When I was pregnant, I read all the books on pregnancy and the first few years. But as my kids got older, my educational reading dropped off. I tried my best to be a conscious parent but was far from perfect. I framed a lot of my parenting around Dr. Lisa Damour’s book, Untangled: Guiding Teenage Girls Through the Seven Transitions into Adulthood. It helped me understand my kids’ developing minds, and I recommend it to all my friends with teens in the house. So you can understand, I was very excited to have Dr. Damour on our podcast!
Anxiety Health Check
We spoke to Dr. Damour about the difference between healthy and unhealthy anxiety. She assured us that a little anxiety is good! It is there to protect us and as a sign of adaptation and growth. I personally love the quote from Beyonce, “I get nervous when I don’t get nervous. If I’m nervous I know I’m going to have a good show.” As someone who has dealt with anxiety for a long time, and lives in front of a camera, I feel this very strongly. (Though luckily I don’t have to sing in front of hundreds of thousands of people on stage.)
We also spoke to Dr. Damour about unhealthy anxiety and especially how it presents in our teenagers. She shared the importance of knowing the signs of anxiety, and when it expresses itself as interference and distraction. Avoidance feeds anxiety – the more we put it off, the worse we think it will go. In the end, it probably isn’t as bad as we make it out to be.
