As parents, we want our teens to be happy and healthy, and it is hard to sit by and watch them make poor choices like eating more than they need, spending hours in front of a screen, overreacting to life events, or putting little effort into school work. It is even harder if you have begun to worry about the consequences of these poor choices such as struggles with weight, low self-esteem, headaches or panic attacks.
You might be thinking that your teen doesn’t care, lacks willpower or is just lazy because no matter what you do or say to support them, they don’t follow through or worse roll their eyes at your suggestions.
The truth is, your teen is stuck in the Chronic Stress Loop, and until they learn how to break free, it will be very challenging to create healthy habits that will help them experience success and be happy and healthy in school and beyond.
Another reason it is so difficult to change habits is that they are activated by the subconscious mind, and until your teen repeats the habit consistently, the subconscious mind will continually do what it already knows. Your teen might be able to get by for a bit using willpower, but willpower is limited and gets depleted as the day moves on making it challenging to stick with the new habit. Until the new healthy habit is ingrained in the subconscious through repetition, when your teen gets tired, stressed, angry or disappointed, they enter the Chronic Stress Loop and will fall back on their old, unhealthy (default) habits to soothe themselves.
You can not protect your teen from every stressful situation, but you can help them create healthy habits to manage stress better so that they don’t get stuck in the Chronic Stress Loop.
A teen who has broken out of the Chronic Stress Loop still experiences stress and panic, but their default habits are healthy, so they are able to decrease their stress so that it does not escalate and create unwanted physical or mental manifestations such as a short temper, anxiety or weight gain.
While this sounds great, until your teen REALLY understands why decreasing stress will benefit them specifically, they probably won’t be willing to try stress-reducing strategies. They will claim that they don’t have time, that it won’t make a difference or that they’re doing just fine.
This is exactly why I created the Happy and Healthy Teens Workshop. This is a virtual workshop that you and your teen can complete at your convenience in the comfort of your own home. During the Happy and Healthy Teens Workshop, I will guide them through a process that, with your support, will help your teen break out of The Chronic Stress Loop for good.
By the end of the workshop your teen will:
- Understand how stress is negatively impacting their lives
- See the value in decreasing their stress
- Learn the connection between habits, stress and unwanted manifestations
- Identify their top stressor
- Learn the key to creating sustainable healthy habits
- Create a custom Healthy Habits Action Plan
- Be motivated to take action to reach their goals
In addition, you will know exactly how to support your teen to help them create healthy habits that stick, so they can BE happy and healthy in school and beyond. To learn more about the Happy and Healthy Teens Virtual Workshop click here.
Originally published at www.claireketchum.com