124 | Anxiety Coping Skills Wore Off by Second Period? Here's Why {TEENS}

Somebody told you to breathe. Maybe it was me. And you tried it, right there in second period, four counts in and four counts out, and your chest was still tight and your face was still hot and nothing happened. So you closed the app. You stopped reaching for it. And somewhere in the back of your head you decided it doesn't work on you. That's not what happened, doll. The anxiety coping skills you've been handed are good ones. But nobody sat you down and told you the part that actually matters: a coping skill has a window. There's a moment where it works, and there's a moment where you're too far past it. And if nobody teaches you the difference, it's going to feel like you're the thing that's broken. In this episode I'm telling you about ninth grade, my favorite red, white and blue checked pants, and the day I hid in a bathroom because the breathing didn't save me. Then I walked back into class and pulled out my geometry book, because nobody questions a girl hunched over geometry. We're covering the three real reasons the tools wore off, and the one thing running underneath all three that nobody talks about. What You'll Learn in This Episode: Why one attempt at a coping skill was never a fair test of whether it works The difference between doing the thing and actually doing the thing, and why half-hearted breathing never had a chance Why a calm body plus the same old lie is exactly why your peace wears off by second period The timing piece nobody teaches you, and why you keep reaching for the tool too late How to pair a coping skill with truth so it holds longer than a hallway Your one step this week: Catch your four. One time this week, before anything is wrong, notice what a four feels like in your body. Your shoulders, your jaw, your stomach, the rereading. Find your tell. You can't reach for a tool at a four if you've never once noticed what a four feels like. Coming up Tuesday: an In the Car episode for you and your mom, about what happens when you're both sitting there trying to prove something to each other. She's proving she's got it handled. You're proving you're fine. And neither one of you is saying the actual thing. xo, Kristen 🎧 Follow the show so you don't miss Tuesday, and if you know a girl who's decided the coping skills don't work on her, send her this one. LET'S CONNECT! 🕊️ Free PEACE Playbook: anxiouschristianteen.com/peace ❓ What Type of Anxious Teen Girl Are You?: anxiouschristianteen.com/quiz