Top 3 Ways to Stop Anxious Thoughts
Worries. And more of the same. This is what goes through your mind as you watch your teen start to spiral into a period of anxiety. You’ve seen it before, so now know the signs. There have been more during this pandemic’s isolation and concerns for each other’s well-being. Right now it would be a world of help to know quick, simple steps your adolescent can take to call a halt to those anxious thoughts.
We’ve been working with anxious teens and their parents for years. At Mindful Healing we introduce teens and parents to tried and true methods for reducing anxiety. This blog presents a few of the top ones, plus a few more, just for good measure, and to give your teen options.
Tension and Anxiety
Let’s take a minute to look at anxiety and what happens mentally and physically. It can be hard to tell if an anxious thought came first or if it was tension. Either way, something happened to trigger your teen’s anxiety. Maybe a hard assignment, an arguement with a friend, or some physical pain. Regardless, you see their worry and want to help to avoid absence from studies and headaches or stomach upsets.
Calling a Halt to Anxious Thoughts
One key to stopping anxious thoughts is to do so as quickly and easily as possible. These three ways each do that in somewhat different ways.
Breathe It Away!
Focusing on the breath can soften any thoughts, pushing them into the background. Time and practice help with using the breath. Here are steps your teen can follow:
Find a comfortable position
Begin to focus on your breath
Focus first as you inhale, feeling your abdomen and chest expand
Slowly exhale as your belly and chest contract
Repeat this focus with each breath
Combine your breathing focus with the troubling thought
Picture the size of that upsetting thought getting smaller each time you exhale
Watch as it gets smaller and further away from the front of your mind
Remember that this takes practice. One good approach to that is to use this method on thoughts that aren’t troubling. By doing that your teen’s mind and body develop patterns they can use when they’re stressed out.
Watch & Listen
Teens are sensory beings! They’re visually on their phones, or using them to listen to tunes. They fist bump each other, or lean into their locker. These are signs to the next key for locking down anxiety. Guide your teen with using sensory stimulation to reduce agitating thoughts.
Talk with them about what their favorite sense is.
Then ask which one is the most powerful.
Suggest that they can use either of these when feeling the overwhelm of anxiety coming on.
Your teen can use these to shift their attention from troubling ideas to being in their body, suggesting they:
Watch what’s going on around them and then focus on something neutral or positive, like watching a dog run around, or friends playing pass.
Listen for new sounds, or pick out your favorite upbeat tunes.
Jump in the shower, take extra time washing their hands, or massage their own or someone else’s shoulders to have some anxiety-reducing touch.
Eat something delish with munch and crunch if they find that chewing and flavors create a nice, distracting stimulation.
Create DistrAction
Distraction is good at softening anxious thoughts. The more your teen finds out about what works best, the greater the likelihood of using it to stop unwanted thoughts. The key here is action!
Being physical engages the mind to guide the body’s moves.
It can be as simple as tossing a ball, trying to get the hang of a hoola hoop (are they still around?!), doing yoga lunges, or jumping in the lake.
The point is the action causes a shift in focus as the mind's attention moves from worry to doing and being.
The next step is to come up with a short list of simple actions your teen can use in settings like school.
Reducing Anxiety Over Time
Everything your teen and you learn about anxiety-reducing methods contributes to their well-being, today and into the future. Along with the above methods to practice and develop, consider these that people have turned to for years:
Hobbies, from knitting and painting to woodwork and gardening, provide opportunities for creative expression and diversion. Each of these, and others, promotes mind and body health.
Use of music, either listening and developing playlists or picking up an instrument, nurtures brain structures as it lifts or shifts your teen’s mood.
Developing lifelong physical activity interests can begin at any age. Why not start now? Yoga, walking, dance, and many others can be done with friends and family or individually. Plus, many of these are low cost, especially when considering the overall gains for your teen.
Mindful Healing LLC is dedicated to exploring the many options available to guiding your teen through adolescent ups and downs. We’re here for you and the vital role you play in your child’s life.
