She was visibly shaking. Her hands were trembling and she was asking me to help. Her face was so pale that my own panic started to set in. This was the start of an anxiety attack.
Anticipatory anxiety can be just as paralyzing as other anxiety themes. When we live in the world of what-ifs we can build up so much anxiety that we are immobilized by the time the situation or event arrives. It can help to teach our kids to build up skills on how to manage their anxiety prior to the situation. When they proactively quell the monumental avalanche of anxious thoughts they show up for the event/situation with less anxiety. In this week’s YouTube video for kids and teens I talk about some approaches to handle and reduce anticipatory anxiety.
Sometimes the anticipation of doing something can create even more anxiety than the event itself. Many of our anxious kids have anticipatory anxiety. Anticipatory anxiety can immobilize our kids and create a tsunami of anxious feelings. Unfortunately anticipatory anxiety can grow anxiety to such a height that it becomes insurmountable when the day finally arrives. So how can we take the wind out of anticipatory anxiety’s sails? It is key to learn how to catch those spirals before our kids spin out of control. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I discuss how anticipatory anxiety can show up as well as approaches you can use to reduce its impact on your child’s mental health.
How to Use a Strength Based Approach for Anxiety & OCD Can we build self-esteem and self-determination, while helping our kids with anxiety or OCD? Yes! In fact, it is crucial to learn how to do that within the context of our child’s anxiety OCD. In this episode of the AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how to take a strength based approach for […]
Why Anxiety or OCD Therapy is Not Enough for Our Kids Many of us think that if only we can find a qualified anxiety or OCD child therapist, all of our child’s struggles would go away. I wish that were true. I wish that was the case for the children that I have treated and for my own children. But the truth is, as parents […]
Red Flags to Watch for When Working with an Anxiety or OCD Therapist Not all therapy is the same. Not all therapists are the same. And when it comes to anxiety and OCD you really want to get it right the first time. But many parents don’t know what to look for and some don’t even realize warning bells should be going off. I invited […]
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