According to a diagnostic study conducted by the National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), it is estimated that 32% of teens in the United States have anxiety. The figure is even higher in females, with 38% of teen girls living with an anxiety disorder. With such statistics, it would not be far-fetched for a parent to suspect that their teen has anxiety.
Parents, guardians, and educators need to learn about teen anxiety and panic disorders to ensure that their teen’s mental health condition does not go unaddressed. Unaddressed mental health conditions can have a lasting impact on your teen’s life and should be treated as soon as possible. If you are seeking help for your teen today, contact NexStep Teen Academy. Our team can walk you through what the treatment process may look like.
Understanding Teen Anxiety and Panic Disorder
Anxiety is a normal bodily response. It is common for teens to get nervous or jittery when they have to do an exam or meet an important person. It is their body’s way of ensuring that we remain safe. However, sometimes, the nervousness lasts a long time, making it difficult to go about their daily life. If this is the case, your teen may have an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety interferes with their ability to function properly or makes them overreact to seemingly small situations. They become overwhelmed with emotions and do not know how to process them.
When anxiety becomes too hard to manage, your teen may have a panic attack, which is characterized by physical symptoms such as a racing heart, labored breathing, and excessive sweating. These symptoms arise from ordinary, everyday situations.
If your teen struggles to function because they are anxious, you should seek professional help immediately.
Causes and Risk Factors for Anxiety and Panic Disorders in Teens
Several factors can cause your teen to develop anxiety disorders. Researchers still cannot pinpoint the exact cause of mental health conditions like anxiety. More research needs to be done to help us understand mental health conditions better. Some causes of anxiety include the following:
Genetics
Like many other mental health conditions, anxiety and panic disorders are influenced by one’s genetics. If you or your partner has anxiety, your teen has a 40% likelihood of developing the disorder. Experts do not know exactly which genes contribute to passing down anxiety and other mental health conditions. As research keeps making headways, it will reveal more about the human body’s complexities.
Chemical Imbalances
An imbalance in hormones or neurotransmitters may cause your teen’s anxiety. Neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine play a role in the development of anxiety. Specifically, GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, is regarded as central to the regulation of anxiety.
Environmental Factors
Anxiety can be caused by environmental factors such as stress. Increased academic pressure and high expectations can cause your teen to develop anxiety. Traumatic events, peer pressure, and bullying can also cause your teen to develop anxiety. They are constantly in a heightened state and cannot calm down.
Childhood Abuse or Neglect
If your teen was abused as a child, they may develop anxiety when they get older. They may specifically develop separation anxiety if they were neglected as a child. It is important to provide kids with adequate care and attention when they are still young to prevent the development of anxiety.
Recognizing Symptoms of Anxiety and Panic Disorders in Teens
Anxiety disorders encompass different types of anxiety. Some common types of anxiety include social, separation, and general anxiety, panic disorder, selective mutism, and agoraphobia. The type of symptoms your teen may exhibit depends on which kind of anxiety they have. Some common symptoms include the following:
Racing heart
Restlessness
Feeling jittery or on edge
Feelings of fear, panic, or dread
Excessive sweating
Nausea
Diarrhea
Cold hands and feet
Insomnia
Racing thoughts
Tensing up
Coping Strategies and Daily Practices for Managing Anxiety
The following are some healthy coping mechanisms for teen anxiety:
Breathing exercises
Yoga
Physical exercise
Journaling
Meditation
Practicing mindfulness
Positive affirmations
Positive thinking
Grounding exercises
Going out on walks
Listening to music
Art
Treatment Options for Teen Anxiety and Panic Disorder
NexStep Teen Academy’s teen intensive outpatient treatment center in Arizona prides itself on ensuring a tranquil environment where teens can focus on treatment. If you enroll your teen in NexStep’s outpatient teen program, they will receive high-quality treatment. Our teen IOP and teen PHP programs in Arizona ensure a tranquil treatment environment for teens to develop healthy coping mechanisms.
NexStep utilizes various treatment approaches to help teens overcome anxiety and panic disorders. These interventions include the following:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that helps teens identify and change their negative thought patterns. It is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. Teens who learn to control their thoughts can control their behavior.
Teens with anxiety can benefit from CBT since it helps them identify their negative thought patterns. For example, teens with anxiety tend to jump to conclusions or magnify their issues. These distorted thought patterns cause your teen to overreact to seemingly small issues. With CBT, they can recognize when they are reverting to negative thoughts and work on putting a positive spin on them.
CBT utilizes three core principles to help teens with anxiety or panic disorder. These include the following:
Guided Discovery: Teens with anxiety or panic disorders can benefit the most from guided discovery. It is a CBT practice in which teens are asked how they would react to certain uncomfortable situations. If your teen has anxiety, they will likely revert to three main negative thought patterns: magnification, catastrophization, and overgeneralization. Magnification involves making a mountain out of a molehill, while overgeneralization involves jumping to conclusions. Catastrophization leads teens to assume the worst without evidence supporting the prediction. With guided discovery, teens are guided to discover their negative thought patterns. Your teen will be asked to defend their negative thought patterns during an exercise. If they cannot defend their thoughts, they discover how unhelpful these thoughts are.
Cognitive Restructuring: It is a technique used in CBT to help teens replace unhealthy thoughts with more productive ones. When used on teens with anxiety, its goal is to identify triggering thoughts and replace them with more positive ones. Teens who use cognitive restructuring determine whether their thoughts are true and develop alternative thought patterns.
Cognitive Journaling:Journaling provides teens with an outlet for their negative feelings. It will help your teen record their progress and set therapy goals. An outlet for negative feelings helps them identify and take note of negative thoughts. They can also write down what triggers them and how it makes them feel. This allows teens with anxiety to process their emotions effectively.
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a psychotherapy approach that helps teens slow down their thoughts and analyze the usefulness of their behavior. If your teen is enrolled in a DBT program, they learn to appreciate the present moment without judgment and fear.
Teens with anxiety can benefit from DBT by helping them manage their emotions effectively. It teaches them how to navigate crises more effectively by equipping them with healthy coping mechanisms.
DBT uses four main components to treat anxiety. They include the following:
Mindfulness:This practice helps teens appreciate being in the moment. It prevents them from dwelling on the past or being fixated on the future. When done correctly, mindfulness can help your teen slow down their thoughts and become calm. Mindfulness also allows teens with anxiety to practice calming techniques such as meditation and breathing exercises. It teaches them to use their breath as an anchor. In times of crisis, teens with anxiety have short, uneven breaths that activate the fight or flight response. Deep breaths signal the parasympathetic system to slow down, calming your teen.
Distress Tolerance: Teens living with anxiety find it difficult to navigate a crisis. Distress tolerance allows teens to develop useful skills that will help them. It teaches them to evaluate the pros and cons of the situation and how to use self-soothing techniques.
Emotional Regulation: This technique teaches teens how to manage and regulate their emotions effectively. They learn how to identify the root cause of their negative emotions and how to prevent themselves from reacting impulsively. It also teaches them which battles to pick and not to waste their energy addressing certain situations.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: This technique teaches teens how to navigate interpersonal relationships, including open communication and setting healthy boundaries.
Group Therapy
This type of therapy helps teens develop healthy communication patterns. They learn coping strategies for negative emotions and thought patterns, such as rumination. In each session, your teen will share their stories with their peers and get their insights on the matter.
Today’s generation prefers relying on friends instead of family members for emotional support. Being put together with teens struggling with the same issues builds trust and community. The strong support network that comes out of group therapy helps teens overcome anxiety and panic disorders.
Pharmacological Interventions
Your teen may require a combination of therapy and medication to treat their anxiety. Sometimes, therapy alone is not enough. The following are some of the medicines used to treat anxiety:
Benzodiazepines:Anxiety can cause racing thoughts and muscle tension. Benzodiazepines are sedatives that relax muscles and increase neurotransmitter activity. They include Xanax and Valium.
Beta-blockers: These medications are mostly used to relieve physical symptoms of anxiety, such as a racing heart. It is especially useful for teens with social anxiety disorder.
Buspirone:It is used to treat both panic disorders and anxiety. While its mode of action is not clearly understood, it affects neurotransmitters like serotonin. It is a slow-acting medication that takes a couple of weeks to become active.
Antidepressants: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and Tricyclics are both used on teens with anxiety. They affect serotonin reuptake and make the neurotransmitter available in the brain.
Resources and Support for Teens with Anxiety and Panic Disorders
There are several resources available for teens with anxiety. These include the following:
Outpatient Teen Anxiety Treatment at NexStep Teen Academy
Teens with panic disorders and anxiety require specialized care. They may need therapy and, in some instances, pharmacological interventions. At NexStep Teen Academy, we provide tailored treatment approaches for teens with anxiety and panic disorders. Our dedicated staff ensures that teens’ needs are met during treatment.
Contact our team at NexStep Teen Academy to learn more about our programming and how outpatient treatment may benefit your son or daughter.
Medications used for anxiety are relatively safe. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed medications as they have fewer side effects. Older classes of medication, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), are usually only prescribed to teens with treatment-resistant anxiety or depression.
When your teen has a panic attack, the most important thing you can do is stay calm and reassure them. Validate their feelings while guiding them through breathing exercises. As they calm down, listen and be patient with them as they share their feelings.
Teen Anxiety and Panic Disorders
Table of Contents
According to a diagnostic study conducted by the National Comorbidity Survey Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), it is estimated that 32% of teens in the United States have anxiety. The figure is even higher in females, with 38% of teen girls living with an anxiety disorder. With such statistics, it would not be far-fetched for a parent to suspect that their teen has anxiety.
Parents, guardians, and educators need to learn about teen anxiety and panic disorders to ensure that their teen’s mental health condition does not go unaddressed. Unaddressed mental health conditions can have a lasting impact on your teen’s life and should be treated as soon as possible. If you are seeking help for your teen today, contact NexStep Teen Academy. Our team can walk you through what the treatment process may look like.
Understanding Teen Anxiety and Panic Disorder
Anxiety is a normal bodily response. It is common for teens to get nervous or jittery when they have to do an exam or meet an important person. It is their body’s way of ensuring that we remain safe. However, sometimes, the nervousness lasts a long time, making it difficult to go about their daily life. If this is the case, your teen may have an anxiety disorder.
Anxiety interferes with their ability to function properly or makes them overreact to seemingly small situations. They become overwhelmed with emotions and do not know how to process them.
When anxiety becomes too hard to manage, your teen may have a panic attack, which is characterized by physical symptoms such as a racing heart, labored breathing, and excessive sweating. These symptoms arise from ordinary, everyday situations.
If your teen struggles to function because they are anxious, you should seek professional help immediately.
Causes and Risk Factors for Anxiety and Panic Disorders in Teens
Several factors can cause your teen to develop anxiety disorders. Researchers still cannot pinpoint the exact cause of mental health conditions like anxiety. More research needs to be done to help us understand mental health conditions better. Some causes of anxiety include the following:
Genetics
Like many other mental health conditions, anxiety and panic disorders are influenced by one’s genetics. If you or your partner has anxiety, your teen has a 40% likelihood of developing the disorder. Experts do not know exactly which genes contribute to passing down anxiety and other mental health conditions. As research keeps making headways, it will reveal more about the human body’s complexities.
Chemical Imbalances
An imbalance in hormones or neurotransmitters may cause your teen’s anxiety. Neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine play a role in the development of anxiety. Specifically, GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, is regarded as central to the regulation of anxiety.
Environmental Factors
Anxiety can be caused by environmental factors such as stress. Increased academic pressure and high expectations can cause your teen to develop anxiety. Traumatic events, peer pressure, and bullying can also cause your teen to develop anxiety. They are constantly in a heightened state and cannot calm down.
Childhood Abuse or Neglect
If your teen was abused as a child, they may develop anxiety when they get older. They may specifically develop separation anxiety if they were neglected as a child. It is important to provide kids with adequate care and attention when they are still young to prevent the development of anxiety.
Recognizing Symptoms of Anxiety and Panic Disorders in Teens
Anxiety disorders encompass different types of anxiety. Some common types of anxiety include social, separation, and general anxiety, panic disorder, selective mutism, and agoraphobia. The type of symptoms your teen may exhibit depends on which kind of anxiety they have. Some common symptoms include the following:
Coping Strategies and Daily Practices for Managing Anxiety
The following are some healthy coping mechanisms for teen anxiety:
Treatment Options for Teen Anxiety and Panic Disorder
NexStep Teen Academy’s teen intensive outpatient treatment center in Arizona prides itself on ensuring a tranquil environment where teens can focus on treatment. If you enroll your teen in NexStep’s outpatient teen program, they will receive high-quality treatment. Our teen IOP and teen PHP programs in Arizona ensure a tranquil treatment environment for teens to develop healthy coping mechanisms.
NexStep utilizes various treatment approaches to help teens overcome anxiety and panic disorders. These interventions include the following:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is an evidence-based form of psychotherapy that helps teens identify and change their negative thought patterns. It is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are connected. Teens who learn to control their thoughts can control their behavior.
Teens with anxiety can benefit from CBT since it helps them identify their negative thought patterns. For example, teens with anxiety tend to jump to conclusions or magnify their issues. These distorted thought patterns cause your teen to overreact to seemingly small issues. With CBT, they can recognize when they are reverting to negative thoughts and work on putting a positive spin on them.
CBT utilizes three core principles to help teens with anxiety or panic disorder. These include the following:
Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
DBT is a psychotherapy approach that helps teens slow down their thoughts and analyze the usefulness of their behavior. If your teen is enrolled in a DBT program, they learn to appreciate the present moment without judgment and fear.
Teens with anxiety can benefit from DBT by helping them manage their emotions effectively. It teaches them how to navigate crises more effectively by equipping them with healthy coping mechanisms.
DBT uses four main components to treat anxiety. They include the following:
Group Therapy
This type of therapy helps teens develop healthy communication patterns. They learn coping strategies for negative emotions and thought patterns, such as rumination. In each session, your teen will share their stories with their peers and get their insights on the matter.
Today’s generation prefers relying on friends instead of family members for emotional support. Being put together with teens struggling with the same issues builds trust and community. The strong support network that comes out of group therapy helps teens overcome anxiety and panic disorders.
Pharmacological Interventions
Your teen may require a combination of therapy and medication to treat their anxiety. Sometimes, therapy alone is not enough. The following are some of the medicines used to treat anxiety:
Resources and Support for Teens with Anxiety and Panic Disorders
There are several resources available for teens with anxiety. These include the following:
Outpatient Teen Anxiety Treatment at NexStep Teen Academy
Teens with panic disorders and anxiety require specialized care. They may need therapy and, in some instances, pharmacological interventions. At NexStep Teen Academy, we provide tailored treatment approaches for teens with anxiety and panic disorders. Our dedicated staff ensures that teens’ needs are met during treatment.
Contact our team at NexStep Teen Academy to learn more about our programming and how outpatient treatment may benefit your son or daughter.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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Medications used for anxiety are relatively safe. selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are the most commonly prescribed medications as they have fewer side effects. Older classes of medication, such as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), are usually only prescribed to teens with treatment-resistant anxiety or depression.
You can help your teen manage academic pressure by encouraging them to do the following:
When your teen has a panic attack, the most important thing you can do is stay calm and reassure them. Validate their feelings while guiding them through breathing exercises. As they calm down, listen and be patient with them as they share their feelings.
Anxiety disorders can lead to depression. They often are comorbid with each other, meaning that they occur together.