In part 1, we focus on why it's important to cut down on tech use.

Anxiety often leads to self-medicating behaviors, and one of the biggest behaviors for kids and teens is social media usage.

What happens physically/mentally when you quit social media or go on a tech cleanse?

Going on a cleanse from media it’s pretty stressful. When you’re looking at curbing an addictive behavior, the first few days are the hardest. Then it gets easier, and then it gets harder again when your brain catches up and realizes that this isn’t just a temporary measure.

Because I specialize in anxiety, I know how frequently addictive behaviors can co-occur.

I even have clients on my schedule specifically because of their media addiction, with anxiety as the underlying concern. So, I was so happy to talk with Huffington Post earlier this year on "going dry for a month" regarding tech, social media, and smartphones.

The reason addictive behaviors can occur so frequently is because anxiety is tough to deal with. And an anxious mind feels better when it’s distracting itself with media, sugar, or alcohol. All can be self-medicating behaviors.

Often, the kids and teens I work with inherit or learn a portion of their perfectionism from one or both parents.

There’s of course the biological component of anxiety, and then the environmental. So if you have a perfectionist parent, you’re much more likely to engage in perfectionist tendencies as well.

That perfectionism often gets in the way of school performance, turning assignments in on time, or feeling incapable of handling unexpected stressors. So, how can we help?

Picture this...

You're in bed, finally ready to sleep after a massive crush of end-of-semester projects. You're exhausted. You're so eager to just close your eyes and rest. And instead of resting... boom. Anxiety.

As an anxiety specialist who loves to work with high achieving highschool and college students, you'd expect most of my session time to be focused on anxiety management strategies.

Which is definitely true. That is a big component of my work. But the fact of the matter is, even when you have anxiety, even if that anxiety is overwhelming... you have a whole life outside of that anxiety, too. 

So, sometimes we talk about how to handle a panic attack, and sometimes we talk about why your boyfriend sucks.

Both are important to your well-being. 

The more tips the better, right?

Mindfulness, yoga, and scheduling it in. Relaxation is great, but it's important to practice throughout the day. When you operate with anxiety, the baseline of your stress level is typically pretty high. You may have a small "window of tolerance," meaning stressors that seem small to others feel very big to you. So, let's look at my top three recommendations, which I share with all of my clients.

For anxious kids, teens, and college students, it can be very difficult to fall asleep at night.

Not falling asleep means being exhausted the next morning. And guess what happens the next morning? You're too tired to adequately respond to all of the stressors during your day. It's a vicious cycle - and it's super, super common. 

One of the ways to relax is to build up a regular relaxation practice.

This means incorporating regular exercise and healthy eating ALONG with relaxation practice, including breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, and visualization.

People pleasers unite! 

Unsurprisingly, people with anxiety in general tend to have social anxiety as well. And that need to be liked, that shaping of your behaviors and reactions to try and cultivate a positive response from another, is seen across the lifespan.

Some of this is healthy, such as matching tone or engaging in receptive communication, and some of this is unhealthy, like when we feel that we need approval in order to get on with our day. 

During a panic attack, your brain and body respond with a fight/flight/freeze response. 

Typically, you'll notice your heart rate increase, breathing will become more shallow, and your muscles will tense up. You'll experience a strong urge to fight or run away, or you may feel frozen in the situation.

What else could be going on?

Those physical cues of a panic attack could be cause by another medical concern

People with anxiety often already worry about the judgement of others. While you may have an idea that someone you know is suffering from symptoms of anxiety, it can be very hard for them to open up about this. They may try and mask their anxiety.

Your picky eater may be a little annoying.

You go to a restaurant, you bring an extra meal for your kid. You and your partner make dinner, and your little one has a whole separate menu for themselves. You'd rather have them eat something than nothing, but you're a little worried that if they eat another chicken nugget, they're going to turn into one. 

Why are kids such picky eaters?

There are a lot of different reasons that kids can be picky eaters - but part of the underlying issue can be anxiety. 

Teenagers sleep A LOT. And they need to! Teens, with their ever developing bodies and brains, need at least 9-10 hours of sleep a night. They tend to function better at night than in the morning. But even with all of this, it is important for your teens to function and participate in the mornings at your house. So if your teen needs some help in waking up at a more respectable time, here are a few tips.

There are always scary things happening in the world - some very close to home, and some very far away. 

Children are often aware of these scary things on some level, so it's important to talk to them, be it about terrorism, natural disasters, protests, violence, or even fears about nuclear actions. Especially with yesterday's news in Florida, which hits so close to home for so many of us with school aged children, or loved ones in Florida - it's hard to know what to say and how to say it.

I tend to work a lot with high performing teenage girls, who may be academically successful with good involvement in extra curriculars, while simultaneously suffering from severe anxiety and perfectionist tendencies. So what's the hardest part about being a teenage girl? Well... a few things. Including: Your expectations for yourself, people who think you're self-involved, and an ever-expanding to do list. Read more in this week's post!

You're child comes home from school, and you wonder if something's wrong. They're worried about going back the next day, but they won't tell you why. It's natural to wonder if your child is the victim of bullying - but why is your child keeping it from you?

Opening up is uncomfortable.

It makes us feel vulnerable. And for children who aren't sure if they're being bullied, they may not know how to put this into words... 

Managing anxiety is tough.

And it can be hard to focus on anything else when it feels like anxiety is at the forefront of your mind. It gets in the way of schoolwork, family time, stuff with friends or romantic partners. 

If you deal with anxiety on a regular basis, you also probably know how it builds over time. Sometimes it builds slowly, until you suddenly realize that you're way too stressed out. Other times, it seems to skyrocket and you're left dealing with a very unexpected panic attack.

Everyone you know will experience a loss, death, or crisis in their life at one point or another. You absolutely will go through the same thing as well. So when you have a friend experiencing a big drastic sad change in their lives, remember to think through how you would want them to react to you, in the same situation. Read here for more tips...

Failure is really important!

I specialize in working with kids and teens who are consistently high performers in the classroom. And a lot of times, underneath it all, there's a ton of anxiety. They worry about failure. They get so focused on small things they've done wrong that they can't see the greater picture. So for people who have serious anxiety, an A- compared to an A is a huge difference. 

Failure helps you to gain perspective, and not lose the forest for the trees.