For some teenagers and young adults, social situations generate high anxiety and are endured with distress or, in some cases, avoided completely. Social Anxiety is characterized by a fear of doing something embarrassing or being negatively judged by others. Many individuals experience social anxiety during performance situations, like participating in class, giving presentations, or playing sports. Others experience social anxiety in less structured situations, like starting or joining conversations, hanging out in groups, and being assertive.

Performance Anxiety often occurs when teens and young adults anticipate an important event, such as an important game or match, a school play, musical concert, or public speaking engagement. Individuals worry about their ability to achieve a desired outcome as well as the negative consequences associated with poor performance.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder is an anxiety-related disorder. It involves having repetitive thoughts that are hard to get rid of (i.e., obsessions) and is often characterized by doing certain behaviors or rituals intended to make the thought go away or feel less intense (i.e., compulsions). This might look like checking one’s homework over and over again, continuously searching for images online when concerned about a medical condition, or excessive reassurance seeking about an outcome that is highly unlikely.

A Panic Attack is like a sudden wave of extreme worry or fear that comes out of the blue (i.e., in the absence of a feared object or situation) and can feel very uncomfortable. During a panic attack, an individual might experience intense physical sensations, such as having trouble breathing, racing heart, chest pain, nausea, dizziness or they might even feel something terrible is about to happen (e.g., having a heart attack or losing control of their body). Often these attacks peak within a few minutes and last less than ten minutes overall.

Most people can identify an object that generates mild to moderate levels of anxiety (e.g., snakes, elevators, needles), but the fear does not result in a change to one’s behavior. When an object or situation results in heightened physical arousal, as well as consistent avoidance, it may rise to the level of a Phobia. Generally, the anxiety is out of proportion to the actual danger associated with the trigger. Common phobias include animals (bees, spiders, dogs), natural environments (heights, thunderstorms), medical (blood, injections), situations (planes, trains, tunnels) as well as vomiting and choking.

Separation Anxiety occurs when an individual fears being away from one’s parents or other loved one. Anxious thoughts focus on harm to oneself or to a loved one when apart. This fear can make it hard to sleep independently, stay home alone, and go places without loved ones. For young adults, separation anxiety can also make it hard to leave home after high school.

Depression is characterized by sad mood that lasts for most of the day multiple days in a row. This change in mood may also be accompanied by a loss of interest in activities that used to be enjoyable as well as physical symptoms such as weight loss or gain, sleeping too much or too little, fatigue, or difficulty concentrating and feelings of worthlessness or thoughts of death. Individuals may experience Mild Depression when these symptoms are present, but do not significantly interfere in their daily activities.

A life stressor is a significant life event or experience that can cause stress and discomfort. Some common stressors include major life transitions such as going to college, entering or exiting a committed relationship, moving homes, and starting a family. Often individuals experiencing Life Stressors and Transitions have difficulty adapting to related changes and may benefit from tools to help them cope.