Anxiety is hard. Anxiety is feeling like you can’t do anything right. Anxiety is a bully sitting on your shoulder reminding you about everything that can or will go wrong. Anxiety is worrying so much that your stomach hurts or head aches. Anxiety makes it hard to be yourself.
Anxiety in children and teens is just as hard. They are figuring out who they are and who want to be in this world. Meanwhile, anxiety makes it harder to walk down the path of growing up. Every one of us experiences stress, including children and teens. But when stress turns into overwhelming anxiety, it can impact a child’s everyday life and make it harder to function. Anxiety can make everyday stresses feel like a gigantic mountain to climb. Anxiety can make it hard to go school. In fact, it can feel impossible to even hang out with friends. Anxiety can take away the joy from things your child once loved.
For some young people experiencing anxiety, a hug and some reassurance from a trusted adult can be enough to help them cope. But what if the anxiety keeps happening over and over again? What if it gets bigger and bigger?
Thinking Tree Psychology can help.
Common Anxiety Symptoms in Young People
While everyone experiences anxiety a little bit differently, here are some of the common symptoms of anxiety in young people:
Worries about making mistakes
Fear about separating from a parent
Trouble falling asleep at night or staying asleep
Worries about school performance
Anger or irritability
Test anxiety
Avoiding activities or friends
Stomach aches or headaches related to stress
Fatigue
Trouble concentrating
Defiance (as a means to avoid anxiety)
Overplanning
Anxiety Treatment
Anxiety happens when your brain’s fight-or-flight system is in overdrive. How does this happen? Anxiety can begin with worried thinking. I am going to fail this test. If I say something wrong, no one will like me. Mom is going to be disappointed in me. If Dad leaves the house, something bad will happen. These anxious thoughts set off a “survival” reaction in the brain. They tell it to gear up the body to defend against danger. The heart starts racing. Breathing starts to speed up. Muscles gets tense, and digestion slows down. If a real danger is present, like a grizzly bear, these body changes would be very important to survival. But when the brain sends out danger signals in the middle of an exam, it is not helpful and often leads to more problems.
Clinicians at Thinking Tree can help your child learn both cognitive (thinking) and behavior (body) strategies. These rewire the system, make worries less threatening, and less common. Mastering coping tools for anxiety can help your child get their life back.
Therapy for anxiety in Maryland is available for children, teens and young adults, ages 5 through college age. Clinicians will provide treatment for adults on a case-by-base basis. So be sure to inquire if you are an adult interested in services.
The Thinking Tree Psychology Approach to Anxiety Treatment
Change can happen. If your child is experiencing anxiety that is affecting their everyday life, we can help. Using cognitive and behavior therapy (CBT) techniques, relaxation, mindfulness, and biofeedback, our clinicians can guide your child down the path of healing and healthy thinking.
We can help your child:
Notice their worries
Balance and reframe their thinking
Cope with life’s stressors
Relax their body and mind
Notice the joys in life
Increase their self-confidence
Try new things
Enjoy time with friends
Go to sleep independently
Feel like themselves again
Begin Therapy for Anxiety in Severna Park, MD
Your child does not have to live with overwhelming anxiety. Anxiety treatment in Severna Park can help your child kick the worry bully to the curb and be themselves again! Our Severna Park office has caring clinicians who specialize in anxiety treatment. To start your therapy journey, follow these simple steps:
Meet with one of our caring clinicians
Start helping your child get their life back
Other Services at Thinking Tree Psychology
Therapy for anxiety in Maryland is not the only service we offer at Thinking Tree Psychology in Severna Park. Other mental health services provided by Thinking Tree Psychology include family therapy, ADHD intervention, psychoeducational testing, and nature-informed therapy. We offer in-person as well as telehealth psychology services. Please visit our therapy overview page to learn more about additional therapy services. Feel free to visit our FAQ page as well.