourage ideals of perfection that indicate living without fear, open the discussion about your child's fears. Please allow them to discuss their worries, no matter how abstract. Openly discuss your own concerns with them, no matter how you think they might make you look as a parent. Kids need to understand that having fears and emotions is normal. Showing kids that it is possible to feel and experience fear, then courageously walk through it and act despite it, is the better example.

Practice Mindfulness Together

Prayer, meditation, and mindfulness exercises are proven ways to reduce the symptoms of anxiety. Though anxiety cannot be "cured," your teen can manage it with a spiritual foundation. Mindfulness activities can help take a child out of their fearful future while bringing them back to a faithful present. Use strategies such as:
  • Focusing on the breath
  • Performing a body scan meditation
  • Talking through prayer
  • Paying attention to the senses
We teach many of these strategies in our anxiety treatment program at Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center. To learn how mindfulness can support your teen's recovery center, please reach out to our team today by calling 662.373.2828.

Have Empathy and Compassion

You may not fully understand how it feels to live with an anxiety disorder. You do have experience in fear, doubt, feeling out of control, and struggling to cope with truths in life. Remember that there every aspect of our character and being can be used for a purpose. Your child is not deficient, broken, or a punishment for you because of their anxiety. Instead, they pose a particular challenge to your ability to love more deeply and unconditionally. What your child needs more than anything is a reminder of that.

Seek Anxiety Treatment at Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center

Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center brings children and parents back together through the healing process of therapy and treatment. For example, we offer a range of exceptional treatment options for anxiety and substance use disorders, including: Providing premier residential treatment programs for adolescent addiction, we welcome families to build a foundation of faith while restoring mind, body, and spirit. For more information about the anxiety treatment programs at Stonewater Adolescent Recovery Center, please call 662.373.2828 today to speak to one of our treatment experts.