Many teens and pre-teens are asking for help to cope with feelings of frustration, anger, fear and sadness during this pandemic with the order to shelter in place.

Our youth are stressed- some believe they won’t have a future to live into; some are unable to cope with their stress, while most struggle with an inability to manage their emotions and display behaviors such as irritability, impulsive outbursts, defiance and withdrawal. Disconnection from emotions may also be exhibited in physical symptoms such as headaches, changes in eating and sleeping patterns and lowered immune system. These conditions are distressing to our teens but also, parents.

Scientific findings in the mind/body studies assure us, we all have a built-in mechanism for regaining calm and balance when we learn life skills to tap the body’s wisdom.

At this time, it seems the most common reaction to stress is to ignore the warning signs of overload, missing the opportunity to restore well-being using natural methods.

Furthermore, parents, themselves, must find within their own apparatus the spontaneous ability to parent with power, calm themselves, rather than rushing to get their kids on prescription drugs thinking this will help. Other teens are smoking marijuana to decompress.

What’s happening to our kids? Our culture is promoting numbing out. I believe many teens have already been struggling with their life experiences and the trance of unworthiness even before this pandemic became a global phenomenon. Missing is the skillful management and establishment of inner strength, security and confidence.

Now, more than ever, if you learn how to face uncertainty, you’ll find a valuable part of yourself in the process.

Our mind/body connection is an innate asset for building resilience because given the proper conditions, we have the capacity to cope on four levels: physical, mental. emotional and spiritual. In my doctoral studies of cross-cultural healing practices, the discovery of the power within, convinced me to develop strategies designed to help young people help themselves. The first step, requires we understand that looking outside of ourselves for solutions to anxiety is not as effective as our inner stress-proofing system. Once you learn these skills, you’ll be able to manage any kind of discomfort confronting you in your life.

The four-fold way to find interior stability during times of uncertainty:

1. Mental Level: Wisdom of the Mind

2. Emotional Level: Wisdom of the Heart

3. Physical Level: Wisdom of the Body

4. Spiritual Level: Wisdom of the Soul

We are all going through an extraordinary time right now. It is a time of the old falling away and the new has not yet come into being. Allow me to offer you a perspective you may not have considered.