Alpha Connection

It can be difficult to watch. When your son was younger, his fears were simpler—dentists, monsters, or being alone in the dark. Now he is still your child, but he is also becoming a young man, and his anxiety is more complex. As children move into their teenage years, anxiety often turns inward. Moodiness, irritability, and sudden emotional outbursts are common. Small comments can trigger strong reactions. This is a normal part of development, and with the right support, he will be okay.

Helping Teens Cope

The teenage years bring significant emotional, physical, and social changes as children move toward adulthood. Teens often worry about how they compare to others, especially their peers. Understanding this pressure is the first step in helping them manage it.

One of the most effective ways to help is to encourage your son to talk. Talking helps him organize the thoughts and emotions that may feel overwhelming. What matters most is having someone who listens without judgment.

When he shares his thoughts, he begins to make sense of his feelings. Careful listening allows you to better understand what he needs and how you can support him. Many teens find it easier to talk while doing something physical. Going for a walk together can help—fresh air and steady movement often make conversation feel more natural and less intense.

It is important to acknowledge his fears and anxiety. Even if the situation he worries about never occurs, the emotions he feels are real. Let him know you recognize his anxiety and believe in his ability to handle it. Respond with calmness, empathy, and reassurance. This helps him learn self-compassion and emotional resilience.

Encourage positive self-talk and remind him that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness. No one is meant to face life alone. Reassure him that anxiety is something many people experience and that support is always available. Healthy habits such as adequate sleep, balanced nutrition, physical activity, and mindfulness practices can also make a meaningful difference.

If anxiety persists for a long time or begins to interfere with daily functioning—such as school, relationships, or sleep—it may be appropriate to seek professional support from a school counselor, therapist, or psychologist. Above all, keep communication open. Helping your teen feel heard, understood, and supported reinforces that his feelings matter and that he is not facing them alone.

It’s normal for teens and children to have ups and downs when it comes to emotions, but how do you know when it is time to seek outside help? Sometimes it’s difficult to know when intervention may be needed. However, early intervention is key to helping children and teens cope with feelings and emotions.

Emotional Symptoms Under the Surface

Sometimes it may be difficult for young people to open up and communicate their feelings to others. There may be outward signs of trouble coping, such as academic grades declining. Suppose your child is becoming more socially withdrawn – not keeping in touch with friends as they used to, spending more time isolated in their bedroom, or not wanting to go to extracurricular activities or events they normally participate in. In that case, these may be early signs as well.

Anger and opposition is a common emotion and is typically displayed with raised voices in the heat of an argument. Many times, things are said that can be hard to take back and aren’t easily forgotten or forgiven. This can make adult/child relationships difficult to navigate, and sometimes an impartial third party can help in more challenging situations. Whether this person is a school counselor or an outside therapist, a neutral professional can help people learn coping skills and ways to communicate that can help them better manage their emotions when tensions run high in situations that are difficult to manage.

Physical Symptoms Need to be Addressed

Older children and teens may also have physical symptoms in stressful situations, especially if they have been going on for extended periods of time. Decreased appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain or discomfort, headaches, and fatigue may all be physical symptoms of anxiety or depression. School avoidance may also be occurring due to physical symptoms. Therefore, it’s important to have any physical symptoms checked out by a health care provider.

In more severe cases, youth and teens may even voice suicidal ideations or thoughts and feelings of wanting to hurt themselves. If feelings progress to this, immediate intervention is warranted. For this reason, it is so important that when children or teens begin to feel overwhelmed by their emotions or any outward signs can be identified, steps are taken to intervene early. By putting a plan in place to get them the services they need, healthier outcomes can be successfully achieved.

The holiday season can be a time of great cheer for many, but for others, it’s also a rather tough time of year. For those going through recovery, for example, there are a host of challenges throughout this time, from family expectations to substance-related temptations and even memories that might stir up inner turmoil. However, if you have a friend or family member who has been through a recovery program and is coming home for the holidays, there are certainly steps you can take to help them.

First and foremost, make sure that you take the time to speak to the person who is coming home. This might feel like an obvious thing to do, but there are many who get so caught up with the idea of ‘helping’ that they don’t actually take the time to consult the person who needs help. So instead, check in with the person who is coming home and ask what you can do to make their life a bit easier. There may be certain things that they have learned in recovery that could be helpful here, and in some cases, they will communicate those techniques or ideas to you.

Beyond that, it’s vital that you take some time to really think about what kind of situations that you’re putting your friend or family member into. Try to avoid putting the individual into situations that might lead to extreme stress, as such stressors can be part of the recipe that leads to relapse. Suppose your friend or family member was in recovery for issues with alcohol, for example. In that case, you might want to make sure that you’re not planning on having a gathering in a bar or that alcohol isn’t the main feature of the evening.

In most cases, though, the best thing you can do for a family member is to give them room to advocate for themselves. Don’t push them to do anything they don’t want to do, and make sure that you’re providing a safe space for them when necessary. Remember, you’re only there to help – otherwise, your friend or family member is taking charge of their own recovery.