Fall brings crisp Autumn nights, beautiful changing leaves, Halloween candy at the drug store and transition. The “T” word affects all of us; children, teens, adults, families, and couples.

Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending. ~ Maria Robinson

School is starting and that brings all the excitement of seeing old friends, meeting new teachers, the challenge of new classes, sports, and other extra-curricular activities. For many teens and college students, however, the beginning of school is associated with significant anxiety expressed as poor sleep, body symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches and diarrhea, and irritability. At its worst, anxiety may present as overt panic attacks and avoidance of school and friends.

Root causes for these symptoms are varied but they may easily be lumped into several categories.

1. Anxiety around academic failure. Children who are high achievers, those who strive to get into premier colleges develop intense anxiety around performing in the highest level classes, doing well on college entrance examinations, and the application process itself. For others, performance anxiety derives from a history of having struggled academically, possibly for years with undiagnosed or poorly diagnosed learning disabilities.

2. Anxiety which derives from an underlying depression, often smoldering in existence for years.

3. Anxiety in children who have difficulty establishing and maintaining solid social relationships. As children develop, the web of social relationships becomes increasingly complex and the skills necessary to successfully negotiate these interactions become increasingly sophisticated. Failure to acquire these skills results in social isolation often manifested by a preoccupation with computer games and an unwillingness to “play” outside the home.

If any of these symptoms seem familiar to you, we offer workshops for teens and families and couples. See a complete list here.