075: Helping Perfectionist Teens

In this episode, Roy explores the surprising way that anxiety manifests among many teens today: perfectionism.  The teen who has to do most things absolutely perfectly, like homework with little point value or getting upset when not making a perfect score on a test are teens struggling with anxiety-driven perfectionism. Roy explains that while these many not seem to be related to anxiety, they very much are and result from increasing demands on teens from almost countless social and personal pressures, many of which are tied to our Western society's concept of perfection.  Roy suggests that adults cannot help these teens without first reflecting on their own definition of success. Knowing this definition will enable adults to ask teens about their own ideas of success and then begin to address those definitions and their implications. Roy offers a list of questions adults can use in these conversations as well as other useful suggestions for initiating a conversation on the topic of perfectionism.  Roy suggests the following blog entries as resources for engaging teens in conversations on anxiety and perfectionism: The Art of Listening To Teens What's Causing The Anxiety Epidemic In Teens Today?  The Importance of Letting Teens Fail with Michelle Hernandez Five Conversational Tips For Teens