For teens who struggle with social anxiety, going back to school after the summer months can be particularly fraught. They may be encountering social situations that are uncomfortable for them and interacting with people who make their social anxiety worse. Add to that the pressures that social media puts on all young people, and you have a recipe for very high stress.

In this article, we will talk about what social anxiety is, how it affects teenagers, and how you can help your teenager or your teenaged students make the transition to school days easier.

Understanding Social Anxiety in Teens

Social anxiety can affect people at any age, but it can be especially challenging for young people today.

What is Social Anxiety?

Social anxiety is a diagnosable mental health disorder that makes it difficult for people to interact with others. Stemming from a fear of being judged, social anxiety can cause sufferers to avoid social situations in person and even virtually. People with social anxiety may also avoid feedback about themselves, such as constructive criticism or friendly advice.

Although many people are hesitant to jump into social situations, social anxiety is more severe, causing the sufferer to miss out on important occasions and opportunities for growth. For some people with social anxiety, even eating or drinking in front of other people can be debilitating.

What Are the Symptoms of Social Anxiety?

In the socially anxious person, you might notice:

• Stress and worry about social situations.
• Preoccupation with negative feedback.
• Belief that others don’t like them, in the absence of confirming information.
• Excessive worry about rejection.
• Disproportionate reactions to social rejection or perceived social rejection.
• Physical symptoms such as sweating, stomachaches, headaches, trembling, or muscle tension when thinking about or engaging in social interactions.

How Social Anxiety Affects Teens

Teenagers can be more severely affected by social anxiety for several reasons:

• Teens can’t avoid social settings while they’re in school. Adults have a great deal more flexibility in choosing their environments, but teens are required to attend classes.
• Social media plays an enormous role in the lives of teenagers, and their peers can be particularly cruel in the way they use it.
• Teenagers are in the process of developing their social skills and building their first social networks. This is much harder for people with social anxiety.
• Academic performance may suffer if you avoid feedback and are hesitant to participate in classroom discussions and team-based activities.
• Social anxiety can erode your teen’s confidence and self-esteem by making them feel that they’re unworthy, especially in comparison to their peers.

What Are the Treatments for Social Anxiety Disorder?

Fortunately, there are some excellent treatment options for social anxiety. They include:

• Psychotherapy or counselling which could take the form of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Exposure Therapy, or Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Each of these styles of therapy takes a different approach:
  • CBT identifies and challenges negative thought patterns, seeking to replace automatic negative thoughts and reactions with thoughts that are more consistent with objective reality. CBT is very commonly used to treat anxiety disorders and excessive worry.
  • Exposure therapy entails gradually exposing people to something they tend to avoid and coaching them on how to handle their reactions so that they become less distressing.
  • ACT focuses on techniques such as mindfulness to encourage accepting discomfort as part of the process of growth. By combining mindfulness and relaxation with a focus on the individual’s values and goals, practitioners help their clients move forward with greater purpose and less distress.
• Psychopharmaceuticals such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications, and beta-blockers can be helpful, even on a temporary basis. Consult with your family doctor for guidance on these medications. Some over-the-counter medications and supplements can also be helpful; don’t overlook those, but do your research on them beforehand.
• Support groups and group therapy can help teens understand that they are not alone. Group settings also give socially anxious teens an opportunity to practice social behaviours in a supportive environment.

How to Support Your Socially Anxious Teen

Parents can feel lost when faced with a teenager’s reluctance to engage in social activities or to return to school. Here are some ways to help:

Learn About Social Anxiety

Read about this condition on trusted online sites and visit your local library for resources. For guidance, there are associations and organizations dedicated to the study of anxiety disorders. They are excellent resources for people who aren’t sure where to get information. By getting a better understanding of social anxiety, its causes and treatments, you will have a good head start on helping your teen.

Create a Supportive Environment

Acceptance and love should be unconditional at home. Foster an environment that avoids criticism, teaches children to work with feedback, and allows them to make mistakes they can learn from.

Encourage Open Communication

Use active listening skills to encourage your teen to talk about their fears. If your teen is anxious about returning to school, validate their feelings and allow them to talk them through. Avoid judging them for feeling anxious, as this will only exacerbate the problem.

Get Them into Journaling

Keeping track of your feelings and the situations that trigger them can go a long way toward developing awareness. That can further lead to your teen’s improved understanding of their own condition and why they react the way they do. Buying them a nice journal and a pack of their favourite pens can help get them going. There are many diaries with prompts for people with anxieties, which may be useful for your teen.

Consider Counselling

Counselling has been shown to be extremely helpful for social anxiety disorder. By offering this resource, you’re also showing your teen that you care about their mental health and that you take their concerns seriously.

Finding the right type of therapy and the right mental health care professional can take a few tries, so don’t give up! Not every combination of client, therapist, and therapeutic approach is a match, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not right for your teen.

Parenting can be very stressful, especially if you have a stressed-out teen. Don’t neglect your own mental health and your self-care needs as you navigate this challenging time; counselling is not only for people with a diagnosable disorder—it can also help you to talk through your thoughts and feelings about your teen and their struggles.

The team at Kari Walton Counselling understands the difficulties of parenting in the modern context. We can help both your teen and you make the transition to school days more manageable. We offer a wide range of treatment options, including person-centred counselling, psychodynamic therapy, humanistic counselling, integrative therapy,  Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, hypnotherapy, group therapy, neurofeedback, and couples and family counselling in a safe and accepting environment.

Contact us today to make an appointment. Let’s work together to find the roadblocks on your journey to more intentional self-care, relating, and parenting.

The post Managing Back-to-School Anxiety appeared first on Kari Walton Counselling Services.

What is Digital Exhaustion?

Digital exhaustion is a type of mental fatigue that comes from spending too much time on digital devices, including computer screens, tablets, and smart devices.

The signs and symptoms of digital exhaustion can look like burnout but are directly related to the use of digital devices. You might notice things like:

• Low energy levels or lack of motivation
• Depressed or anxious mood, feeling overwhelmed
• Feelings of isolation or separation
• Sleep disorders, including trouble falling and staying asleep and an inability to get a full, restful night’s sleep
• Physical symptoms such as sensitivity to light, headaches, dry eyes, and chronic pain in your neck, shoulders, or back

What Causes Digital Exhaustion?

There is no scientific consensus about what causes digital fatigue. Physical problems such as irritated eyes, back and neck problems, and sleep disorders have clear and direct relationships to staring at screens and being hunched over our devices, but the psychological effects have more complex connections to digital device use. Below, we look at some potential reasons for these psychological impacts.

An Increase in Devices

A 2021 survey by Deloitte¹ found that approximately 1/3 of US respondents felt overwhelmed by the number of devices and subscriptions they had; these negative emotions were higher for people with more devices and subscriptions.

More Concentration Required

Remote meetings require more intense focus than the average face-to-face meeting. With a camera watching your every expression and a microphone recording your every word, you have to be at your best whenever you’re on a call. If your job entails constant meetings, there’s little time to recharge.

Constant Connectivity

Even in our private lives, the availability of digital devices and Wi-Fi networks increases the pressure to be available 24/7/365. This expectation means that you have to attend to your devices all the time and that you may feel pressure to respond ASAP.

Cognitive Load

It takes a lot of cognitive effort to monitor multiple devices while doing your regular job, as well as learning how to use new digital tools and platforms.

Information Overload

Because we are constantly connected, we have information coming in all the time. In some contexts, such as a newsroom, this is a necessary and important workplace resource, but in other settings, it creates additional distractions and more things that we have to attend to.

Inadequate Boundaries

For many people, working from home has meant working longer hours and at non-standard times of the day. Although this can be helpful for people who want more flexibility, it can also make it harder to separate work life from home life. The boundary between work time and home time is much more blurred now due to the “convenience” of our digital devices.

Preventing Digital Exhaustion

You may not be able to eliminate digital fatigue completely, but you can reduce it with the tips below.

Do an Ergonomic Assessment

Check to see that you are using the right kind of office chair, that it’s set at the right height, and that your screens are at the optimal angle to prevent chronic problems such as neck and back pain. You can find the necessary assessment information online, and your employer may also have someone who can do an assessment for you.

Take Regular Breaks

This seems like an obvious solution, but do you actually schedule breaks into your day? When was the last time you took a break for something other than going to the bathroom or getting a snack?

Set up regular times during the day to go for short walks, meditate, or engage in mindfulness. Put them in your calendar and set an alarm so you don’t miss your break times.

Consolidate Your Apps

Streamline your workflow and reduce distractions by consolidating your communications apps. For example, you can try these tips:

• Use an e-mail client that supports multiple e-mail accounts. You will see all your e-mail in one place, and responses will appear as though they came from the account to which the original message was sent.
• Adopt integrated team collaboration tools that let you handle messaging, video calls, and file sharing within one app.
• Use browser extensions that combine multiple web-based communications tools into one tab.
• Do regular reviews and cleanups.

Let Go of Your Social Media

Social media should be about positive connections. If you find that a particular platform is making you anxious or taking up too much of your time, consider deleting your account or cutting back on your use of that platform. Ask yourself how much value you’re getting from the platform versus what it’s costing you in terms of time and energy.

Don’t Keep Your Phone in Your Bedroom

When it’s time for some downtime, leave your phone in another room for the night. If you’re worried that you’ll miss an important call or text, you can always turn off your notifications with the exception of specific numbers or people.

Nurture Offline Connections

Get together with people face-to-face. Some of your workplace interactions could even be handled in person so you can make higher-quality connections with people. Make time to see some of your friends and family members in real life rather than communicating through video calls or apps.

Be sure to make small changes you can commit to for the long term rather than overhauling your entire digital life all at once. Making too many changes over a short period of time will only increase the pressure you feel and may lead to failure.

Getting Help for Digital Exhaustion

Digital exhaustion can be . . .  exhausting! If you’re stuck in a cycle of fatigue and unsuccessful recovery, talking to a counsellor can help. Even a few sessions can help you home in on the precise reason for your exhaustion and might point to ways to help you manage your digital life more effectively. You may even discover that your symptoms have another root cause, such as anxiety that you haven’t been able to pin down.

If you’d like to try counselling for your digital exhaustion, feelings of depression, anxiety, isolation, or disconnection, the team at Kari Walton Counselling is here for you. We offer a range of treatment options, including cognitive-behavioural therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy, hypnotherapy, group therapy, and family therapy.

Contact us today to make an appointment. Let’s figure out what’s causing your digital exhaustion and how you can achieve a more restful state of being.

References

¹  Deloitte Insights: Digital life often delivers daily benefits but can also fuel tech fatigue and well-being worries: https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/telecommunications/connectivity-mobile-trends-survey/2023/connected-consumers-digital-fatigue.html

The post Combating Digital Exhaustion appeared first on Kari Walton Counselling Services.