My 13 Yr Old Daughter Is Struggling With Anxiety and Mood Issues

Описание: Our first question is from Gina,

“My 13-year-old daughter is struggling with anxiety and mood issues. It seems to be worse the past year and a half. She seems to be anxious about school work, her relationship with her friend, and bad things happening to us (her parents). She’s spending a lot of time in her room, has decided not to eat meat, and seems tired and out of touch. She saw a counselor before COVID and seemed to find that helpful. What should I do?“

In the episode, I break down some observations and helpful tips into these categories normal teen behavior, anxiety symptoms and triggers, sleep, nutrition, and counseling. These kinds of questions are very common in my practice and so I think this episode will resonate well with parents of tweens and teens. Tune in each week for more Q & A episodes!

You can submit a question by emailing us at [email protected] with the subject line “Podcast Question.”

Episode Highlights
13 Yr old Daughter struggling with anxiety and mood issues
Prone to anxiety from a young age
Particularly anxious the past year and a half

Triggers
Schoolwork
Something bad happening to her parents
Worries that friends are mad at her

Parent Observations
On her phone a lot
Yawns a lot during the day
Complains of being tired
Wants to try vegetarian and vegan like her friends
Counseling off and on over the years sometimes it seems to work

Considerations
This is an age where there are mood fluctuations and peer issues
Recognize that the pandemic has been really hard on teens
They need their friends and a social life
Try not to discount the normal developmental process
It means they are growing up

What to do about the anxiety symptoms
Keep lines of communication open and try to stay casual
Let her know you are making observations and you are there to support her “Seems like you’re tired, I wonder what’s going on?”
Try to have some positive interactions with her
Watch a movie, go to the store to check out something she’s interested in
Phone use is a big issue for teens
They run into issues with social comparison when spending time scrolling and observing other people’s lives
This can cause a lot of self-doubt and self-confidence issues
One thing to observe is phone use and screen time in general and how that aligns with her mood or level of anxiety
Ask her what she notices about mood and anxiety after time spent on her phone
Limits and boundaries are necessary so that they can use phones and screen time in a healthy way

What to do about issues related to sleep
Teens are in a rapid physical and brain growth phase during this time
Staying up late and waking up early for school takes a major toll on their mood, anxiety, focus
A helpful rule that will ensure teens get enough sleep at night is – no devices in the room at night
Ask if there are things that are keeping her from falling or staying asleep
Monitor caffeine intake after lunchtime

What to do about nutrition
Many of the issues described signal possible insufficient or suboptimal Iron levels
Eating less meat can cause iron to be low along with other minerals
If labs come back showing low iron, there are ways to correct that through diet and supplementation
Diet is key here. Many teens who try a vegetarian or vegan diet often don’t know how to incorporate nutrient-dense foods into that diet to balance it out and support their brain function and mental health
Stabilizing blood sugar is another important part of the diet that can have a big impact on energy levels and mental health
Consider a high-quality multivitamin
Vitamin D, magnesium, amino acids are all good considerations as well

What to do about counseling
Counseling can be very beneficial for teens
A third party person that they can trust and open up to, helps them talk about their feelings and work through the hard parts of being a teen

RESOURCES & LINKS:
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Life Will Get Better [Book] - https://www.drbeurkens.com/book/
Dr. Nicole Beurkens [Website] - https://www.drbeurkens.com
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