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Parents wonder how to reduce anxiety in teens as our teens face more challenges and deal with the impact of those challenges. Isabell Robledo understands this. As a teen mindfulness coach, and a teenager herself, she has a strong grasp of what our children struggle with in this modern world. She discovered tools that help her and learned how to share those with children and teens. Isabelle chats with Mighty Parenting podcast host Sandy Fowler about mindfulness and its ability to reduce anxiety. They talk about what mindfulness is, why teens often mis the mark when trying to use mindfulness, and how parents can support their teenagers.
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A Favorite Quote from the Show:
Being mindful isn’t about doing more, it’s really about doing less and being aware of what you’re doing.
High Points From Our Conversation on How to Reduce Anxiety in Teens With Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is a great tool for maintaining good mental health in teens.
Meditation and yoga are helpful in developing mindfulness but they aren’t the core.
Mindfulness is a mindset. It’s how you do something with a state of awareness for yourself and awareness for things around you.
Being mindful isn’t about doing more, it’s really about doing less and being aware of what you’re doing.
When Sandy realized coloring wasn’t about a finished picture but rather experiencing each stroke on the page she discovered the calming qualities of coloring.
Isabelle practices mindfulness in everyday moments. She turns her hikes into walking meditations by staying focused on what she is seeing and experiencing as she walks. She helps reduce anxiety in teens by teaching her clients to do the same.
Isabelle teaches teens to develop mindfulness with these steps:
1.Pause
2. Take a breath
3. Notice what you see, hear, smell, feel, and think
Our survival brain looks for danger so we are wired to notice more negatives than positives. Pay attention to the positives.
Be mindful of how you feel in this moment then ask yourself how you want to feel. Use mindfulness to:
- Check in
- Ask yourself how to you want to be feel right now
- What would you do/how would you be if I felt that way? (How would you walk? What would you say? How would you act?)
The point of mindfulness is to change your way of life. How do you want to feel? Allow mindfulness to take you there.
Isabelle’s family lived the American dream including a beach-front house and long commutes. Her mom missed time with her kids so she planned a trip. They were so happy on the trip they decided to sell their home and cars, buy an RV and hit the road with their family of 7.
They traveled in search of adventure. They spent a lot of time off grid and it pushed Isabelle out of her comfort zone. Being in those situations helped her notice her thoughts and develop mindfulness.
Feeling scared or lost is a part of the teen experience which can create anxiety. Mindfulness can reduce anxiety in teens.
When we are afraid it can be helpful to ask yourself what the worst case scenario is and see that you could handle that. This can allow you to release the fear and look at other scenarios. Note: This is something to do for yourself but not push on someone else.
If your teen is feeling lost ask them what they want, where they see themselves going. Then ask them why they want that to help them explore more deeply. Let them have those uncomfortable thoughts and work through it. Remember that these can be very scary questions so be patient and give them space.
The enneagram is a very helpful tool for understanding yourself, why you feel the way you do and why you do the things you do as well as and how to grow. Teens appreciate that it helps them find out who they are.
Resources for Reducing Anxiety in Teens:
What’s The Enneagram And How Can It Help Me Parent My Teenager? | Ashlie Woods | Episode 158
Supporting Anxious Children | Dr Samantha Ruth | Episode 161
Solve Teen Behavior Problems Using Emotional Regulation | Lauren Spigelmyer | Episode 180
5 Types of Self-Care for Teens | Kristi Hugstad | Episode 184
Our Guest Isabelle Robledo:
Isabelle Robledo is a 17-year-old kids and teens mindfulness coach and the co-founder of Making Mindfulness Fun. She is helping kids and teens to be confident and creative using mindfulness and the enneagram. For the past six years, Isabelle has been living in an RV traveling the world with her family of seven. She learned mindfulness from a very young age, and believes that now, more than ever, it is important to share what she’s learned with our upcoming generation.
To learn more or connect with our guest visit http://isabellerobledo.com/
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About
Sandy Fowler is passionate about helping people live better lives. She uses the lessons she's learned in her parenting journey along with her extensive work in stress relief, wisdom of experts and the valuable stories of other families to help parents get real, relevant information about raising teens and parenting young adults in today's world.
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