My wife "Anna" and I have a 3-year-old daughter, "Bree," who is terrified of dogs. Four months ago, my in-laws adopted a little ankle-biter mutt that barks and nips at anyone who isn't them. The last time we visited, Bree was so scared we had to take her home. Now my in-laws are insisting on bringing the dog with them when they come for Christmas. I don't want Bree to be terrified during what should be an enjoyable time for her.
Childhood anxiety has been on the rise. Our instinct as parents is often to get more involved. But what if that's part of the problem? The statistics are grim. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), among U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17 surveyed between 2021 and 2023, 20% reported symptoms of anxiety in the past two weeks, and 18% reported symptoms of depression. In 2023, almost 40% of high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness
When someone has had an experience or series of experiences wherein they were powerless, that sense of helplessness can get stamped onto their perceptions. Psychologists have known this for decades. As early as 1967, an experiment subjected dogs to repeated shocks in such a way that the dogs could not predict when they would be shocked (Overmier and Seligman, 1967). Over time, the creatures simply accepted the shocks and became docile.
Let's assume you're afraid of spiders. You see a behavioral psychologist, and you tell her that you want to overcome your fear of spiders (arachnophobia). The psychologist will guide you through a series of steps, where in each step, you will have increasing exposure to your fear until you learn to live with it or overcome it.