Teenage fears. Dynamics of the feeling of fear, objects of fear, characteristics of fear in adolescents.

Adolescence is one of the most important periods of human development, which significantly influences his entire future life; it is a kind of “bridge” between childhood and adulthood. It begins at puberty (at approximately 11–13 years) and ends by 16–18 years, although it must be said that the age boundaries are quite blurred and individual for each child. In addition to the large-scale restructuring of almost all internal organs and systems, the psycho-emotional state also changes dramatically during this period. Very often, parents are faced with completely new, unusual behavior of the child, increased levels of anxiety and restlessness. The extreme degree of such psycho-emotional disorders, teenage phobias , are relatively rare, but without timely correction they are fraught with serious problems and complications that can persist throughout life. At the Leto mental health center, you can get a consultation with a teenage psychotherapist who knows how to help a child and will select not only an appropriate psychotherapy program, but also (if necessary) medication treatment.

Prerequisites for the development of phobias in adolescents

The characteristics of adolescence are largely due to the onset of active functioning of the gonads . The complex interaction of growth hormones and the reproductive system causes rapid physical development, which in turn can be accompanied by temporary, transient disturbances in the functioning of the heart, lungs and other internal organs, and the circulatory system.

Pediatricians confirm that adolescents often experience changes in vascular and muscle tone, various autonomic disorders, which causes instability of the psyche and behavior. It is very difficult for them to adapt to the changes occurring in the body and to survive the “hormonal storm”.

The situation is aggravated by the fact that external and physiological changes coincide with social pressures. You need to think about successfully completing school and decide on your future profession. Integration into adulthood involuntarily occurs: a teenager for the first time faces problems of relationships with the opposite sex, financial difficulties, and intense mental (often physical) stress.

Immaturity of thinking is combined with an emerging “sense of adulthood.” On the one hand, the child zealously defends his point of view, strives to protect his life and interests from parental interference, but on the other hand, the inability to independently solve certain problems forces him to turn to adults for help.

Psychotherapists agree that the formation of phobias in adolescents is largely due to their relationships with their parents. Prerequisites for the occurrence of such a disorder may be:

• overprotection, the desire of the father or mother to do everything instead of the child, protecting him from any responsibilities, responsibility for his own words and actions, naturally, he is not ready for adult life, making independent decisions;
• a large number of restrictions and prohibitions (especially unfounded);
• total control, constant pulling back, remarks on any, even minor, occasion (in particular, in the presence of other people, peers, classmates, etc.);
• frequent reproaches from parents, which gradually perpetuate the child’s sense of guilt;
• severe fear, psychological trauma due to any accident, catastrophe, family scandals, physical and/or sexual violence, accident, illness, injury, etc.

Why does the fear of death arise in adults?

It is believed that the fear of death can be formed in childhood, but it will manifest itself in adults under certain circumstances.
Children begin to understand death after 3 years. At first they are faced with the death of people and animals, and when they are a little older they begin to think about the finitude of their own lives. If an incorrect attitude about death is formed in the head, phobias are possible in adulthood. The fear of death can sharply worsen or be initiated in the following situations:

• man-made disasters;
• serious accidents;
• terrorist attacks;
• severe events that occurred in the immediate vicinity (a plane crashed that the person did not have time to catch).

Thanatophobia can also be initiated by other fears and severe shocks:

• fear of the unknown what awaits after death;
• losses of loved ones, especially untimely ones;
• low self-esteem and loneliness;
• superstitiousness or strong religiosity;
• fear of not having time to complete all planned plans;
• strong suggestibility;
• fear of pain and suffering;
• a feeling of the frailty of existence, the uselessness of oneself in life;
• fear of losing control in certain life situations.

Most often, thanatophobia occurs in urban residents, elderly people or men during age-related crises (especially middle age).

Clinical manifestations of adolescent phobias

At a certain age and in certain situations, anxiety and fear are a normal reaction of the body to what is happening around. For example, anxiety before an upcoming test, exam, performance at school/university, or a first date is quite understandable. In this situation, anxiety, on the contrary, helps to mobilize all the body’s resources before an important event and act more effectively.

Important!

Unlike physiologically and psychologically normal anxiety, phobias are irrational. They are not associated with a real threat, fear is accompanied by a feeling of one’s own helplessness, completely takes over the consciousness, and negatively affects the way of life, because the teenager strives with all his might to avoid the circumstances that provoke such a feeling.

Constant worry and anxiety bring discord to almost any activity. Academic performance declines and hostility may appear. Low self-esteem, a feeling of self-doubt, dependence on the opinions of others, and lack of initiative are typical.

Classification

Depending on the content of fears, there are several forms of teenage phobias:

• Social phobia: an intense fear of being the center of attention, or of saying or doing something that will cause ridicule or disapproval from others. With agoraphobia, people are afraid of public speaking, avoid eating in cafes, parties, clubs and discos; sometimes the patient, despite physiological needs, cannot overcome himself and visit a public toilet.
• Agoraphobia ; fear of being in a crowd, public place, or transport. This form of phobic disorder is characterized by attacks of panic attacks, which are accompanied by increased heart rate, shortness of breath, tachycardia, and possible disturbances of consciousness and disorientation.
• Specific (isolated) teenage phobias. They are distinguished by the appearance of uncontrollable fear in a strictly defined situation or in front of any objects. This could be a fear of heights, darkness, animals, insects. Sometimes this is ignored for a long time, as the teenager (and his parents) adapt to it, avoiding situations that provoke anxiety.

A separate group includes school phobia, which manifests itself as a fear of assessing knowledge, not meeting the requirements of teachers, moving to the next grade, another school, etc. In such cases, frequent absenteeism and avoidance of attending classes under any pretext are typical.

Summarize

Fears are a normal teenage reaction to changes that occur in the mind and body. This is a difficult moment for a child.

It depends on how prosperous the family environment is: whether these fears will pass or whether they will remain with the person for life in the form of phobias, complexes and low self-esteem.

Therefore, parents must ensure a healthy atmosphere in the family. See your child as a person. Respect his opinion and monitor any fears in order to make timely adjustments and, if necessary, contact a specialist.

Material prepared by: Inna Klevacheva Cover photo: Depositphotos

Cost of services

This list does not contain all prices for services provided by our clinic. The full price list can be found on the “Prices” , or by calling: 8(969)060-93-93. Initial consultation is FREE!

Are “Bad Dreams” a Bad Sign or a Cure?

A teenager’s “bad” dreams help him cope with severe anxiety, in which he experiences the loss of his parents and learns to move on with it.
This is not a figment of fantasy, this is not self-indulgence. This is how the brain looks for ways to cope with possible unbearable grief. Harvard psychology professor and sleep researcher Deirdre Barrett says, “Dreams that revolve around difficult and frightening situations are actually our brain’s attempts to find a way out.”

Emotions after sleep can be so strong that a teenager walks around under the impression of them the entire school day - although he understands that everything is not happening in truth, in reality everyone is alive. But the experience of overcoming loss is recorded in neural connections.

In the book Why We Sleep, neuroscientist Matthew Walker writes that REM sleep is the only period when the stress hormone norepinephrine does not affect the brain. But at this time, those areas of the brain that are responsible for emotions and memory are active. This is how the brain re-processes unpleasant emotions received during the day, but in the most calm mode. In this phase of sleep, we find solutions to problems that seemed insoluble.

In one of Walker's experiments, participants completed a maze twice. Those who managed to sleep between attempts did better. Sleepers were periodically awakened and asked what they were dreaming about. Those who said they dreamed about a labyrinth did 10 times better on the second attempt than those who dreamed about something else.

Principles of treatment for adolescent phobias

Considering that the disorder affects not only the psycho-emotional sphere, but also causes various somatic disorders, it is almost impossible to do without drug treatment. First of all, drugs are prescribed for symptomatic therapy. Prescribed:

• nootropics and cerebral vasodilators that improve blood supply to the brain;
• multivitamin complexes that stimulate metabolism, increase physical and mental endurance;
• cardioprotectors;
• antioxidants;
• adaptogens;
• neuropeptides;
• GABAergic drugs;
• restoratives.

Optimization of the daily routine, feasible physical activity (physical therapy, swimming, long walks in the fresh air), and rational, nutritious nutrition are mandatory.

The issue of using specific anti-anxiety drugs for the treatment of adolescent phobias still remains open. This is due to the fact that in patients of this age group the risk of adverse reactions is higher due to the immaturity of neurotransmitter systems and the functioning of serotonergic, noradrenergic and dopaminergic structures.

With isolated phobias, when it is possible to exclude the influence of the object of fear on everyday life, they try to avoid the use of psychotropic drugs, but with social and agoraphobia they usually cannot be avoided. Medical specialists prefer antidepressants from the group of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) of the latest generation. They do not have a pronounced sedative effect, do not reduce performance or mental activity, which allows the child to continue studying.

In case of severe concomitant sleep disorders, psychomotor agitation and agitation, tranquilizers from the group of benzodiazepines are prescribed for a short period of time. However, the duration of their use should not exceed 2 weeks due to the risk of addiction. By this time, the therapeutic effect of antidepressants is fully “revealed”, and benzodiazepines are gradually discontinued.

Psychotherapy

When working with a patient, the psychotherapist uses various strategies to overcome anxiety . First of all, it depends on the content of the phobia, troubling situations, and the child’s character and behavior. In most cases, an adapted version of cognitive behavioral therapy is used.

Usually the patient understands perfectly well that his fear and desire to avoid the objects and/or situations that cause him are irrational. And it is very important that the child learns to control his feelings. The doctor helps him understand in detail the nature and causes of anxiety, find a way to overcome and conquer fear.

Our doctor will tell you in detail what to do if you have phobias in teenagers during your preliminary consultation. To make an appointment please call 8(969)060-93-93.

How to deal with childhood fears: recommendations from a psychologist

Psychologists do not recommend ignoring children's fears - they need to be fought.

Possible options:

• Make up fairy tales . Quite a useful method. Write together a fairy tale about childhood fear. It must certainly end with the victory of the key character over fear.
• Draw fear . A fun and effective activity. While drawing together what the child is afraid of, have a friendly conversation. After completing the task, calmly talk to your child and explain that there is no reason to worry. After this, you can burn the drawing, emphasizing that fear burns along with the paper, and there is no longer any reason to worry. The burning should look like a ritual. Don’t stop praising and encouraging your child, talking about his courage and bravery.
• A game . A game or dramatization will help overcome children's fear. Psychologist often resort to this method. How does this happen? The guys in the group come up with stories about their fears. A psychologist helps in playing out certain stories. An exciting situation can be played out at home, but only if it does not cause negative emotions in the baby.

Remember! Fears are common to everyone. You need to talk about them, like everything else, calmly and kindly with your child.

The main task of parents in overcoming children's fears is to be close to them. Always be ready to listen to your child, reassure him, and help. If you believe that childhood fear has become chronic, do not ignore the situation. The best solution would be the help of a child psychologist.

When to see a doctor

Many parents are not inclined to think that their children's agitated state, anxiety and panic attacks can lead to serious health problems. But that's not true. Despite the secrecy of many teenagers, it is important to learn to identify the symptoms of fears in order to consult a doctor in a timely manner.

Psychology includes a large number of methods for identifying fears and correcting them. But the main task in finding a problem always lies on the shoulders of the teenager’s loved ones – his parents. You should consider visiting a doctor if your teenager:

• suffers from excessive intensity of manifestation of fears;
• feels ill from the effects of fear;
• experiences an inadequate reaction to an object to which he has developed a fear.

According to psychologists, a teenager can cope with other manifestations of phobias on his own (or with the help of loved ones). Most often, the manifestation of anxiety and panic quickly passes if the child does not keep the problems tormenting him within himself. Parents should help their son or daughter analyze the objects of fear and overcome them.

Visiting a psychologist will help overcome fears