Allison Edwards's Blog, page 3

Summertime Anxiety: Why Anxiety Increases when Stress Decreases

“I’m worried about getting sick. I wonder if I might die,” says a perfectly healthy eight-year-old on her first week of summer break. “I can’t stop thinking about that text I sent,” a teenage boy says just a few hours later. “It was the wrong thing to say. I shouldn’t have asked her out. I should have waited. I bet that’s why she hasn’.

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Train Your Mind Like You Would Train a Puppy

It’s amazing to me that we don’t teach kids how to think. We teach them how to solve academic problems but nowhere in school or in kids early years does anyone teach them how to solve conflicts, manage emotions or change the way they think about events in their lives. This misstep is indicative in the rising rates of anxiety, depression and overall stress in kids lives.

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An Anxiety-Reduction Strategy Even the Most Successful People Use

Before Shaun White, the best snowboarder of all time, completed his final run that would gain him his 3rd Olympic Gold medal he told himself, “It doesn’t matter.” It doesn’t matter? What could be more important than winning an Olympic Gold, especially for someone who was born with a congenital heart defect, began snowboarding at age 6 and has spent thousands of hours...

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10 Test-Taking Tips Featuring Why Smart Kids Worry

With testing season under way, many students from elementary on up through the college ranks already have experienced their first spelling test, pop quiz or exam. If not, they will be soon along with standardized tests, mid-terms, finals and college entrance exams for some. Parents and students can use these 10 test-taking tips to help establish healthy habits and test-taking skills for this...

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The Most Anxious Day of the Week

Any guesses what the most anxious day of the week is? You got it. Sundays. Sundays are the day when the fears of the week ahead sit heavy on our minds. What we have to do. What we haven’t finished yet. What we are dreading. Sunday is hard for adults. It’s hard for kids. It’s hard for everyone and about 5:00 Sunday evening things seem to fall apart at home. A great way to help...

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The Inner Bully: How to Not get Beat up by Your Mind

I work with lots of kids who are bullied by someone. I work with even more who are bullied by themselves. They are in constant fear of their own minds and wonder what lurks around every corner. What mean things will my mind say to me today? How will my mind push me around? How will my mind trip me up? Most people fear themselves much more than they fear other people. This is because we are much...

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Depression is the Past. Anxiety is the Future.

Anxiety and depression are not all that different. They are on a continuum of negative thinking and any given person can express either, at any given time, depending on what they are going through. So what is the main difference? Anxiety is negative thinking focused on the future. People who struggle with anxiety suffer from the following thoughts: “It won’t work out.” “I...

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Home Devil or Street Angel? I’m Guessing Your Child is Both

This is not a new story. You drag your child out of the house kicking and screaming only to show up at a parent/teacher conference two days later to hear a glowing report. You hear words like, “What a pleasure. Such a leader. A real joy to have in class.” You almost choke on your coffee. “My child?” you ask. “Are you sure we’re talking about the same...

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The Undercurrent of Fear

Underneath all anxiety – no matter what type of anxiety it is – is an undercurrent of fear. The undercurrent of fear is what dislodges us from rational thinking, makes our minds race and our hearts beat fast. It’s this undercurrent that keeps us constantly worrying, our minds constantly going and it’s only in focusing on the undercurrent that progress can be made. Too...

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The Emotional Effects of Social Media

The average teen spends 9 hours a day using media. Social Media increases the risk and development of anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorder. Every time you get a “like” on social media, dopamine is released in the brain.  We’ve known for a long time that social media is a problem. Kids are consumed by it, bullying occurs on it and no matter what we try to do, we can’t keep...

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