A third of teenagers experience social anxiety
After a half term break, we returned with a really interesting conversation involving our resident clinical psychologist, Dr Sarah-Jane Knight. SJ came with plenty of information and advice about social anxiety. Around a third of our teenagers experience it and Sarah Jane explained what to watch out for and how to help.
Having worked for many years in supporting young people and their families with mental health problems, Sarah-Jane has so much experience and it showed, answering all of our questions in such a clear and supportive way.
“It’s quite normal to feel socially anxious”.
I remember my own Mum saying something similar as I was growing up. And it was a relief to think that people understood and had experience of similar feelings.
During this week’s session, Sarah-Jane told us not to panic about it, but to try and support our young person NOT to avoid social situations. She said it’s important to recognise that they’re teenagers and they’re painfully self-conscious a lot of the time even if they’re masking it. SJ advised holding that in mind when it comes to feedback as we try to support them to feel confident in the world with other people.
Sarah-Jane’s top tips:
Look into getting help for anxiety when the young person starts avoiding the things that they have previously enjoyed.
Treatment has a very good success rate and involves the creation of a list of situations that make the teen anxious. By encouraging them to address the least anxiety inducing items on that list, they can gain greater control over their feelings of anxiety
Don’t expect a quick fix, this should be a gentle process that can take a considerable amount of time.
To access this week’s webinar with Sarah-Jane, you can do that HERE. You can also find out more about SJ through her website Commune Psychology.
Next live webinar –Bullying & Trauma
We’re talking about bullying and trauma with Dr Lucy Betts. Lucy is a professor in social developmental psychology and will be discussing how to spot the signs, how to help and the impact it can have on mental health.
It can be a very emotionally difficult time for all the family when a young person experiences bullying and while we wait for next Monday’s conversation, it’s worth mentioning that there is a helpline provided by the charity YoungMinds, which can offer support and advice. You can find out more about it HERE.
I’m looking forward to finding out more from Lucy next week. To access our conversation and all of our expert sessions, you can subscribe for just £5 a month. 6 and 12 month memberships are also available at £30 and £50 respectively
A subscription not only gains entry into more than 30 LIVE webinars, but also access to our full on-demand library and you can find out how to subscribe HERE.