Anxiety as a Teenager: Signs, Impact, and Treatment Options

My counseling journey began by working with teenagers, a population that often finds itself at the intersection of rapid growth, identity formation, and complex challenges. Supporting teens required me to cultivate patience, flexibility, and the ability to hold space for strong emotions while also encouraging hope and resilience.

Although at times it stretched me outside of my comfort zone, these early experiences shaped my foundation as a counselor and deepened my understanding of the importance of empathy, clear boundaries, and developmental awareness.

Life challenges come to us all, regardless of our background, faith, commitments, family situation, age, gender, or walk of life. We all face trouble, though that trouble comes in different forms for each of us. For teenagers, that stage of life comes with its own complications and specific challenges. It’s a time of significant change and transitions, of a lot of newness and growth. Change requires the ability to adapt.

Some of the challenges a teenager may face would include mental health concerns like depression, anxiety, eating disorders, or anger issues. A teen may struggle with body image issues, questions about gender and identity, wrestling with matters of faith, or difficult relationships with loved ones. These present challenges of various kinds, and they can affect the teen’s emotional, physical, mental, and social well-being.

Anxiety is a common enough concern among teenagers. According to CDC data from the last few years, around 11% of children aged 3 to 17 were diagnosed with anxiety, and specifically among adolescents (aged 12-17), around 20% reported having experienced symptoms of anxiety as recently as two weeks before the survey was conducted. Teen mental health is a significant concern that needs attention.

Some Reasons for Anxiety as a Teenager

The link between social media use and anxiety in teenagers has grown clearer in recent years, with evidence showing that excessive engagement can alter brain functioning, particularly through disruptions in dopamine regulation and reward processing, which may heighten vulnerability to anxiety.

Adolescents who spend significant time online often experience compulsive checking, comparison, and sleep disturbances, all of which are connected to increased emotional dysregulation and stress. Research highlights that more than half of existing studies report a positive association between social media use and anxiety, suggesting the risk is not only tied to the amount of time spent but also to the quality and patterns of use. (Hassani et al., 2024)

This anxiety response has its place in our lives, as it prepares our bodies for those moments when they need to act in our defense. The issue is that when the response is on a hair trigger, or when the physiological changes it brings linger past their usefulness or welcome, it can become a real problem. When anxiety is a constant companion and it derails normal daily functioning, it might be diagnosed as an anxiety disorder.

A teen may feel the regular type of anxiety that teens, or anyone else for that matter, can feel on a daily basis. For the most part, this normal anxiety and the feelings of stress that come with it disappear relatively quickly. After the moment passes, one’s heart rate drops and breathing evens out; the sense of dread passes, and the tight knot in their stomach disappears, in a few hours or perhaps in a day.

However, other, more intense forms of anxiety may affect a teen. That’s when the feelings of anxiety are quite intense, so much so that they get in the way of enjoying everyday life, or they disrupt the teen’s ability to play sports, learn in school, or engage in projects that matter to them. These feelings of anxiety, apart from being intense, might linger for days, weeks, months, or even longer, making it a serious concern.

A teenager might feel anxious due to social interactions with others, or they may feel anxious about their physiological development during puberty; being an early or a late bloomer can be cause for concern for a teen at a time when it feels important to fit in and develop their social life. A teen may also be anxious due to the various pressures placed on them by parents, teachers, coaches, or peers.

From the above, it’s evident that teens can have just as many reasons to feel anxious as older people, and the use of social media and excessive online engagement can affect them both the same way.

The Impact of Anxiety

The impact of anxiety varies from person to person. It affects your body and your mind. When you feel anxious, it can be physically uncomfortable. That discomfort can be a huge distraction at a moment when you’re trying to perform at your best. Anxiety can affect a teen’s ability to learn or perform at their peak.

If a teen feels anxious in social situations, those feelings of anxiety can form significant obstacles to forming friendships or bridging divides. Such anxiety can make it hard to raise concerns, feel heard, or express oneself effectively. It can make for a lot of frustration, because these are all things that aid flourishing.

Experiencing deep and prolonged anxiety can also have an impact on well-being. Placing one’s body under the physical strain of anxiety can result in ailments as diverse as muscle tension, stomachaches, headaches, and trouble sleeping well. Unfortunately, teens with anxiety disorders are at higher risk of turning to substance abuse to cope with the symptoms of anxiety. This creates additional challenges to well-being.

Signs of Anxiety in a Teenager

Anxiety affects teens as much as other age groups, and parents, caregivers, and teens themselves need to be aware of what the signs of anxiety are. Some of the signs or symptoms of anxiety to know include the following:

• easily fatigued
• feeling worried
• shortness of breath
• hands or body trembling
• heart palpitations
• feeling irritable or nervous
• constantly seeking reassurance
• feeling excessively self-conscious
• sweating
• withdrawing from social activity
• nausea, butterflies in the stomach
• feeling restless, wound-up, jumpy, or on edge
• having difficulty concentrating, and/or your mind going blank
• experiencing physical symptoms such as headaches, sleep problems, muscle tension, stomachaches, and pain

Speaking to a health professional is important. They can give medical advice and determine the potential cause of these symptoms.

Helping Your Teen Overcome Anxiety

Anxiety, even when it is debilitating, can be addressed. The main ways to address anxiety include self-help measures, therapy, and medication, particularly for the more severe forms of anxiety. Self-help can include taking measures to reduce stress and anxiety levels, by exercising, getting consistent quality sleep to aid emotional regulation, becoming more aware of triggers, and knowing which foods may worsen anxiety.

As a parent or caregiver, there are some steps you can take to help your teenager, and they include recognizing and acknowledging your teen’s emotions and fears. Instead of ignoring or dismissing their experiences, take them seriously and listen to their concerns. Listening includes not interrupting or being too quick to give solutions.

It’s also possible to normalize their experience, letting them know that other teens also experience anxiety. Loving them and being empathetic toward them provides them with the support they need to navigate a trying set of experiences. That can happen as part of your daily interactions with them when you carve out time daily to engage with your child in a distraction-free environment where they have your full attention.

A parent or caregiver can also help their teen by encouraging habits that promote well-being. You can encourage a healthy diet by providing healthy foods in the home, including snacks. You can also encourage physical activity like sports, dance, walking, running, cycling, hiking, or any other activity that promotes movement that they enjoy. You can also encourage good sleep hygiene and habits.

When your teen has test anxiety, there are good coping strategies they can employ, such as studying without distractions, learning how to calm themselves through controlled breathing or progressive muscle relaxation, or by envisioning success or reframing negative thoughts.

In other situations where anxiety is present, instead of plunging your teen headfirst into whatever they are anxious about, try to gently and slowly work up to the worry. Along the way, find means to provide positive reinforcement and support for them so that they can more effectively face whatever they are anxious about.

It’s also important to seek help from others, including school counselors or a trusted counselor. They can provide your teen with tools and coping strategies to better handle their anxiety. In cases where medication is necessary to address severe symptoms, it must be prescribed, and the regimen should be adhered to. You can encourage your teen to consistently attend their sessions and take their medication.

With help, your teen can bring their anxiety under control and have a happy and fulfilling life. To learn more and to meet with me or another counselor in our directory, contact our office today.