Does your child struggle to talk with you when they are upset or isolate in their room? Do they have a hard time getting up in the morning and going to school? Does it feel like when a change happens, or something doesn’t go as planned they get overwhelmed and melt down? These are signs that your child could be struggling with anxiety and depression. Children and Teen therapy in Niantic, CT can help when dealing with these symptoms.
Depression and Anxiety Amongst Children and Adolescents in Niantic, CT
Depression and anxiety are two separate mental health struggles with their own symptoms, but they very often overlap. Anxiety can look a lot like overthinking, irrational thoughts, being fearful and even experiencing panic attacks. Children and teens may struggle with sleep when feeling anxious as well. Racing thoughts and feelings of being overwhelmed can make it difficult to fall asleep at night and wake up the next day. There are many things that can cause these anxiety symptoms. Children today experience many stressors, such as the pressure to perform well in school or the impact of social media. Social media can induce anxiety and insecurities on kids and teens that may result in comparing to others and develop low self-esteem. Anxiety can also form irrational and a skewed perception of social events and interactions.
To begin, click the button below to schedule a phone consult and get matched with a child and teen therapist!
Common Anxiety Symptoms for Kids and Teens
Anxiety not only has mental and emotional symptoms, but also comes with physical symptoms. This could look like your child having sweaty palms when out in public or going to school. Anxiety can also cause gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea and heartburn. These symptoms can increase in moments of heightened anxiety, or even in underlying anxiety. If your child struggles to get up for school in the morning and is experiencing gastrointestinal issues, this may be school related anxiety.
Social Anxiety Struggles with Children in New London County, CT
Struggles with anxiety doesn’t only have to be school related. Anxiety can occur in any situation, even public or social events. Does your child struggle going to social gatherings with friends or family, maybe a birthday party or holiday? Or has a hard time getting out of the car when going to a community event, such as sports practice or music rehearsal? This can cause your child to avoid a situation, such as missing out on a birthday party or skipping practice. If your child experiences sweaty palms or feelings of panic when going out in public or socializing, they could be struggling with social anxiety. Social anxiety can contribute to everyday, underlying anxiety as well.
Social Media Related Anxiety in Children and Adolescents
There are many pressures on children and teenagers today. One of them being the increased use of electronics, video gaming, and social media. It is difficult for children to get away from social media and the negative aspects of it, especially throughout the pandemic. The comparison to others is at the tips of their fingers. It is so easy to open Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat and compare themselves to others. This can cause increased anxiety due to feeling like others look better or have a better life than them. In turn, this may affect your child’s perception of themselves and cause struggles with low self-esteem. These effects can be lasting on a child and hard to move past.
Your Child’s Brain on Social Media in East Lyme, CT
The impact of social media on children is attributed to a few different things. One of which being the dopamine spike cellphone use and social media creates. The reason for this is because social media mimics human interaction, although it is a false perception of this. Human interaction and socializing releases dopamine in the brain and gives a social reward. Because of constant use of social media, it creates the illusion of never being alone and “connecting” with others. Although this connection is not authentic and more detrimental to a child’s health and well-being. There are many studies showing that social media and cellphone use are linked to increased anxiety, depression, struggles with sleep and body image concerns. Children and teen therapy in Niantic, CT can be helpful for these struggles.
Social Media’s False Reality with Children in Niantic, CT
It is very widely known that most things posted on social media only portray the positives. It is easy to feel that others are “living their best life” when they’re only posting the positives. This creates the comparison that someone else’s life is better than theirs. Especially if they are already struggling with anxiety or low self-esteem. Although adults may be able to conceptualize that social media portrays a false reality, it can be difficult for children to understand. This can be due to the brain not being fully developed. It is common for children and teenagers to feel overwhelmed when things happen that are out of their control. Even if this may seem small to adults. Their brains are still very much so being formed and growing. It is no wonder why increased anxiety can stem from social media and cellphone use.
To begin, click the button below to schedule a phone consult and get matched with a child and teen therapist!
Children and Teen Therapy for Perfectionism Anxiety in New London, CT
Does your child struggle with feeling overwhelmed in relation to schoolwork and performance? Do they melt down when they get a grade lesser than what they wanted, or something school related doesn’t go their way? These are signs of anxiety related perfectionism. There are many conversations about school performance, getting good grades and going to college that is happening now with kids. Being optimistic and motivated about the future and a career is important, exploring likes and dislikes is necessary. Although there is a fine line between when this is helpful versus hurtful. This is also another form of comparison to others. A peer can have a higher grade than your child or know where they want to go to college before your child. This can cause extra pressure to perform perfectly to be like their peers and where anxiety can come from.
COVID-19 School Related Anxiety in Kids and Teens in Westerly, RI
Grades and school performance now has an increased dopamine spike reward, just as social media does. Before and especially since COVID-19, many teachers use online grading systems to post grades and provide feedback on assignments. Children checking apps to see their grades causes a dopamine spike. This also causes validation seeking from their teachers to see how well they are doing. At times they may see an undesired grade or comment. This can cause increased anxiety, depression and struggles with self-esteem, just as social media use does.
Depression and Anxiety Similarities Within Children and Teens
Depression and anxiety can play an interesting game together, and even seem co-dependent. There has similar symptoms, such as avoidance and fear, as well as physical symptoms. It is very common for depression to cause struggles with basic everyday needs and tasks. A clear and common symptom is struggles with both sleeping and eating, on both ends of the spectrum. Is your child struggling with falling asleep or oversleeping? Maybe they are having a hard time sleeping at night due to overwhelming thoughts and feelings of dread. This may also look like them sleeping all throughout the day and unable to get out of bed. Struggles with eating are very common as well. Your child may be struggling to eat a meal or overeating throughout the day. This can be due to boredom, struggles with self-image or coping with strong emotions. These are known as neurovegetative symptoms.
Depression in Children and Adolescents in Niantic, CT
Does it seem like your child is struggling to complete tasks? Maybe they are struggling with motivation to complete schoolwork on top of avoidance and procrastination? Along with sleeping and eating, this is another neurovegetative symptom that comes with depression and an anxiety and depression overlap. It can be difficult to have the motivation to complete a task and feel anxiety provoking to start. Hopelessness is another common depressive symptom. It can be hard to concentration on things needing to get done when feeling down and hopeless. This in turn causes struggles with optimism and the perception of the future, as well as feelings of overwhelm. Your child can benefit from children and teen therapy in Niantic, CT if struggling with these concerns.
Isolation in Teenagers Struggling with Depression in New London County,CT
There may be times where your child is feeling very overwhelmed or down. They could be feeling very hard on themselves which can cause struggles with self-esteem. Maybe they have a hard time expressing how they’re feeling when things get hard. This can cause a child or teen struggling with depression to isolate and not want to be around others. Another sign of depression is if your child is no longer interested in things they used to enjoy. This could be no longer wanting to play their favorite sport, or no longer enjoying being crafty. Maybe they don’t enjoy their favorite music anymore or want to go out shopping or to the movies. These are more signs that your child could be struggling with depression. There are many solutions to help when dealing with depression and anxiety.
To begin, click the button below to schedule a phone consult and get matched with a child and teen depression and anxiety specialist!
Child and Teen Play Therapy in Niantic, CT
Here at Wisdom Within Counseling we specialize in helping children and teenagers cope and manage depression and anxiety. There are many ways to help manage these symptoms both in and outside of therapy. One way is using play therapy. There may be a lot going on for your child that is hard for them to sort out themselves. Sometimes finding an easier way to talk about it is what they need. This can come out in the form of getting creative and playing within the therapeutic space. Our clinicians like to use a variety of different games to help children express how they may be feeling.
Creative and Expressive Arts within the Therapy Setting with Children and Teens
Wisdom Within Counseling loves using creative and expressive therapies to help children thrive. Using a variety of different art modalities, such as painting or making music, can be helpful for kids and teens. This can help them express how they are feeling, as well as use coping tools when experiencing symptoms. Clinicians at wisdom within can help your child create a variety of different coping skills, like coloring, journaling, or sensory tools to use outside of session when feeling anxious or depressed. These tools are used in children and teen therapy in Niantic, CT at Wisdom Within Counseling.
Practicing Mindfulness and Meditation with Kids and Teens in East Lyme, CT
Mindfulness is another helpful tool to use when experiencing depression and anxiety. Your child may be experiencing a lot of racing thoughts at once, or unsure why they may be feeling overwhelmed and isolating. Mindfulness can create a level of self-awareness that your child can use to identify how they are feeling. Mindfulness is also a great way to incorporate meditation into one’s life to create a calmer body and mind state.
The clinicians at Wisdom Within Counseling use meditation and mindfulness with clients to help create a better understanding of oneself, as well as regulate the mind and body. All these tools can be used with your child outside of the therapy room as well.
Where Do We Offer Child and Teen Therapy?
Wisdom Within Counseling offers video counseling and in person counseling in Southeastern Connecticut. Family therapy over video is available to families living in New Canaan, Darien, Weston, Greenwich, Stamford, Bloomberg, Norwalk, Westport, Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stratford, Shelton, Milford, Orange, West Haven, New Haven, Hamden, North Haven, East Haven, Branford, Guilford, Madison, Clinton, Westbrook, Deep River, Chester, Essex, Old Saybrook, Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Waterford, New London, Montville, Norwich, Preston, Ledyard, Groton, and Stonington, as well as over the Rhode Island state line.
