Well, school is finally back in session. The good news? We’ve got our routines back. The bad news? Homework. And with homework usually comes the anxiety. It’s kind of a catch-22—parents celebrate the return of structure, but then we’re juggling mental breakdowns, friendship drama, and the occasional boyfriend/girlfriend situation (let’s be honest, boys or girls, kids can all be mean sometimes). Add in social media, and whew, it’s a lot. I’m just thankful I didn’t have Instagram or TikTok in my school years—real life bullies were more than enough to handle.
Anxiety is something I’ve carried most of my life. I’ve read it can be hereditary, but honestly, I feel like I’m patient zero in our family. My daughter inherited mine, only hers is worse at her age, and both of my boys have their own versions of anxiety too. My husband? He somehow skipped the anxiety gene entirely. He believes in the “just talk it out and it’ll be fine” approach. Bless him. But if you’ve ever lived with anxiety, you know that talking it out can sometimes make you want to crawl into a shell instead of out of one.
That’s where therapy and, yes, medication come in. I fully believe in both. I wouldn’t be able to function without my “happy pills,” as I like to call them.
This month is both National Suicide Prevention Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, so I dug into some research and came across something sobering: people with anxiety are 30 percent more likely to have suicidal thoughts. That’s a scary statistic. But here’s the hopeful part—there are ways to help our kids (and ourselves) manage these struggles.
In our house, we talk, text, or even write things out. Sometimes it’s hard to speak feelings aloud, but writing them down—what we call “brain dumping”—has been one of the most effective tools for us. Therapy is another big one. It can take a while for kids to open up, but just knowing they have a safe space to talk to someone matters. And the most important thing? Don’t give up.
Every child is different. Every family is different. But working through anxiety—whether it’s with words, writing, therapy, or sheer stubbornness (and trust me, my kids have that in spades)—is always worth the effort.
