Helpful tips for parents & their anxious children
Explore the best techniques for parenting your anxious child, learn tips straight from Dr. David & Dr. Chris, and see the program at work.
Posted by David Russ on Jun 09, 2013 in Anxiety, Assessment, Child, Children, Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Medication, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Panic, Parenting an Anxious Child, Social Anxiety
If your child has the symptoms of an anxiety disorder it is probably just that, an anxiety disorder. However, most parents want to pay a visit to the pediatrician just to play it safe and I would recommend that as well. Let me qualify my comments by saying I am NOT a medical doctor. Nothing I write should be considered a medical opinion. That being said I do want to make a list of possible medical reasons for anxiety in children. Most of this list is from an article I cite at the end**.
Medication. Has you child started on a medication or changed the dose within the last few weeks?
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Posted by David Russ on Jun 02, 2013 in Anxiety, Cognitive, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Irrational Thinking, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Everyone has really dreadful thoughts. Thoughts like jumping out of a tall story window, an impulse to harm someone, images of loved ones in accidents, thinking of being attacked at night, etc. This has been confirmed in a number of studies. Most people notice, may think it was weird and then move on to other things. On the other hand, people with anxiety disorders, particularly OCD, assign a great deal of importance to some of these thoughts.
What the research indicates the specific thought is NOT important for anxiety. Example, it isn’t important that you just had a thought about harming a baby. What IS important is the meaning you give to the thought. In the case of our example, you may think having this thought means you are a terrible mother.
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Posted by Chris McCarthy on May 28, 2013 in Interviews
In this TV interview, Dr. McCarthy suggests some healthy activities that kids enjoy but that also promotes healthy brain and physical development. Instead of your child playing x-box or being in overly structured programs, consider trying some of these activities. Follow this LINK to see the interview.
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Posted by David Russ on Apr 24, 2013 in Anxiety, Child, Children, ERP, Exposure, Parenting an Anxious Child, Worry
This was really hard for me. My daughter struggled with panic on and off for about 4 years. She wanted comfort and reassurance that everything would be okay. I gave her that reassurance. Was that the right thing to do? Maybe, maybe not. Let me explain.
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Posted by Chris McCarthy on Apr 23, 2013 in Anxiety, Child, Children, Parenting an Anxious Child, Interviews
President Obama is his new budget proposal calls for children to begin school at age 4 but is that the best thing? Recent brain development research shows that children are not ready for school until at least age six. Finland, which consistently scores in the top 3 for high-school math and language scores waits till age seven to start their children. In this interview, Dr. McCarthy discusses this research and other things to consider before starting your child is school. For this link: When To Start School
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Posted by David Russ on Apr 12, 2013 in Anxiety, Child, Children, Disorders, Exposure, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), Panic, Phobia, Social Anxiety, Worry
Anxiety has it’s own unique set of “operating rules.” These are not obvious and sometimes opposite of what one might think. That leads to all kinds of information that is mistaken. Well-meaning but wrong. The Anxiety and 
Depression Association of America is offering a free webinar on April 17th called Common Myths About Anxiety Disorders. This is a quick preview of some of the common “myths” about anxiety.*
Myth 1: If you have an anxiety problem you should avoid stress or anything that will cause anxiety.
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Posted by Chris McCarthy on Mar 28, 2013 in Interviews
Do you struggle getting your child to get up in the morning and prepare themselves for school, do their chores, or get ready for bed? Dr. McCarthy talks on Charlotte Today about the importance of routines and how to establish them.
Follow this link: Childhood Routines
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Posted by David Russ on Mar 23, 2013 in Anxiety, Child, Children, Disorders, Exposure, Panic
Anxiety treatment is stressful. From, “Where are my keys!” all the way to what my friend John would say, “I'm on a balcony 30 floors up with one foot on the rail 
and the other on a banana peel!” Your child’s anxiety WILL go up if you get them treatment. We often get the question regarding our anxiety program, “Will starting Turnaround cause my child to get more anxious?” and, “Will being exposed to the fears of other kids in the program give my child some new things to worry about?” Our answer: "Yes. It might." Anxiety treatment causes anxiety. If this is the point that you think, “Cause more anxiety? Why would I do that,” then you have just discovered the reason why anxiety is so hard to overcome.
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Posted by David Russ on Mar 01, 2013 in Anxiety, Happiness
Let me say right up front that what I am writing about is straight out of Sonja Lyubomirsky’s book on happiness. In her book she writes about 12 activities that are strongly supported by scientific evidence to 
boost happiness (although I suspect all our grandmothers knew it already). The first is the practice of gratitude. According to Dr. Lyubomirsky gratitude is “…wonder; it is appreciation; it is looking at the bright side of a setback; it is fathoming abundance; it is thanking someone in your life; it is thanking God; it is counting blessings. It is savoring; it is not taking things for granted; it is coping; it is present-oriented.” If that is not enough to persuade one to develop this practice she offers eight benefits of practicing gratitude:
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Posted by David Russ on Feb 20, 2013 in Anxiety, Depression, Happiness
I have been reading a very interesting book that summarizes research on happiness. As I go along I will try to blog about some of the really amazing information the author reports after devoting her life to the study of happiness. Here is just a brief excerpt about some of the behavior and thinking of the happiest people in the world:
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