PSP 336: Teaching Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Advocate for Themselves

PSP 336: Teaching Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Advocate for Themselves

It is important for all kids to learn how to advocate for themselves. It is an especially important skill for kids with anxiety or OCD. Many of us feel like we have to go to bat for our kids with anxiety and OCD over and over again. But often we forget the important aspect of pulling back over time to teach our kids how to advocate for themselves. Self-advocacy builds self-esteem and empowerment. It helps kids learn that they have a voice. We can teach our kids to advocate for themselves in simple steps. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the ingredients to self-advocacy and how to build those skills one step at a time.

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Teaching Our Kids How to Handle Discomfort is Key for Anxiety & OCD

Teaching Our Kids How to Handle Discomfort is Key for Anxiety & OCD

We all struggle to some degree when faced with discomfort. But when you have anxiety or OCD you are faced with discomfort on a completely different level. Anxious thoughts make us uncomfortable. Intrusive thoughts that are not satiated with a compulsion lead to discomfort. When we work on anxiety or OCD, a key component is building our muscles to tolerate discomfort. This can help us beyond our anxiety or OCD. Learning how to handle any discomfort can increase resilience. Life brings discomfort in many forms. Building resilience goes beyond anxiety or OCD. It can impact how we approach life, obstacles and challenges. It can make the difference between giving up and persevering. In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids and teens about ways to build their ability to handle discomfort beyond anxiety or OCD.

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When Your Child’s Faced with Anxiety or OCD Struggles Do They Give Up Before They Begin?

When Your Child’s Faced with Anxiety or OCD Struggles Do They Give Up Before They Begin?

How does your child talk to themselves when faced with anxiety or OCD struggles? How they show up to these anxiety or OCD issues can make all the difference. Do they cheer for themselves or do they cheer for anxiety or OCD? In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how our internal dialogue around anxiety or OCD is crucial.

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PSP 320: Are You Defining Success Around Anxiety or OCD in a Helpful Way?

PSP 320: Are You Defining Success Around Anxiety or OCD in a Helpful Way?

How do you define success when it comes to getting anxiety or OCD under control? What does “recovery” look like to you? What does it look like to your child? How we view success and how we convey it to our kids is critical. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast, I explore what a healthy view of “success” looks like and how to communicate that effectively to our kids.

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PSP 313: Helping Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD Flourish

PSP 313: Helping Our Kids with Anxiety or OCD Flourish

When we are in the trenches trying to help our kids with anxiety or OCD it can be hard to think of our kids flourishing. Often, however, it is within the struggle itself that some kids can find resiliency and purpose. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I invited Stephanie Krauss, author of Whole Child, Whole Life, to discuss her own journey with her son’s OCD as well as elements of her new book that offer a shift in perspective.

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Do You Know What Helps Your Child’s Anxiety or OCD?

Do You Know What Helps Your Child’s Anxiety or OCD?

Our child’s anxiety or OCD doesn’t live in a bubble. Our kids are surrounded by people who are there to support them. But do they allow others to help them? Do they even know how to ask for help? Often they don’t communicate what they need and we are left guessing. In this week’s Youtube video, I talk to kids and teens about why it is important to let others know exactly how they can help with their anxiety or OCD.

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PSP 300: Reducing Chaos Anxiety or OCD Bring to the Family

PSP 300: Reducing Chaos Anxiety or OCD Bring to the Family

Anxiety and OCD doesn’t just impact our child, it impacts the whole family. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I explore the most common ways anxiety and OCD can impact our families and how to address these issues to minimize its impact.

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Are You Working Harder Than Your Child on Their Anxiety or OCD?

Are You Working Harder Than Your Child on Their Anxiety or OCD?

Anxiety and OCD often make our kids push back on help. It might create an us vs them mentality in their mind. It might make them spin their wheels thinking about how they can avoid therapy, hide their compulsions or get others to give in to their anxiety or OCD. Unfortunately, this approach is a boomerang that only winds up hurting them and their long-term progress in the end. In this week’s Youtube video, I talk to kids and teens about how to be honest with themselves about their view of the help they are receiving. I encourage them to take the wheel and start steering their own journey while welcoming the support that surrounds them.

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PSP 288: How to Turn Fearful Moments into Helpful Challenges

PSP 288: How to Turn Fearful Moments into Helpful Challenges

Our kids with anxiety or OCD will often have moments of fear and avoidance. What we do in those moments can have a big impact on their long term success. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how to turn some of those fearful moments into an opportunity to sit in discomfort and walk towards fear.

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PSP 286: Helping Our Kids with Big Emotions

PSP 286: Helping Our Kids with Big Emotions

Often our kids with anxiety or OCD have BIG emotions. These emotions can be exhausting or overwhelming for us to handle. In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about how to shift our perspective when these big emotions show up and how to turn a dark moment into an opportunity for growth.

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PSP 285: How to Get Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Move Towards Their Fears

PSP 285: How to Get Kids with Anxiety or OCD to Move Towards Their Fears

As parents we want to encourage our kids with anxiety or OCD to move towards their fears and discomfort, not away from them. But how do we do that? In this week’s AT Parenting Survival Podcast I talk about the small steps we can take to help our kids move towards their fears. I also talk about effective ways to offer encouragement and instill the feeling of success.

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Does Your Teen Worry Anxiety or OCD Will Take Over Their Life? 

Does Your Teen Worry Anxiety or OCD Will Take Over Their Life? 

It is not uncommon for our kids (and us) to worry about worrying. They might wonder: What if my anxiety or OCD grows bigger? What if I am not able to go to school or get a job? What if I can’t find happiness? Feeling worried about their future can impact their present. It can also rob them (and you) of any energy they might have to meet these struggles head on. In this week’s Youtube video I talk to kids and teens about how to handle their fears of the future, while making progress in the here and now.

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PSP 280:  My Child Doesn’t Want Help for Anxiety or OCD. Now What?

PSP 280:  My Child Doesn’t Want Help for Anxiety or OCD. Now What?

You finally found help for your child with anxiety or OCD but they don’t want to work on it. Now what? That can be beyond frustrating! Especially if it took you a long time to connect with the right resources or help.

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