Identifying Symptoms of Anxiety and Providing Support

[Dr. Erin Berman] No matter what the threat is – again, removing a phone or a friend unfriending us, right – when we have anxiety, whether it is that or being chased by a bear is no different in our physiological system, right? We have a “fight or flight” response that turns on and everyone’s is kind of different. Some people have stomachaches, headaches, nausea, frequent trips to the bathroom, or they could be nervous and uncomfortable, right. Tightness and pain in the chest, dizziness, sweating, heart racing. What’s most important is if you have a kid freaking out for irritability or anxiety or your friend having a panic attack, What do we do? Big, important things – you can do this in a school or home. Don’t talk a lot, please. Kids are not listening when they’re upset. Most important thing that a parent or teacher or caregiver can understand, right? Just listen. Try and model being a calming influence. I think that’s very hard many times as a parent, right? You want the child to either get off their screens or study or do what they – get to school. And it’s hard, as I always say, “If you can’t fake being calm, see if there’s someone else in the house, even maybe the cat or the dog,” Because that can help calm in those moments, okay? If someone’s having a bona fide panic attack, remind them that it ends, right? And there’s many ways we can calm our body down. The main one we talk about is grounding. And if you Google that online, you can find examples of grounding.