Stress & Anxiety in Girls
Anxiety in Youth - A Social Epidemic
Anxiety is rising for all young people, but for girls, the problem is magnified. A recent study found that 30% of girls and young women experience symptoms of anxiety, compared to 13% of boys and young men. This gender imbalance only magnifies as girls enter university and early adulthood - the American College Health Association reports that undergraduate women are 43% more likely to report feeling overcome by anxiety than their male counterparts.
The social isolation and challenges of the pandemic have made these issues even more prevalent. During the critical transition from adolescence to adulthood, girls need support and tools to navigate the challenges of daily stress and anxiety. How can we help guide them away from pressure towards more joy, optimism, flexibility and resilience in their pursuits?
THE PRIMARY CULPRITS
The first step is to identify the factors that are triggering the feelings of stress an anxiety. We need to encourage young women to ask, “What is the source of my stress?” and “what is making me feel anxious?”. This process of self-reflection will lay the foundation and empower girls to take steps towards addressing these primary culprits. This process may take some digging and time, but identifying the causes ultimately puts you back in the drivers seat, finding answers that help regain control over negative thought cycles and emotional patterns.
While it is a highly personal analysis, common sources of stress and anxiety for girls today include:
academic/career pressure
friendships and relationships
body image issues
family dynamics
social media comparisons
gender norms and expectations
HOW CAN WE HELP?
Stress and anxiety are best addressed when they are faced head on. We need our girls to take inventory on where they are content and where they want to improve their circumstances. Identifying the potential causes of stress and anxiety is a helpful starting point, but how do we then move from awareness into ACTION?
Girls first need attentive listening. Feeling SEEN and HEARD helps motivate individuals to share and process their emotional experiences. A safe and supportive space provides comfort and envouragement as we start taking steps change patterns and beliefs that are no longer serving us. Coaching can be a great option to support young women as they embrace new endeavours. Sometimes counselling is a better fit. Counselling is focused more on processing past experiences, whereas coaching focuses on the future and the actions that can be taken to make progress once the awareness is gained.
AGENCY, GROWTH AND LEARNING
Within the supportive container of coaching, girls are encouraged to experiment with changes to their behaviour and habits, while learning evidence-based approaches and tools to implement when stress and anxiety come knocking. Research shows that when solutions come from a place of agency and empowerment, they are more likely to stick.
If more support around stress and anxiety management is something you or your daughter could benefit from, connect with us to learn more about the options we have available for support young females in this area.