10 tips for teenagers on how to overcome anxiety, fear, and worry

How to cope with uncertainty for teenagers.

People react differently to the inability to know what will happen next. For some, the unknown seems exciting; others rarely think about it and just continue to live; others see it as a danger... and even a threat to life. The feeling of uncertainty can arise in various situations: on the first day at school, during an exam or a new job, when meeting someone new, or during physical and emotional changes in adolescence and youth. Furthermore, the inability to control one’s present and future leads to catastrophic anticipation. The mind seems to get stuck on impending disasters, and the only thing a person is sure of at that moment is that they will not cope. When feelings of doubt and despair overwhelm us, the stomach feels like it is tied in knots, and the heart starts to race.

If this has happened to you, you probably started to seek a sense of stability in something: you made a detailed daily schedule, overloaded yourself with studying, endlessly thought about upcoming meetings, and tried to plan what you would say and do. Or maybe you completely avoid anything that might cause a feeling of insecurity: hiding from daily tasks, skipping school, or isolating yourself from others.

Instead of teaching you to avoid the future, the authors offer an alternative in the form of a workbook that will help you develop the skills necessary to embrace uncertainty, which will help you cope with anxiety and live a full life. On its pages, you will find stories of other teenagers with similar problems and understand that you are not alone.