Articles containing: anxiety

Shy Kids: Understanding Them and Helping Them Thrive

Some degree of shyness is normal and common in all children. For most, it’s a healthy cautiousness in reaction to a novel social encounter.

Here’s an example:

At a neighborhood barbeque, 4-year-old Tommy wouldn’t show his face, and buried his head in his mom’s skirt behind her. Mom gently encouraged him.

There Are All Sorts of Ways of Making Things Better

Things might seem kind of awful lately.

Every news headline, from every corner of American ideology, feels pretty depressing.  We are subjected to nihilistic rants or apocalyptic predictions.  When do we smile? When our late-night talk-show hosts use our negativity for comedic material.  I’ll admit it.

Shrinking It Down: Political Angst in America? (Season 1, Episode 6)

You can also listen to this podcast on SoundCloud, Stitcher, and iTunes. 

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According to a 2017 report by the American Psychological Association, 2/3 of Americans feel stressed about the future of our nation, including a majority of each Democrats and Republicans.

Living in Fear of Criticism and Humiliation: The Problem of Social Anxiety Disorder

Most kids and young adults look forward to going back to school. But for those with social anxiety, school and all that comes with it can literally provoke dread.

I’m going to show you what I mean. Let’s consider Sally.

Sally is a sweet, sensitive, likeable 16-year-old girl.

What Is An Adjustment Disorder?

My friend Samantha called me in a panic.  Her 8-year-old daughter, Lindsey, was struggling with the fact that her parents were getting divorced.  There had been a lot of conflict in the marriage.  Samantha’s ex-husband was an alcoholic and, though he was receiving treatment, he had been frequently unemployed.

Talking To Kids About Disasters (The Weather Channel)

Over the past month, the devastation of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria has topped the headlines and media outlets. The earthquake in Mexico has shocked the world. These events have shaken countless individuals, families, and communities, including our children.

Back to School: A Joy for Most, A Nightmare for Others

Most school age kids are eager to head back to school. Sure, they’ll miss their summer vacation, but the prospect of moving up a grade, seeing friends again, and even having a new teacher is really exciting.

Yet, for or a few kids and their parents it’s kind of a nightmare.

Here are a few stories from years of experience.

How To Tell If Your Child Is Stressed This Summer

Summertime…and the kids are stressed out.

That’s not exactly the song that most of us might remember as we welcome the seemingly carefree days of summer vacation. Still, summer can be surprisingly stressful for children and adolescents.

An Encounter With The Unknown – From A Mother’s Lens

This blog post is part of a series entitled Real Lives, Real Stories: Personal Experiences With Mental Illness.

How To Help Kids With Post-Election Anxiety

Elections are, above all, political moments; but, each one offers parenting moments as well. That is certainly the case with this one. Last Wednesday, one Boston-area mother told our friend Carey Goldberg, the co-host of WBUR’s CommonHealth blog: “My son has been very worried about Donald Trump, who he calls ‘the bully.