It’s Mental Health Awareness Week, and the rise of anxiety among pre-teens and teens is a troubling trend researchers are tracking.
Jasmine Peck is a local licensed clinical social worker who is holding virtual group classes this month for girls ages 10-14 who have anxiety. She said the group setting helps them realize they’re not alone.
"They come together,” said Peck. “They can learn about each other. They build relationships. They can give each other support. They can learn from each other."
Peck is also holding a group therapy class for women with anxiety this month.
She said the classes focus on triggers, coping skills, and sources of anxiety. In the 10-14 age group, common causes are online bullying and pressure from social media.
But she said it’s important to remember that anxiety is just your brain trying to protect you from a perceived threat.
"Maybe that threat is a test you have to take in school or an uncomfortable conversation you have to have with one of your friends,” she said. “It perceives that as a threat, and it does everything that it can to protect you, and unfortunately, it works a little bit harder than it needs to."
She said for people suffering from anxiety, it helps to remind yourself that you’re safe. Peck also encourages deep breathing and said the specific technique doesn’t matter as much as making sure you’re breathing from your belly.
"There's the square technique where you can just draw a square on a piece of paper, and you're following it with your finger and breathing in and out,” she said. “There's the figure eight that is just like that."
Peck said she has more virtual support groups coming up, including one for adults who are caregivers and children going through big transitions.
For more information about the groups and her work, click here.
