Social Anxiety

So DS#1 does not like to be the center of attention if it involves girls and teasing. Yesterday, they were reading a story and he had to be Papa while his teacher was Mama. One of his classmates raised his hand and asked if that meant my son was married to his teacher. The other kids laughed and my son got anxious about it and shut down (it's how he copes). I talked to him about his feelings and that seemed to help but I want to give him some coping mechanisms for in the future so he doesn't shut down. Any advice?

 

My DS is very sensitive to being the center of attention, too.

I think role play is a great way to teach coping with social anxiety. You can "act out" the various scenarios.

I also think it is helpful for kids to have 1 or 2 things in mind (and practiced previously) that they can do if they are getting anxious -- like take some "counting" breaths (breathe in for 5 and out for 5), ask for "a moment to myself", speaking up to say "I didn't like 'x'"

Hope this helps. Hugs to you and your DS.

Meg

 

:hug: My DD is in treatment for social anxiety disorder. A few of the things her therapist has her do is blowing bubbles/taking breaths to calm down, role play situations and expose her (safely) to situations that cause her stress and anxiety. I talk to her about her feelings and how she can best handle them.