One of the most important components of stress management and a busy schedule is prioritizing.

A lot of the anxious, perfectionist teens I work with feel overwhelmed by the amount of things to get done during the busy school year.

Rather than letting all of those tasks feel insurmountable, you can break down what needs to be done and when.

Step by step.

Figure out the steps needed to reach your goal, and keep those steps really specific and time-sensitive (such as, "I need to research 10 articles for this upcoming history paper by Tuesday," vs. just "I need to start work on my history paper.")

When you're looking down the road at another school year, fast approaching, you may be experiencing anxiety. For those of us with more anxious minds, our thoughts start spinning on to "what else can I do, what's coming next, what do I have to worry about, what is going to go wrong this year..."

That's stressful!

So what can you do about it? …

So, here are some tips for starting the school year off right.

Summer's over, yet again...

And the end of summer can lead to some blue feelings, especially for the start of the school year (highschool, college, even graduate school). And while there can be excitement at the start of the new school year, it can be hard to deal with the anxiety.

Typically, the teens and college students I work with tell me they worry about a more busy schedule, more expectations put on them by parents and teachers, or just knowing that there's less time to fit in impromptu socializing with friends. 

What are some ways you could combat the anxiety and sadness that comes with summer ending? Read more here…

Stress responses impact emotional and behavioral health in a few ways. 

Physiologically, a stress response leads to increased heart rate, breath rate, pupil dilation, and muscle tension. Your child’s adrenal glands are pumping to prepare them for a fight, flight, or freeze response. It’s a healthy activation. 

What happens with repeated stressors?

But when this stress response gets activated again and again, it becomes maladaptive on the body’s long term health. A higher amount of adverse childhood experiences (stressors) is linked to a greater chance of cancer, drug use, stroke and heart attacks. 

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?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 experiences anxiety sometimes. It's a normal, healthy response to stressors.

If you are able to function well, participate in activities, and live your life without anxiety getting in the way, you are living with a "normal" level of anxiety. Of course, clinicians and therapists may be more aware of the small signs of anxiety because we're trained to recognize early cues. And even if anxiety isn't getting in the way of your life or your functioning, but it still feels present more days than not, you should consider reaching out to a counselor or therapist about anxiety management strategies.

Most parents feel a little disconnected from their teen. But that doesn't mean that your teenager should shut you out all the time, or that you shouldn't continue to make an effort to engage with them. There is a balance between giving them space to develop into the independent adults they'll become, and supporting their growth and development with regular check ins. In this week's post I include a few tips for increasing the connection and communication between you and your teenager.

Your teen is successful at school, sports, and other extracurriculars. You've heard from other parents about the many challenges they experience with their teenager, and their concerns don't really resonate with you. While their adolescents may stay out late partying, engage in risky behaviors, or constantly argue with them, you feel like you have a pretty good relationship overall with your child. But you may be missing some crucial information about your teenager

You wish your teen talked to you more, or joined in family dinner, but because they're doing so well with school and extracurricular activities, you wonder if you should even worry. Maybe you should. Some teens, even when academically successful, are struggling to manage symptoms of their anxiety.