Parenting an anxious young adult
Hello,
I'm looking for support in being a better parent to my young adult who has issues with anxiety. Does anyone have suggestions about resources (books, support groups etc.) that help parents understand better how to parent anxious teens and young adults?
Thanks
Jan 20, 2017
Parent Replies
The most important thing to know about anxiety is that two common approaches can actually make it worse. Those approaches are reassurance and avoiding the situation that makes you anxious. Avoiding things does reduce anxiety in the short run, but also gives your brain the message that avoidance is a good strategy -- which leads to more avoidance! There are some excellent cognitive behavioral resources (books like Mind Over Mood) and therapists who can help you find ways to gently confront the anxiety by top-notch planning, changing anxiety-producing thoughts, or in some cases by taking small steps toward the thing that makes you anxious. The cool thing is that the brain can be trained to de-stress.
Hello, recently went through a many-months downhill with my anxious 24 year old. Neither of us recognized it as anxiety at the time. Ended up with a hospitalization & got psychiatric support through Kaiser. She is now taking Wellbutrin and life has been good and even-keeled for about 3 months. I just wanted you to know that it could be as simple as that! Best of luck.