For parents or caregivers of a transgender or nonbinary child, it can be a confusing and overwhelming journey. But loving and accepting children for who they are plays a vital role in affirming their identity. After all, transgender and nonbinary children should feel they are in a safe environment where they can flourish as their authentic self. They are entitled to be respected, supported, and loved, especially at home.
As teens struggle through the tough transition period of childhood into young adulthood, it can be difficult to decipher a teen’s behavior. Are their out-of-control emotions and conduct a result of the natural process of adolescence, or is it something more serious?
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) is broken up into four modules: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal skills. Individuals who benefit from DBT often have difficulty controlling their emotions, want to improve their impulse control, may find themselves stuck in a pattern of rocky relationships, and/or want to be more grounded in the present.
Often, children and their caregivers do not realize anxiety can have physical effects. Children can experience various physical symptoms related to anxiety such as stomach aches, headaches, indigestion, muscle tension, nausea, fatigue, sleep disruption, and restlessness. Physical symptoms like these should always first be medically explored to rule out other underlying causes. That being said, these types of symptoms are often produced by anxiety.
