ADAA Mental Health Blogs for the Public
General guidelines for youth mental health: Teach them compassion and gratitude
Teaching children how to be compassionate towards others inspires this behavior towards themselves. Encourage your child to be kind and caring to others by modeling unconditional acceptance. Acknowledge and admit your own mistakes in front of your kid. When they go through rough times, teach them to take the time to take care of themselves to re-energize.
In my first meeting with new patients who struggle with OCD and anxiety, I explain that the type of psychotherapy I practice, Exposure and Response Prevention, involves encouraging them to feel uncomfortable. It’s a type of therapy that they will not particularly “enjoy,” but it’s a therapy that will hopefully get them back to enjoying their lives.
Updated October 2020
The decision to take medication for mental health is a very important one, and it often takes place when symptoms of anxiety, depression, or other mental health issues have intensified, which can make the decision process much harder. The following questions can help ease the process and guide you in your conversation with your doctor and in the ongoing treatment process.
Ask Your Doctor:
It’s easy to understand how a major car accident would cause someone to fear driving, but most driving phobia have nothing to do with accidents.
Here is a list of the top 5 driving fears:
One of the key issues that consumers ask us about is how to identify warning signs in adolescents regarding anxiety and how to raise the issue with their adolescents.
Children of anxious parents are more at risk for developing anxiety disorders. This is because they will have both a genetic predisposition to developing an anxiety disorder and their environment may emphasize hyper vigilance to risk cues. It is important to emphasize that being at risk for developing an anxiety disorder does not mean with certainty that they will develop one. Creating an emotionally healthy environment where children learn to tackle their fears can prevent the development of an anxiety disorder.