Hi there! Welcome to our bonus newsletter edition! We’ve gathered a selection of resources for you to dive deeper into topics we’ve covered in this month’s newsletter.
This month’s theme was learning how to respond and relate more empathetically to an anxious teen. We explored how to support a teen struggling with anxious thoughts, reflected if your worries are based on fear or love, looked at strategies of calming down your worries, and how to respond to an angry teen who is actually feeling anxious.
🤓 Things we’re reading:
In The Big Myth about Teenage Anxiety, psychiatrist Dr. Richard Friedman challenges increasing parental worries for their teen every time they exhibit any sign of anxiety and assume it requires clinical attention. He shares the difference between general anxiety disorder and the natural anxious response to daily stresses, and how their teenage brain has the ability to be resilient and adapt to the situation with the right tools.
As described in articles by the Wall Street Journal and NPR, the SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) treatment program developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center helps parents figure out how to start reducing their accommodations, while also expressing empathy for their teen’s suffering and confidence in their abilities. His book Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD goes into more depth about how to alleviate your teen's anxiety by changing the way you respond to your teen's symptoms and taking some control back for yourself.
👂🏼 Who we’re listening to:
If you prefer listening to a podcast over reading a book, this episode by TILT Parenting, Dr. Eli Lebowitz discusses his book and the SPACE program. He dives into how it impacts family systems, and why accommodating your child’s anxiety may be more harmful than helpful. Some things you’ll learn include the most important thing for a teen with anxiety to learn, and how to reframe or respond to their angry response to reduced accomodations.
This webinar “Strategies to Help you Cope during COVID-19” by The Youth Mental Health Project is designed to provide insights and strategies for parents to cope with their own anxieties while navigating the challenges of parenting during the COVID 19 epidemic. Dr. Rosen and Randi from YMHP address how parents can best manage the unique stressors families are facing now, and how to support their teen's mental health.
👀 What we’re watching:
Puberty and body image can be a huge source of anxiety for many teens. We loved how Pixar’s Turning Red tackled this topic through the story of middle schooler Mei, who one morning finds herself inexplicably transformed into a huge, cuddly red panda. Turns out it happens whenever Mei experiences a sudden change in emotions of sadness or excitement. This film takes you on a heartwarming and nostalgic journey of navigating the ups and downs of what puberty does to your hormones and relationship with your parents. This is the perfect choice for your next family movie night!!
If teen anxiety has felt confusing and hard to grasp, Angst: Building Resilience (check out the trailer here) is the perfect documentary you should consider watching with your teen and other families. This film-based mental health support program has supported over 2 million people worldwide of removing stigma around anxiety through the sharing of personal stories, and expert perspectives on how to deal with and help others with this struggle. The filmmakers of Angst highly recommend hosting a film screening with your school or other families to support and start conversations with one another. Access to a screening will also include a “Creative Coping Toolkit”, which has discussion guides, activities, FAQ videos and other resources to learn from.
If you’re interested in hosting a screening, submit an inquiry form to iNDIEFLIX and let them know you are a Hello Cherish subscriber for 10% off. This offer will extend till June 30th, 2022.
🙏🏼 To share with your teen:
If your teen is feeling stressed out, tired, unfocused and is stuck on what to do about it, suggest they try out Headspace for Teens! It’s a meditation and mindfulness app that has hundreds of exercises to help them learn the skills they need to be healthier and happier. Headspace understands the struggles of being a teen and are offering free subscriptions to all teens. Our team loves using it for daily self-care, it’s Cherish approved! Here’s a sneak peek of what a Headspace meditation is like!
Dr. Dawn Hueber, a psychologist and parent coach, has created practical, doable, interactive “toolkits” to help teens feel empowered to take control of their emotional experience. In her book “Outsmarting Worry: An Older Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Anxiety”, she breaks down in a teen-friendly manner the changes they can make to move through life feel so much better. You can listen to her share about is in this podcast episode by TILT Parenting.
❤️ As seen on Instagram
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