Activity: Help teenagers challenge anxious thoughts

This activity makes it easier to review and release anxious feelings. It’s a good activity for teenagers to try alone, or you can do it together. Either way, it’s useful to learn about the link between thoughts and feelings first if you can.

A man sitting with head in his hand

Whenever your child feels anxious, get them to think through these questions:

How do I know whether the thoughts I’m having are true or not?
When have I felt this way before? What was the outcome?
What’s the worse that could happen this time? How would I handle it? Would I be OK?
How much of my judgement is based on facts, and how much on feelings?