Why do we worry and how can we deal with it? Why do we get anxious? Where does anxiety come from? Anxiety or worry is a hard feeling to overcome, but it’s a universal human emotion. In this episode, we explore anxiety with clinical psychologist Eileen Kennedy-Moore, also known as Dr. Friendtastic. She helps us understand why moderate anxiety is useful and necessary. But too much worry can prevent you from learning new things or doing activities that could be fun. And she has some tips for how to overcome anxious feelings.
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- Anxiety is the feeling of worry or fear about something that could happen in the future.
- Sometimes kids feel anxiety in their body as well as in their thoughts. It can feel like a headache, stomach ache, a heart beating fast, or tense muscles.
- Anxiety can be useful in warning us about potential dangers, like an unknown dog. It has been a very helpful human emotion as our species developed. But anxiety becomes a problem when it gives us a false alarm and starts warning us away from things we need or want to do.
- Anxiety doesn’t need to be a stop signal. Instead, it can be just a sign that you’re doing something new.
- Dr. Friendtastic advises kids to keep three questions in mind when something is making you anxious: how bad is it; how likely is it to happen; and could or should you do something about it?
- Keep in mind that avoidance makes anxiety grow. The more you avoid the thing that makes you anxious the harder it will be to face it next time.
- Talk to your grownups if feelings of worry are making you avoid doing new things or starting to be overwhelming.
