Complete Idiot's Guide to Conquering Fear and Anxiety

nervousness. Like so many parents, he dismissed her problems as a normal part of growing up. Desperate, she turned to her pediatrician, who also assured her thather problems were teen­business­as­usual, and would pass. She felt utterly alone. At 19, panic attacks began, along with severe depression. Soon, she becameagoraphobic.Teens Who Fall Through the CracksPage 323Franny is among a group of adolescents called the "quietly disturbed." Seemingly normal functioning, they may not be the ones with the messy green hair, and a ringthrough their tongue and nose but, like Franny, get good enough grades, have good enough behavior and blend in with the crowd. Some were perfect as children.Consequently, many are not brought to the attention of mental health workers and educators, and parents dismiss their fright, extreme self­consciousness, andunhappiness as a normal adolescent rite of passage.When they emerge from their silence and loneliness and stick their heads out of the sand, some put a gun to it. Others feel compelled to make little slashes with razorsand knives on their arms, not to actually kill themselves, but to make visible some of their pain. Some, like Franny, have panic attacks, debilitating phobias and anxiety,and severe depression, while others have nervous breakdowns or become anorexic or bulimic. Once in a while, one gets pregnant, tells no one, and then kills hernewborn and the secret she tried to hide from everyone gets revealed to the whole world in a 30­second sound bite on the six o'clock news.Once they "come out," the perfect child can become the perfect nightmare­defiant, rebellious, and even anti­social. Now they may dye their hair purple and wearnothing but torn jeans and a T­shirt that says, "Life Sucks." Some experiment with drugs, and refuse to study, do chores, participate in school activities or get a job.Some never emerge at all but just carry their problems around like a heavy weight.Storm and Strife Is Not the Way of All AdolescentsWhy do some disturbed teens with problems fall through the cracks? The answer lies in the generally turbulent nature of adolescence itself, which makes mostadolescents seem a bit crazy at times.When puberty hits, life begins to change at a fast and profound pace­body shape, skin, and hair, as well as thinking, as teens begin to explore who they are and theirplace in the universe. Neither adult nor child, adolescents feel pulled in two directions. They want to separate from their parents, but desperately need them to helpsort their