Anxiety is a normal emotional response. It protects us from threatening or dangerous situations. However, many teens experience debilitating impairment caused by anxiety. They feel intense and overwhelming worry about situations or events. Did you know that anxiety affects around 21% of teenagers in the United States? This figure is concerning. As a parent or guardian, you may notice your teen is exhibiting certain behaviors that are indicative of anxiety. This can leave you wondering what is causing your teen’s anxiety.
This article will explore various causes of teen anxiety. It will also offer practical coping strategies teens can use to overcome anxiety. If you would like more anxiety-related information, contact NexStep Teen Academy today. We will be happy to offer our comprehensive services.
Common Causes of Teen Anxiety
Like many other mental health conditions, anxiety does not have a singular cause. It arises from a combination of several factors. These include the following:
Genetics
Research has shown that anxiety can run in families. It can be passed down from parents to children. Teens whose first-level relatives have anxiety are at an increased risk of developing anxiety. A 2015 study investigating the genetic cause of anxiety concluded that the RBFOX1 gene may predispose teens to develop generalized anxiety disorders. The study was conducted on twins to investigate their likelihood of developing anxiety. Similarly, a 2016 review demonstrated that various anxiety disorders can be linked to specific genes. The study found that the NPSR1 gene can be linked to panic disorders. Additionally, the OXTR gene was linked to social anxiety disorder.
If any of your first-level relatives have anxiety, you may likely have passed the trait down to your teenager.
Brain Chemistry and Chemical Imbalances
Chemical imbalances in the brain and body can cause anxiety. Epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline, is closely linked to symptoms of anxiety. When your teen is stressed, their bodies release epinephrine to activate their fight or flight response. Since your teen is not in immediate danger, the epinephrine causes rapid heart rates and sweating. This worsens symptoms of anxiety.
Similarly, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is attributable to anxiety. GABA imbalances have been attributed to the development of anxiety and other mood disorders. Benzodiazepines, a common anti-anxiety treatment, bind to GABA receptors to treat anxiety. This shows that GABA plays an important role in the development of anxiety.
Academic Pressure and Performance Anxiety
Your teen’s anxiety may be caused by piling academic stress. As a parent, guardian, or teacher, it is normal to expect good grades from your teenager. However, this expectation can feel like overwhelming pressure. Many teens want to do right by you and want to be successful.
Teenagers become stressed when they feel underprepared for their examinations. A common experience by many teenagers is that no matter how much they study, they will always feel underprepared. Your teenager may constantly worry that they may perform poorly in their tests. This leads them to be anxious about their examination and performance. As a parent or guardian, you should avoid pressuring your teen. Be happy for them and reward their effort, not the result.
Social Media and Cyberbullying
Although technology has had an important impact on how teenagers interact, it also has its dangers. Your teenager’s anxiety can be caused by social media use. What may start off as a harmless photo on the internet can spiral into cyberbullying. As a parent or guardian, you may not know who your teenager interacts with on the internet. Since social media offers some sort of anonymity, teenagers tend to abuse this power and use it to harm others. Anonymity may lead to insults and harmful trends that can impact your teenager’s mental health.
Did you know that teenagers who use social media for more than three hours daily have worse mental health outcomes? The use of technology can promote unhealthy lifestyles. Your teen may become socially isolated or sleep less than 4 hours daily. These lifestyles can contribute to the onset of teenage anxiety and depression.
Peer Pressure and Social Expectations
As teenagers enter adolescence, they begin taking on more responsibility. They become more independent and start behaving like adults. This is part of their natural development. However, social expectations can negatively affect your teen’s mental health. They may feel like too much is expected from them. Juggling between schoolwork, hobbies, and part-time jobs can be difficult. Teenagers often feel overwhelmed because they have very little time to decompress. When all these factors come together, it can lead to the development of anxiety.
Family Issues and Home Environment
As hard as it is to admit, anxiety can be caused by family issues. The environment where your teen grows up can have a negative impact on their mental health. According to research, teenagers who grow up in adverse environments are at an increased risk of developing learning disabilities and mental health conditions. This is attributable to factors such as high stress, low socio-economic status, and feeling undervalued. Your teenager craves to feel safe and secure. When their home environment does not feel safe, they may develop anxiety.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine constantly walking on eggshells at home or being constantly worried about food. These factors can make your teen develop high anxiety levels.
Trauma and Past Experiences
If your teen has experienced a traumatic event, they may develop anxiety. Trauma is complex and can be hard to understand. It causes teenagers to feel afraid of people, situations, or things. It causes night terrors and other traumatic symptoms. Traumatic events can cause your teen to be socially anxious. They may also cause them to become anxious about the future. Since trauma can activate your teen’s sympathetic nervous system, it puts them on the edge and can lead to panic attacks.
Signs and Symptoms of Teen Anxiety
Now that you understand what causes anxiety, you need to know what to look out for. Some common signs and symptoms of anxiety include the following:
Emotional Signs of Anxiety
Excessive worry about past, present, or future events
Irritability and frustration
Emotional outbursts
Social withdrawal
Replaying events in your mind to ensure everything goes perfectly
Being overly self-critical
Catastrophizing thoughts
Physical Signs of Anxiety
Shaking
Excessive sweating
Twitching
Nausea
Vomiting
Headaches
Stomachaches
Dizziness
Heart palpitations
Shortness of breath
Restlessness
Behavioral Signs of Anxiety
Social isolation
Not sleeping enough or sleeping too much
A decline in academic performance
Perfectionism
Loss of appetite or eating too much
Developing negative coping mechanisms
What to Do About Teen Anxiety
As a parent or guardian, there are a number of things you can do to help manage your teen’s anxiety. Here are a few things you can do:
Encourage Healthy Living
Simple things like exercise and healthy eating can improve your teenager’s mental health. When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins. Endorphins are the hormones responsible for relieving pain and regulating mood. An increased concentration of endorphins in the bloodstream can improve your teenager’s mood.
Similarly, eating healthy food can positively impact your teenager’s mental health. Encourage your teen to eat nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains. They should avoid highly processed foods with high quantities of sugar. Our gut microbiome can have an impact on our mental health.
Teach Practical Coping Strategies
Practical coping strategies like journaling, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness meditation can positively impact your teen’s mental health. They teach teens how to relax when they feel anxious or overwhelmed. These activities also help your teen regain control of their lives when they feel out of control.
Seek Professional Help
Professional help is crucial in the management of anxiety. When your teen exhibits signs of anxiety, you should seek professional help immediately. Professionals are able to diagnose your teen accurately and develop an appropriate treatment plan. They can also utilize a wide array of options, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and medication, to help your teen overcome their anxiety.
Teen Anxiety Treatment at NexStep Teen Academy
Anxiety is a treatable mental health condition. Although anxiety is treatable, many teens shy away from receiving treatment because of stigma. As a parent or guardian, you should educate your teen and those around them about the importance of mental health treatment. Doing so will help teenagers seek professional help for anxiety. NexStep Teen Academy is a high-quality treatment facility in Arizona. It offers outpatient treatment for teens with various mental health challenges. NexStep Teen Academy uses evidence-based, holistic, and pharmacological interventions to help teens with anxiety. We use treatment approaches like cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), exposure therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to treat teen anxiety.
Contact us today for more information about our anxiety treatment and outpatient treatment programs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Can anxiety lead to depression?
Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health conditions. More often than not, teenagers with depression have anxiety. This can be attributable to social withdrawal and worsening social skills. A lack of human interaction can lead to the development of depression.
Causes of Teen Anxiety & What to Do
Table of Contents
Anxiety is a normal emotional response. It protects us from threatening or dangerous situations. However, many teens experience debilitating impairment caused by anxiety. They feel intense and overwhelming worry about situations or events. Did you know that anxiety affects around 21% of teenagers in the United States? This figure is concerning. As a parent or guardian, you may notice your teen is exhibiting certain behaviors that are indicative of anxiety. This can leave you wondering what is causing your teen’s anxiety.
This article will explore various causes of teen anxiety. It will also offer practical coping strategies teens can use to overcome anxiety. If you would like more anxiety-related information, contact NexStep Teen Academy today. We will be happy to offer our comprehensive services.
Common Causes of Teen Anxiety
Like many other mental health conditions, anxiety does not have a singular cause. It arises from a combination of several factors. These include the following:
Genetics
Research has shown that anxiety can run in families. It can be passed down from parents to children. Teens whose first-level relatives have anxiety are at an increased risk of developing anxiety. A 2015 study investigating the genetic cause of anxiety concluded that the RBFOX1 gene may predispose teens to develop generalized anxiety disorders. The study was conducted on twins to investigate their likelihood of developing anxiety. Similarly, a 2016 review demonstrated that various anxiety disorders can be linked to specific genes. The study found that the NPSR1 gene can be linked to panic disorders. Additionally, the OXTR gene was linked to social anxiety disorder.
If any of your first-level relatives have anxiety, you may likely have passed the trait down to your teenager.
Brain Chemistry and Chemical Imbalances
Chemical imbalances in the brain and body can cause anxiety. Epinephrine, more commonly known as adrenaline, is closely linked to symptoms of anxiety. When your teen is stressed, their bodies release epinephrine to activate their fight or flight response. Since your teen is not in immediate danger, the epinephrine causes rapid heart rates and sweating. This worsens symptoms of anxiety.
Similarly, GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is attributable to anxiety. GABA imbalances have been attributed to the development of anxiety and other mood disorders. Benzodiazepines, a common anti-anxiety treatment, bind to GABA receptors to treat anxiety. This shows that GABA plays an important role in the development of anxiety.
Academic Pressure and Performance Anxiety
Your teen’s anxiety may be caused by piling academic stress. As a parent, guardian, or teacher, it is normal to expect good grades from your teenager. However, this expectation can feel like overwhelming pressure. Many teens want to do right by you and want to be successful.
Teenagers become stressed when they feel underprepared for their examinations. A common experience by many teenagers is that no matter how much they study, they will always feel underprepared. Your teenager may constantly worry that they may perform poorly in their tests. This leads them to be anxious about their examination and performance. As a parent or guardian, you should avoid pressuring your teen. Be happy for them and reward their effort, not the result.
Social Media and Cyberbullying
Although technology has had an important impact on how teenagers interact, it also has its dangers. Your teenager’s anxiety can be caused by social media use. What may start off as a harmless photo on the internet can spiral into cyberbullying. As a parent or guardian, you may not know who your teenager interacts with on the internet. Since social media offers some sort of anonymity, teenagers tend to abuse this power and use it to harm others. Anonymity may lead to insults and harmful trends that can impact your teenager’s mental health.
Did you know that teenagers who use social media for more than three hours daily have worse mental health outcomes? The use of technology can promote unhealthy lifestyles. Your teen may become socially isolated or sleep less than 4 hours daily. These lifestyles can contribute to the onset of teenage anxiety and depression.
Peer Pressure and Social Expectations
As teenagers enter adolescence, they begin taking on more responsibility. They become more independent and start behaving like adults. This is part of their natural development. However, social expectations can negatively affect your teen’s mental health. They may feel like too much is expected from them. Juggling between schoolwork, hobbies, and part-time jobs can be difficult. Teenagers often feel overwhelmed because they have very little time to decompress. When all these factors come together, it can lead to the development of anxiety.
Family Issues and Home Environment
As hard as it is to admit, anxiety can be caused by family issues. The environment where your teen grows up can have a negative impact on their mental health. According to research, teenagers who grow up in adverse environments are at an increased risk of developing learning disabilities and mental health conditions. This is attributable to factors such as high stress, low socio-economic status, and feeling undervalued. Your teenager craves to feel safe and secure. When their home environment does not feel safe, they may develop anxiety.
Put yourself in their shoes. Imagine constantly walking on eggshells at home or being constantly worried about food. These factors can make your teen develop high anxiety levels.
Trauma and Past Experiences
If your teen has experienced a traumatic event, they may develop anxiety. Trauma is complex and can be hard to understand. It causes teenagers to feel afraid of people, situations, or things. It causes night terrors and other traumatic symptoms. Traumatic events can cause your teen to be socially anxious. They may also cause them to become anxious about the future. Since trauma can activate your teen’s sympathetic nervous system, it puts them on the edge and can lead to panic attacks.
Signs and Symptoms of Teen Anxiety
Now that you understand what causes anxiety, you need to know what to look out for. Some common signs and symptoms of anxiety include the following:
Emotional Signs of Anxiety
Physical Signs of Anxiety
Behavioral Signs of Anxiety
What to Do About Teen Anxiety
As a parent or guardian, there are a number of things you can do to help manage your teen’s anxiety. Here are a few things you can do:
Encourage Healthy Living
Simple things like exercise and healthy eating can improve your teenager’s mental health. When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins. Endorphins are the hormones responsible for relieving pain and regulating mood. An increased concentration of endorphins in the bloodstream can improve your teenager’s mood.
Similarly, eating healthy food can positively impact your teenager’s mental health. Encourage your teen to eat nutritious foods like vegetables, fruits, and grains. They should avoid highly processed foods with high quantities of sugar. Our gut microbiome can have an impact on our mental health.
Teach Practical Coping Strategies
Practical coping strategies like journaling, deep breathing exercises, and mindfulness meditation can positively impact your teen’s mental health. They teach teens how to relax when they feel anxious or overwhelmed. These activities also help your teen regain control of their lives when they feel out of control.
Seek Professional Help
Professional help is crucial in the management of anxiety. When your teen exhibits signs of anxiety, you should seek professional help immediately. Professionals are able to diagnose your teen accurately and develop an appropriate treatment plan. They can also utilize a wide array of options, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, and medication, to help your teen overcome their anxiety.
Teen Anxiety Treatment at NexStep Teen Academy
Anxiety is a treatable mental health condition. Although anxiety is treatable, many teens shy away from receiving treatment because of stigma. As a parent or guardian, you should educate your teen and those around them about the importance of mental health treatment. Doing so will help teenagers seek professional help for anxiety. NexStep Teen Academy is a high-quality treatment facility in Arizona. It offers outpatient treatment for teens with various mental health challenges. NexStep Teen Academy uses evidence-based, holistic, and pharmacological interventions to help teens with anxiety. We use treatment approaches like cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), exposure therapy, and dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) to treat teen anxiety.
Contact us today for more information about our anxiety treatment and outpatient treatment programs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Depression and anxiety are the most common mental health conditions. More often than not, teenagers with depression have anxiety. This can be attributable to social withdrawal and worsening social skills. A lack of human interaction can lead to the development of depression.