Explaining Anxiety to People Who Don’t Get it

How many times have you heard people say things like, “you just coddle him too much” or “you just need to be tougher with her!” Some other oldies but goodies are, “She doesn’t act that way for me” and “he’ll grow out of it. Don’t worry.” Sometimes explaining anxiety to people who don’t get it can make your head spin. Trust me, I get it. I have bitten my tongue so many times – I have callouses.


What about if those people are your other kids? What if you hear things like, “Why do you treat him like that?” or “If that was me I would totally get in trouble!” How can you explain anxiety to your other children so they can “get” their anxious sibling and maybe even help and not hurt the situation?

Some people don’t understand anxiety. Explaining anxiety to those that don’t get it can be a struggle. Let me help you with your verbal judo.

 

What if the people making those comments are your partner, your relatives, your closest friends. Even worse than that perhaps….your child’s teacher or the school administration.


As someone who explains anxiety for a living, I thought I would give you some of my verbal judo skills on the topic. I hope it helps!

 


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