Anxiety Series for Teens #3

Posted by: Dr. Justin D'Arienzo, Psy.D., ABPP

Anxiety Series for Teens #3

Anxiety Series for Teens/Young Adults by Jenny Lehman, LCSW

In our last video, we started to notice the thoughts we were having and the impact that our thoughts will have on our bodies. In this video, we will go over a set of tools to help mitigate your anxious feelings. We will be talking about a breathing exercise also known as belly breathing. Some push back and often tell me that breathing exercises do not work. I promise you that this is not the case if you stay consistent with your breathing exercises. Belly breath is a deep breath that you bring all the way down into the lower part of your lungs. This breath reaches your diaphragm, and this hits the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is also known as our natural chill out button. You need to take about thirty seconds of belly breath in the morning and at night. This will be a calming technique while you are feeling anxiety. Here are the steps if you start to feel anxiety.

1. Body scan- where are you feeling the anxiety?
2. Acknowledge and name where you are feeling the anxiety. Do not tell the anxiety to go away.
3. Remember what you were thinking about when your anxiety started.
4. You can rate your anxiety on a scale of 1-10. Try to wait until your anxiety goes to about 2 or less. The goal is to move from a place of fight or flight to a calming feeling. Do not try to ignore or distract yourself from anxiety. Welcome your anxiety and acknowledge it.

To learn more about our licensed clinical social worker and anxiety specialist, Jenny Lehman, click here.