Anxiety Sucks! A Teen Survival Guide

by Natasha Daniels

Is your anxiety kicking your teen’s butt? Are they tired of boring, long self-help books that do anything but help?

Are they annoyed by suggestions that show the author doesn’t really get anxiety? I get it. I also get anxiety. I have lived it and so have the thousands of kids I have helped in my therapy practice. Until you have lived it – you will never understand anxiety’s insidious moves.

Anxiety Sucks! Teen Survival Guide is short and to the point. You are welcome. Have them read it. Practice it. Repeat.

Kids don’t want to read long, boring books on anxiety. In my practice parents will often ask for book suggestions. I provide them. They buy them. The kids never read them. Trust me, I know. I ask the kids.

I finally decided to write my own book that is short, to the point and offers a death blow to the anxiety dictator living in their head. A book I know kids will be able to get through in one or two sittings. A book that will teach kids how their little dictator rules their mind and tricks them into making their anxiety grow. And finally, a book that will help them develop mad skills to counterattack their dictator and show him who is boss.

Every kid being bullied by anxiety should be armed with the skills this book provides. Every parent raising an anxious kid should read this and gain insight into what their kids are going through each day.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Self Help, Mental Health

97 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 25, 2016

About the author

Natasha Daniels has been an anxiety & OCD therapist for over two decades. She has become the go-to global expert for parents raising kids with anxiety and OCD. She combines both her clinical expertise with her lived experience of raising her own three kids with anxiety and OCD.

She is the creator of the popular website AT Parenting Survival, As well as the host to the top rated show AT Parenting Survival Podcast and the Youtube channel, Anxiety & OCD Support. She also gives in-depth support to thousands of parents raising kids with anxiety or OCD in her online membership AT Parenting Community.

Natasha is also the author of Anxiety Sucks! A Teen Survival Guide , How to Parent Your Anxious Toddler, Social Skills Activities for Kids and It’s Brave to Be Kind.

After the sudden loss of her husband, she also wrote, the Grief Rock. A children’s book that explains the bumpy road of navigating grief.

Reviews

[Empress Reece (Hooked on Books) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this audiobook, as well as my 13 year old son, who has battled anxiety for years. This is a good book to help teens understand and recognize the different forms of anxiety and what triggers it. The narrator, Natasha Daniels, who is also a long time therapist, breaks everything down in terms that teens can relate to and she also provides real examples of what other teens go through when they have anxiety attacks. She doesn't provide a whole lot of coping strategies though other then guiding teens to change their negative thought process so that they control their anxiety instead of letting their anxiety control them (aka Cognitive Behavioral Therapy); and encouraging teens to seek out what causes their anxiety and battle it head on. These can be useful techniques to some, but I thought it would have been more beneficial if she would have highlighted some of the other coping strategies for those kids that have a hard time controlling their thoughts and/or battling their anxiety head on.

[Kimberly Krey · Rating 5 out of 5]

We listened to the audio and it was incredible! Highly recommended. The engaging, easy-to-keep up with approach is so helpful for not only those who struggle with anxiety but for friends and family as well. Five stars all the way. Thank you for taking the time to write this and share it with the world. I'm sure many will be thanking you for years to come!

[sydney · Rating 4 out of 5]

my therapist told me to read this and why did it lowkey fix me

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this is a quick read that explains anxiety and offers some real and realistic approaches to dealing with it that a teen can understand. The true test will be whether my teen feels that it speaks to her and helps her in any way. She's about to read it next .... I like that one of the stories resonates very closely with the anxiety issues we're dealing with at home, so it may actually make it easier for my daughter to relate and then work through her issues. The fact that Daniels comes at this from the role of counsellor is helpful. I do wonder if some of the language was trying to be too hip/cool for school in a way that may alienate some kids. My daughter got a funny expression on her face when I told her that the little dictator's nickname is "dic." Thankfully, Daniels sticks with "little dictator" except for maybe two references to the nickname.

[Krista B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great for my kid. I think it helps young readers understand what anxiety is in a way that explains its visceral, emotional and cognitive presentations. It isn’t a techniques/how to book, tho. The author has podcasts, articles, online classes and you tube videos that get very detailed with strategies, so the book pairs well with them. Strategies really vary, depending on how anxiety (and OCD if it’s there) presents, so she targets those very specifically in her videos and podcasts etc. Another way the book pairs well with the author’s online work, is that like the book, she has you tube videos directed specifically AT the kids: she speaks TO them and talks about specific ways their anxiety might present (such as why anxiety might make you feel like you have to go to the bathroom a lot; or why if you are afraid to go to sleep, how your anxiety fuels that, etc etc).

[Ethan Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super-excellent intro to anxiety for kids who are new to dealing with it (or people who want to understand what it's like). This is the first thing our kid is willing to listen to or read about it. Thank you Natasha!

[Zenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Melanie Medland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an easy read, with loads of helpful advice and an excellent approach to tackling teen anxiety. Thanks so much, I loved it.
Melanie Medland

[Kendra Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading challenge prompt: A book about mental health

This was a quick read. I thought it was informative. I will update after my daughter reads it, to see if it resonates/helps her at all.

[Claire Massie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful book for tweens/teens coping with anxiety. The tone was just right, good balance of straight talking and wittiness.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but a bit simplistic. A good place to start if one is dealing with anxiety, but there are many more nuances than the author talks about. But, if you are looking for a book to open a conversation, or to help someone who is in denial this will work.

[Terrie Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A read for every teen and some adult!

Daniels writes in terms that feel like a video game through thoughts. The player wins and knows how to win again.

[Dedra ~ A Book Wanderer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this little book for my teen and then read it myself, as well. My teen loved it, and it truly helped me understand her battle with anxiety much better. It even helped me to identify the touches of anxiety I deal with myself. I love the way the author has broken it down into small bits, making it easier to process and think about. I highly recommend it for teens and parents!

#popsugarreadingchallenge (prompt #16)

[Cynthia Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brings back a lot of memories, bad ones. I will be passing this one to my daughter and my two teenage grandchildren. I think it will be very helpful for them.