Anxiety Coping Strategies
Practical, research-backed CBT tools, breathing techniques, and grounding exercises to help manage anxiety and regain emotional balance.
About This Guide
This guide is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — the most effective, evidence-based approach for managing anxiety in teens. It includes tips for both teens and parents. Work through each skill and practice for about two weeks before moving on. The skills are most effective when used in order.
Quick Help for Anxiety
If you are feeling overwhelmed or anxious right now, these simple techniques can help calm your body and mind.
Slow Your Breathing
Take slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth. Try breathing in for 4 seconds and out for 6 seconds. Slowing your breathing can help calm the body's stress response.
Ground Yourself
Look around and name five things you see, four you feel, three you hear, two you smell, and one you taste. This helps bring your attention back to the present moment.
Relax Your Body
Gently release tension in your shoulders, jaw, and hands. Anxiety often causes muscles to tighten, and relaxing them can signal safety to your brain.
Remind Yourself It Will Pass
Anxiety can feel intense, but it is temporary. Remind yourself: "This feeling is uncomfortable, but it will pass."
If anxiety feels overwhelming
Consider reaching out to a trusted person or mental health professional for support.
If you are in crisis, you can call or text 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the United States for free and confidential support.
Why Anxiety Happens
Anxiety isn't just "in your head" — it's a complex response influenced by many factors. Understanding these can help you manage it better.
Brain Chemistry & Biology
Your brain has a natural alarm system. Sometimes, this system (especially the amygdala) becomes overactive, triggering a "fight, flight, or freeze" response even when there's no real danger. Imbalances in brain chemicals like serotonin, dopamine, and GABA can also make anxiety more likely.
Stress Buildup
Constant pressure from school, social situations, or home life can build up, overwhelming your system and leading to feelings of anxiety.
Traumatic Life Experiences
Difficult or traumatic events, past or present, can significantly impact how your brain processes threats, contributing to long-term anxiety.
Genetics
Just like other traits, a predisposition to anxiety can run in families, suggesting you might inherit a biological tendency to experience it.
Medical Conditions & Substances
Certain health issues (like thyroid problems) or the use/withdrawal from substances (like caffeine, alcohol, or some medications) can cause or worsen anxiety symptoms.
Learned Behaviors & Personality
Sometimes, we learn anxious responses from observing others. Additionally, personality traits like perfectionism or a tendency towards rigid thinking can contribute to higher anxiety levels.
Sources: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Mayo Clinic, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
Core CBT Skills
Relaxation Skills
Calm your body and mind
Relaxation skills help reduce physical tension that comes with anxiety. The mind and body are connected — when you calm your body, your mind follows. Practice these regularly, even when you're not anxious, so they become second nature when you need them most.
What it is: Slow, deep breaths where you fill your belly with air on the inhale and release it on the exhale.
Why it helps: Deep breathing activates your body's relaxation response, reducing heart rate and tension almost immediately.
Try this script (read aloud or record it):
"Sit in a comfortable position and close your eyes. Start by taking some nice deep breaths. Notice how your stomach rises and falls. Breathe in through your nose — make your stomach fill with air like a balloon. Now breathe out slowly through your mouth. Good. Try again: breathe in slowly, hold briefly, and breathe out with a 'whoosh' sound. Take three more slow, deep breaths. One. Two. Three. You can do this any time you need to relax. When you're ready, open your eyes."
Variations to try:
- 🔢 Number Breathing (3-1-3): Breathe in for 3 counts, hold for 1, breathe out for 3. Adjust numbers to what feels comfortable.
- 🍕 Pizza Imagery: Imagine breathing in the smell of hot pizza, then blowing out to cool it down.
- 🫧 Bubbles: Blow bubbles — you naturally slow your breath to make bigger bubbles.
Check Your Form
Place one hand on your stomach. When you breathe in, your hand should rise. When you breathe out, it should fall. If your chest rises instead of your belly, try again with your hand as a guide.
For parents: Model this skill yourself — point out moments when you use deep breathing in your own life. Making it a family activity helps teens feel more comfortable practicing.
Parent Guidance: Supporting a Teen With Anxiety
Parents play an important role in helping teens manage anxiety. The goal is not to eliminate all anxiety — some stress is normal and even helpful — but to support teens in developing the skills and confidence to handle difficult emotions.
Creating a Supportive Environment
A stable and supportive home environment can reduce anxiety and help teens develop healthy coping skills.
Sources
This guidance is informed by evidence-based recommendations from the following organizations:
- • American Psychological Association (APA) – CBT and anxiety treatment guidelines
- • National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) – Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
- • American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) – Parenting strategies for supporting anxious youth
- • Child Mind Institute – Practical guidance for parents managing childhood anxiety
- • Boston Children's Hospital / Harvard Medical School – CBT-based self-management strategies for anxiety
When to Seek Professional Help
First, a reassuring note
Some anxiety is completely normal and even healthy — it can motivate studying, sharpen focus, and signal when something needs attention. The suggestions below apply when anxiety becomes persistent, severe, or disruptive to daily life, not when a child is occasionally nervous or worried.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Mental Health, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, parents should consider consulting a mental health professional if anxiety begins to significantly affect:
⚠️ Seek immediate help if you notice:
- • Thoughts of self-harm or suicide
- • Complete refusal to leave home for weeks at a time
- • Inability to perform basic daily functions (eating, hygiene, getting out of bed)
- • Rapidly worsening symptoms despite attempts to help
If your child is in immediate danger, call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or go to your nearest emergency room.
Early support can make a significant difference
Evidence-based treatments such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are highly effective for helping children and adolescents learn to manage anxiety and build long-term coping skills. If you are concerned about your child's anxiety, speaking with a pediatrician, school counselor, psychologist, or licensed mental health professional can be an important first step.
How to Find Help
- • Ask your child's pediatrician for a referral to a mental health specialist.
- • Contact your school counselor — many schools have mental health resources available.
- • Search Psychology Today's therapist finder to locate a CBT therapist near you.
- • Browse our Resources page for local and national mental health support options.
Sources
- • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – Children's Mental Health and Anxiety Disorders
- • National Institute of Mental Health – Anxiety Disorders in Children and Adolescents
- • American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry – Anxiety Disorders Resource Center
Frequently Asked Questions About Anxiety
For Teens
For Parents
In the Moment
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PTSD Coping Guide
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Stress Coping Guide
Relaxation, mindfulness & lifestyle habits
Meditation Guide
Guided meditation for beginners
Sleep Support Guide
Sleep hygiene, relaxing music & cognitive strategies
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Need immediate support?
If you or your teen is in crisis, please reach out. Help is available 24/7.