Anxiety Symptoms in Teens
Orlando Therapist Shares Anxiety Symptoms in Teens
You’re confused and lost about how to help your teen. You’re worried about changes you have seen in your teen and even more worried that you don’t know how to help them with this. It concerns you that you’re not sure what is causing these changes or what is going on with them.
Your teen used to be happy and carefree - interested in their friends, school, and hobbies. Now, they isolate from their friends, are having trouble in school, and seem to have lost interest in things they used to love.
One possible explanation for your teens’ sudden change in behavior is that they are experiencing anxiety. Knowing the symptoms that often come with anxiety can help you recognize if this is what your teen may be going through.
My name is Elizabeth Chambers. I am an Orlando therapist specializing in teen therapy. I help teens work through anxiety, depression, and self-esteem so that they can feel calm and confident and enjoy their teen years. I have written this article Symptoms of Anxiety in Teens to help parents identify anxiety in their teens so that they can feel confident in getting help for their teen.
1. Withdrawing from friends and hobbies
Losing interest in activities or isolating themselves is a significant sign of any mental health concern. With anxiety, the main reason for withdrawing may be due to being nervous about certain activities or about socializing with others. As children grow into teenagers, the pressure to fit in amongst their peers increases - which can lead to anxiety about socializing. If your teen starts to avoid their friends or stop doing activities they love, this may be a sign of concern.
2. Appearing nervous or irritable
Being nervous may be a more obvious sign of anxiety, especially if your teen communicates with you that they are feeling this way. Although situational stress or nervousness is a normal part of life, frequently being nervous or appearing to be nervous may signal that more is happening than just the normal stresses that come with life.
Additionally, some teens show their anxiety by being quick to angry, irritable, and on edge. Because their nerves are already heightened due to anxiety, even small things can trigger an irritable response or lash out.
3. Having difficulty concentrating
Anxiety can impact many aspects of your teens’ life, including their ability to concentrate. This may be noticeable at home - maybe they used to love to read but now can’t sit through reading a book. Or maybe they used to watch their favorite TV show but now they lose track of what’s happening just a few minutes into the episode. Because concentration can impact the ability to function at school, it is important to be in communication with teachers about if they have noticed changes in your teens’ ability to focus as well.
4. Significant change in academic performance
Another area of concern is changes in your teens’ performance at school. Slight changes may be normal but significant drops in grades, missing or skipping class, or a significant increase in disciplinary actions at school can be a signal that something is wrong.
Finding out the cause behind this behavior is important. For example, is your teen skipping class because of anxiety about a presentation or test in class? Are their grades dropping because they are so overwhelmed by anxiety that they can’t focus on getting work done? Looking at what has caused these changes and if it is anxiety-related is an important factor to explore.
5. Frequent physical complaints
Anxiety is not just mental, but physical as well. Although having a headache or stomach ache on occasion is fairly normal, it becomes a cause for concern when this is a repeated pattern. If a medical doctor has ruled out any medical concern for these symptoms and they keep happening, it may be due to anxiety. This can come in the form of frequent headaches, tense muscles, nausea, or fatigue.
6. Inability to sleep
Sleep is impacted in many mental health concerns - making it a key sign that something may be up with your teen. A repeated pattern of difficulty with falling and staying asleep may be due to feeling anxious and restless. For teens who feel this way, it is not uncommon for them to have anxiety-provoking thoughts that keep them up at night and contribute to an inability to relax enough to fall asleep.
Knowing what changes to look out for can be powerful information in helping spot anxiety that your teen may be going through. If you have noticed some of these symptoms in your teen, it would be helpful for them to work with a teen therapist who can help them learn more about their anxiety and teach them new ways to work through this.
Additionally, many of these symptoms come up in not just anxiety but other mental health concerns as well, such as depression and self-esteem. Having a trained professional evaluate your teen is a great way to get a full understanding of their symptoms.
If you would like to learn more about what to expect in teen counseling, I encourage you to check out What To Expect: Teen Therapy for more information on the counseling process.
If you have additional questions or would like to schedule an appointment for your teen with our office, please feel free to contact us here or give us a call at 407-579-3779.
Interested in starting Teen Therapy Orlando?
Click here to learn more about getting started with teen therapy at Mindful Living Counseling Orlando.
Additional Resources for Teen Therapy Orlando
What to Know About Teenager Counseling
How to Validate Your Teen so They Feel More Understood
How to Find an Orlando Therapist for Teens
What to Expect: Teen Therapy Orlando
Therapist Orlando Spotlight - Elizabeth Chambers, LMHC
Orlando Therapist Elizabeth Chambers, LMHC offers Teen Counseling at Mindful Living Orlando.
About the Author
Elizabeth Chambers, LMHC is an Orlando therapist at Mindful Living Counseling Orlando. Elizabeth specializes in working with adults and teens struggling with anxiety, trauma, self-esteem, and depression. As an EMDR Therapist, Elizabeth utilizes EMDR and mindfulness practices to help clients move beyond anxiety and depression so they can feel confident and in control again.
As an Orlando Therapist specializing in teen therapy Elizabeth enjoys helping teens work through anxiety and self-esteem issues, as well as helping teens and their families rebuild their relationships.
Mindful Living Counseling Orlando is a trauma healing center. Our Orlando Therapy Services include anxiety therapy, trauma counseling, eating disorder recovery, teen counseling, and healing toxic relationship therapy. At Mindful Living Counseling Orlando, we use a down-to-earth approach infused with cutting-edge therapies that go beyond traditional talk therapy so clients can heal at the root level and experience lasting change. Feel free to access one of our Guided Meditations to help you feel settled and calm now.