Overpowering Emotions: Tools for Child & Teen Anxiety and Resilience

Episode #71 of Overpowering Emotions Today I talk about the link between Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and anxiety. I walk through several important considerations to lay the foundation to support these children and teens. The underlying processes of anxiety and ODD are nearly identical. Children or teens who experience either have trouble controlling their emotions and their reactions to th...

Valentine’s can come with a lot of emotional turmoil for children and teens that adults might not even be aware of. There are lots of decisions about what to give and who to give something to while minimizing total humiliation. And, if kids have expectations that aren’t met, such as not getting a card from someone or as many as they get, it could fuel negative narratives they have about themselves...

Continuing my series on comorbidities with anxiety, today I jump into Part 2 on ADHD and anxiety. Anxiety is common among ADHDers. However, sometimes they can mimic, overshadow, or mask each other. Therefore, it is important to differentiate the two and understand what's what to treat most effectively. In today's episode, I talk about how to differentiate ADHD from anxiety and the best treatment a...

Continuing my series on comorbidities with anxiety, today I talk about ADHD and anxiety. This is an important relationship to address because anxiety is ADHD’s most common comorbidity, so there is a very clear link between the two. Moreover, there are important implications when trying to treat both ADHD & anxiety. In Part 1 today, I discuss the relationship between ADHD and anxiety and how al...

Today I am talking about the link between anxiety and sensory processing challenges. They are closely related and often co-occur. Anxiety affects our body in so many ways - including how our brain processes sensory input. When we get anxious, we are more likely to experience sensory overload. Similarly, when we are feeling overloaded by sensory input, we are more likely to feel anxious and want to...

In today's episode, I readdress tics, OCD, and anxiety. Although understanding the differences is important because treatment options can be very different, how we adults respond to tics, obsessions and compulsions, or anxious thoughts is very similar. And yes, there are ways that are help our kiddos manage the difficulties they experience  and ways that only make things worse. In today’s epi...

In today's episode of Overpowering Emotions, I kick off my comorbidity series in which I talk about anxiety and other diagnoses it likes to hang out with. Today I discuss the difference between tics and tic-related Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Both can have disruptive and embarrassing symptoms that can interfere with daily functioning. There is a lot of overlap between the two, highlightin...

In today's episode, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Hilary Sims. We discuss anxiety and the biggest impacts of COVID and anxiety: isolation and low self-esteem. We talk about how to address these and what parents can do to help their children. Hilary and I talk about a lot of issues and ideas - be sure to tune in to hear more! I also have a couple of bonus resources. We mentioned usi...

Today’s episode is a recast from the podcast, Mindfulness off the cushion, in which I speak as a guest about helping build mindfulness into children's and family's lives. Building mindfulness in your daily life is easy to do when you set the right intentions. No, it doesn't have to be formal sitting meditations. It's about learning to stay present with, and even enjoy, the things you are already d...

With the holidays upon us, I wanted to do an episode on how to make the most of them. While I started to go through the things to destress, I realized that, truly, the one and most important thing to focus on is presence over presents (and busyness and rushing and chaos that can take us out of the moment). To optimize our presence, we need to be mindful. Therefore, I knew the best episode this wee...

On today's episode of Overpowering Emotions, I talk about how to help kiddos who are scared to use the bathroom in public. While this is true for a lot of young children, there are still a lot of older children - even tweens and teens - who continue to avoid using public toilets. Fear of going using the public bathroom is common, but not talked about, which is why it's important to open the conver...

We all want to help kiddos reach their full potential. However, when we put them under too much pressure, there can be serious consequences for kids. While we certainly want to set expectations for children and encourage them, the pressure to constantly perform well in any and all parts of life can lower their motivation and lead to mental health problems. Especially when kids feel like every test...

In part 2 of my discussion on test anxiety, I go through more practical and effective strategies, such as study strategies, and things students can do during and after the test to manage test anxiety and optimize their academic success now and into the future. Want to watch this episode? You can also watch it here : https://youtu.be/ZSPzjTwbpb0 AND, be sure to check out this Test Taking Skills res...

Loads of kids get stressed when they have to write a test. In fact, most students say that schoolwork and tests are the most stressful things in their lives. However, when that stress becomes too big, worries can make it hard for students to learn, remember what they learn, think clearly, notice mistakes, and show what they have learned. Test anxiety impairs student success and can even harm their...

Today I continue the discussion on supporting anxious student success in school. One thing that I see impairing anxious students that happens far too often are accommodations for anxiety in the classroom.  The strategies for anxiety in students' Individualized Program Plans (IPPs), though well-intentioned, actually make the student's anxiety worse and lead to worse outcomes over time. This is...

Being human means we all feel some social anxiety. We are social creatures and have a foundational need to belong. However, it starts to become a problem when we feel such intense worries that it interferes with our ability to function, our relationships, and our ability to live life. Social anxiety is on the rise and has only intensified since COVID.  During that time kiddos have missed out...

I am so excited to have Shyness expert Nadia Finer join me on today's episode. Nadia believes it's okay to be shy and that, in fact, shyness is an essential factor in today's world. Nadia is on a softly spoken mission to help shy people be more mighty. She's the UK's leading shyness expert; the author of two books about shyness – Shy and Mighty (published by Quercus) and Shy and Mighty for Kids ,...

Next on the journey of social anxiety, I have to ensure we talk about social media because it plays a huge role in the amount of social anxiety people experience today. In today's episode I had a fascinating discussion with Dr. Jon Gruda on anxiety detection using linguistic analysis. We get into a few different things, though a large part of our discussion was on how our posts can influence other...

Today, I talk about how we address perfectionism in more detail. Yes, I do talk about the most important thinking trap to address, but I also highlight the things we must DO to help anxious kiddos manage perfectionism. After all, as with anything related to anxiety, it's more about what we do than what we say. BONUS: Is perfectionism holding you, a client, or someone you know back? Check out this...

As I work through some of the biggest anxiety-provoking school-related things for students, today I talk about perfectionism.  Perfectionism has steadily increased over the years, with our younger generations establishing increasingly more extreme standards for themselves, which can be crippling. It is critical we address perfectionism before anything else. Otherwise, we won't get very far in...

In this special episode, I am a guest on the BELIEVE IN PEOPLE Podcast with Kevin Tibbles & Amy Goldberg In this episode we talk about helping children and teens master their anxiety, and what parents need to know. Find out what kids wish parents knew … A conversation worth having. Check out BELIEVE IN PEOPLE Podcast: A podcast for people with hope. You can also WATCH HERE (https://www.youtube...

Today I finish my discussion on managing school avoidance. If you've missed them, check out the previous two episodes in which I addressed the foundational considerations for setting up student success with a supportive environment with adults who know how to respond effectively when anxiety shows up. Today I focus on the skills students need to learn and the processes we must implement to promote...

I continue the Back to School Success series and today's episode is Part II on School Refusal where I begin digging into treatment considerations. I discuss the need for a comprehensive school-based approach and outline the student, family, and school needs to be addressed. Using the resilience pyramid ( https://drcarolinebuzanko.com/pyramidofresilience/ ) that I have discussed in previous episode...

We are in the Back to School Success Series in which I talk about all school-related anxieties and how to maximally support anxious students to become masters over anxiety. In today's episode, I start addressing the big topic of School Refusal. It is such a big topic that I had to break the issue into three parts. In part 1 today, I lay the foundations of all the important considerations we n...

While some separation anxiety is normal in early childhood, it becomes serious when it doesn't go away as children get into their elementary school years and interferes with typical activities like going to school or going to a friend's house. While it can be hard for children and teachers to see children in distress, we don't want to fall into the common traps that make anxiety stronger, like all...