{"id":839,"date":"2026-03-26T03:02:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T03:02:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/?p=839"},"modified":"2026-03-26T03:02:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T03:02:49","slug":"global-turmoil-is-taking-a-toll-on-your-teens-mental-health-heres-how-to-help-them-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/global-turmoil-is-taking-a-toll-on-your-teens-mental-health-heres-how-to-help-them-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Turmoil Is Taking a Toll on Your Teen\u2019s Mental Health. Here\u2019s How to Help Them\u00a0Deal"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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ChayTee – stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As the US goes from one forced regime-change to the next, it\u2019s getting harder and harder to keep the anxiety and fear at bay. To me, the current state of the country is reminiscent of the first year of the pandemic, or the weeks\u00a0after Donald Trump\u2019s victory\u00a0in the 2024 election \u2014 like we\u2019re trapped in a downward spiral with no end. Every piece of\u00a0news\u00a0seems to accelerate the decline.Report ad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our kids aren\u2019t immune. If anything, they\u2019re even more vulnerable, especially tweens and teens who are as aware as adults but with less perspective and fewer coping mechanisms. Whether they\u2019re struggling to\u00a0process the ICE killings\u00a0or the recent attacks on Iran, teens need our support right now. It\u2019s just not always clear the best way to provide it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSchool-aged children onward, if they\u2019re on social media, if their friends are talking about it, if the news is on \u2014 it\u2019s kind of hard to miss those types of big things going on in the world,\u201d\u00a0Dr. Rachel Goldman, PhD, a licensed psychologist and clinical assistant professor in the department of psychiatry at\u00a0NYU Grossman School of Medicine, tells SheKnows. \u201cThe first thing you can do is\u00a0open the door\u00a0for that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way to do that is by first asking your teen what they know about the issue. Dr. Goldman, the author of the upcoming book\u00a0When Life Happens<\/em>, recommends saying something like: \u201cThere\u2019s a lot going on right now in the world. Are your friends saying anything? Are you hearing anything at school?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One proactive step you can take is reaching out to your child\u2019s teachers to see how much they\u2019re talking about the war in class, or what kind of language is being used. \u201cIf it\u2019s not being talked about at school, then I get to really create the narrative in a way,\u201d Dr. Goldman explains. If that conversation is happening, \u201cthen I need to be prepared to help support that when they come home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the conversation, honesty is also crucial. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to be like, \u2018everything\u2019s great!\u2019 when it\u2019s not,\u201d Dr. Goldman points out. \u201cIt\u2019s important that we\u2019re honest but age-appropriate\u201d; so, not going into unnecessary graphic detail or oversharing too much about your own emotions. At the same time, Dr. Goldman notes, it\u2019s OK to be vulnerable with your kids. \u201cYou\u2019re allowed to say, \u2018There\u2019s a lot going on in the world right now\u2026 and I\u2019m not really sure what the next step is gonna be, but we can figure this out together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On that note, you should also engage in good coping mechanisms, which serve the double-purpose of helping you feel better while modeling positive behavior for your kids. One that Dr. Goldman suggests is limiting your teen\u2019s news consumption, and your own, especially on days when personal stressors are feeling heavy enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you see that your child\u2019s already having a stressful day, and they\u2019re already emotional, maybe this is a day that we don\u2019t want to be watching the news so much,\u201d Dr. Goldman explains. \u201cMaybe this is a day that you do more check-ins with your kids, like, \u2018hey, there\u2019s a lot going on. How are you feeling today? Do you want to talk about it?’\u201dReport ad<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you or your child is experiencing overwhelm in the moment, she recommends first taking a moment to pause and take stock. \u201cCheck in with yourself,\u201d she says. \u201cAsk yourself, \u2018What do I need right now?’\u201d Maybe that means taking\u00a0a few deep breaths, going for a walk, putting down your phone, or reaching out for support. If you don\u2019t have an answer right away, \u201cdo a quick body scan and see how your body is feeling,\u201d Dr. Goldman says. \u201cIf you notice your shoulders are up to here, and your neck hurts, and you have a headache, what can you do in that moment to help with that? It might be to drink some water, or get an ice pack.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And whether you\u2019re dealing with the stress yourself or trying to help your teen through it (or both), Dr. Goldman recommends focusing on the things we\u00a0can\u00a0<\/em>control, and knowing that we\u2019re only human in these moments. \u201cI think a lot of parents put a lot of pressure on themselves to\u00a0show up perfectly,\u201d she says. \u201cI think it\u2019s actually better to not avoid, and be vulnerable, and say, \u2018I don\u2019t have all the answers.’\u201d

As the US goes from one forced regime-change to the next, it\u2019s getting harder and harder to keep the anxiety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=839"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":840,"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/839\/revisions\/840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/watchly.cc\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}