Sometimes we have to do something really scary in order to be our true selves. I started working on a memoir about social anxiety about five years ago. I finally finished the memoir but then six days later my husband passed away.
There is a strong relationship between social anxiety and bullying. Research has shown that a clinically significant amount of people with social anxiety have experienced bullying. Often children have a genetic predisposition to anxiety, but environmental stressors, like bullying, blossom that genetic seed.
We all worry about what other people think, that is a human condition. But when you have social anxiety those thoughts consume you, devour you. With social anxiety we are on the hamster wheel of acceptance. We look for it, we analyze it, we tell ourselves we don’t have it – and the cycle repeats. But what if our kids could get off that hamster wheel of caring what other people think, or at least to the level that they do? What if they flipped it around and asked themselves, What do I think? How do I view myself? This is where the real work begins when trying to get rid of social anxiety. It begins with ourselves. In this week’s YouTube video I talk to kids and teens about how to shift their concern about what other people think to reduce their social anxiety.
The fuel that grows our child’s social anxiety comes from the assumptions they make. Sometimes it isn’t the social interaction itself that is the struggle, it’s what they tell themselves afterwards that can be immobilizing. In this week’s YouTube video for kids and teens I discuss a common behavior that grows social anxiety and how they can avoid doing it.
We all care about what other people think on some level. But does your child stress over what people think? Do they worry people don’t like them? Does it consume them and make them socially anxious? Caring too much about what people think can impact their self-esteem and create mental health struggles like social anxiety. In this week’s Youtube video, I talk to kids and teens about how to overcome caring too much about what other people thin.
How to Help Our Kids with Social Anxiety Social anxiety isn’t about being an introvert. It isn’t about being shy. Yes, those attributes can coexist with social anxiety, but it doesn’t have to be present. Social anxiety is about the fear of rejection. It is about the concern that others will judge or criticize you. When we have social anxiety we let others define us. […]
How to Help a Child with Social Anxiety Social anxiety isn’t about not being able to make friends or keep friends. It is about the overwhelming feeling of judgment, criticism and rejection one feels. In this week’s podcast I chat with my 9 year old about her struggles with social anxiety (it runs in the family), and what has helped her make huge progress crushing […]
What are the Signs of Social Anxiety? It’s Often Not What People Think. Parents often miss the mark with social anxiety. They think it means a timid child, a shy child clinging to their pant legs or a child who lacks social skills. Although a child with social anxiety can have those attributes, that’s not what makes someone have social anxiety. In fact, you can […]
The Solution to Social Anxiety in Kids is Not what People Think I have spent 47 years with Social Anxiety Disorder. It is an ugly, devastating disorder that tears you down from the inside out. It can demolish any shred of self-esteem you have. It can paralyze and isolate you. But the solution to social anxiety is not what most people think. In fact, I […]
Helping Kids Who are Scared of Video Calls Our “new normal” is bringing with it some new fears. Most of our kids have been thrown into the world of video calls. Daily video sessions for school. Casual video calls with friends. Video family gatherings. Honestly, the list of video calls do not end. For many people this is a great consolation for not being able […]
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