If your teenager is having a problem with excessive anxiety, then you will be pleased to learn there are many things you can do to help them reduce their anxiety and its resulting stress on their lives. While it is normal for all teenagers to experience some stress and anxiety from time to time, too much will very negatively affect the quality of your teen's life.

To help reduce the anxiety your teen feels, follow these time-tested tips:

Tip: Sit Down and Talk With Your Teen About Perfection and the Importance of Trying New Things

As a parent, you realize that it is perfectly acceptable to not achieve perfection in most of the things you do each day. Since school and sports tend to reinforce the idea that teenagers must always strive for perfection, your teen's anxiety is likely being fed by a sense of needing to be perfect at everything they do. You can help to counteract this message by sitting down and having a conversation with your child about the difference between the idea of trying to be perfect on a test or in sports versus more reasonable expectations.

Tip: Encourage Your Teenager to Try New Things and Reward Their Efforts

While you should not result to bribing your teen to try new things, you should encourage them to do so. When your teen strikes out on their own and tries something new, then you should take the opportunity to reward them. For example, if your teen decides that they want to join the swimming team this spring, then take them out and buy them a new swimsuit or designer goggles. This simple action shows your teenager that you are supportive of their new venture and that you are so impressed with their initiative that you are willing to reward it. This will help them venture out, again and again, looking for positive reinforcement that they are able to do so and their anxiety is misplaced.

Tip: Enlist the Help of a Child Psychologist

Finally, since your teenager's anxiety and its resulting stress have a very negative effect on your teen's education and personal life, it is vital that you do everything you can to help them get control over it. Since the brains of teenagers are a complicated place to navigate, you should seriously consider enlisting the help of a child psychologist, likeNeuroHealth Arlington Heights. Despite the name, a child psychologist also works with teenagers. The psychologist will be able to give your teenager customized strategies to reduce their anxiety and greatly improve their lives.