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Showing posts from November, 2024

Parenting: Competence as an Antidote to Anxiety

  Anxiety is a normal healthy part of being human.   If we don’t feel anxious when there is an angry dog heading our way it is very possible that we will be attacked – we need anxiety to keep ourselves safe.    However, for many of our young people their anxiety shows up in situations that are primarily safe but often uncomfortable or embarrassing.   This might be starting a new school, reading out your English essay or going to your fist disco.     This happens because the part of our brain that is responsible for processing danger, a tiny little almond shaped structure called the amygdala, is not very good at knowing what is dangerous and what is not.   And when the amygdala is not sure it always errs on the side of caution and sounds the alarm. This means that our kids can feel super anxious in all sorts of situations even though we know (and they sometimes know) that nothing bad is gong to happen.   It is helpful for our kids to under...