I Don’t “Treat” Teen Anxiety. I Resolve What Causes It.

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“Anxiety” is becoming the single most self- or parent-diagnosed condition among teenagers.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is the physical manifestation of a person hyper-overreacting to a perceived threat—typically not an actual threat.

With their limited maturity and unsophisticated understanding of the world, teenagers fear that a situation will be so overwhelming that they will not be able to manage it and the consequences will be catastrophic.

There is a psychological disorder known as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. This kind of anxiety can show up anywhere, at any time. Somebody can be about to open a door, walk into a restaurant, or cross a parking lot and suddenly start to have anxiety.

In other words, the context doesn’t matter.

In my experience, the type of anxiety most teenagers are dealing with is quite different.

It is usually specific to something like speaking in front of a class, taking an exam, walking into a new place where they don’t know anybody, or having a difficult conversation.

Their fears, while totally exaggerated in terms of how much risk they’re actually under, are somewhat logical.

This is an important distinction. In my practice, I’ve worked with many high school and college students who struggle with this type of “anxiety”—the kind that is actually overthinking that leads to excessive nervousness.

I’ve been able to make massive breakthroughs in their lives—not by treating anxiety, but by expanding the way they think about and understand life and equipping them with a massive range of skills.

This gives them the confidence that, no matter what comes up or what they’re facing, they’ll be able to handle it.

Is your teenager truly struggling with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, in which case medication, exposure therapy, and treatment are probably the best options?

Or is your son or daughter way overthinking, way over-worrying, and not yet sophisticated enough to understand how the world really works?

Once they become more knowledgeable, sophisticated, and life-skilled, they’ll be able to walk into those same situations, stay calm, and perform just fine.

I’ve witnessed this work thousands of times in my practice over the years.

In my experience, probably 90% of the calls I get about anxiety are resolved through the learning and growth model of Evolution Mentoring and Coaching, without ever needing psychological treatment.

It’s pretty amazing.

Schedule a consultation if you’d like to learn more about how we can help your teen resolve the anxiety they’re struggling with.