Anxiety can look very different from one kid to the next.

For some kids, it's easy to spot. They worry—a lot. They may need constant reassurance, struggle to separate from a parent, develop intense fears or phobias, complain about stomachaches, or have a hard time getting through the school doors.

For others, anxiety is harder to recognize. It might look like irritability, meltdowns, perfectionism, procrastination, shutting down, or avoiding anything they aren't sure they'll be good at. You may find yourself wondering whether your child is anxious, unmotivated, stubborn—or simply going through a phase.

As kids get older, they're often better at hiding it.

A teen may be getting good grades, playing their sport, going to school, and looking completely fine from the outside while spending an exhausting amount of energy worrying about what other people think, comparing themselves to everyone around them, or criticizing themselves for never being good enough.

Others start pulling back. School feels like too much. They stop doing things they used to enjoy, avoid social situations, procrastinate until they're overwhelmed, or seem to have lost their motivation. Underneath the "I don't care" is often a kid who actually cares very much.

Anxiety shouldn't get to make their decisions.

Therapy isn't about convincing kids that there's nothing to worry about. It's about helping them understand what's happening when anxiety shows up, tolerate uncomfortable feelings, and build confidence that they can handle hard things.

Over time, the goal is for your child to spend less energy organizing life around anxiety—and more time being a kid.