Flusterclux With Lynn Lyons: For Pare...
Parenting isn't easy, and it's normal to worry. Lynn Lyons, therapist, author, and speaker is one of the world's experts on helping parents, kids, and teens manage anxiety. She talks with co-host and sister-in-law Robin Hutson in a weekly podcast full of laughs, and practical advice without the psychobabble. At the beginning of the pandemic, Lynn and Robin started the Flusterclux podcast when their parenting retreats went on hiatus, and they're now 2 years in, talking about anxiety and worry, their love for Mr. Rogers, and the crazy things the mental health field gets WRONG about anxiety.
Anxiety Expert Lynn Lyons has been a therapist for over 30 years. She's an author of 3 books with a new one coming out in October and has traveled around the US and Canada training hundreds of audiences teachers, school nurses, counselors and parents about managing anxiety.
Flusterclux represents that feeling of overwhelm. Each episode is filled with practical advice for parents how to better manage their worry and big feelings like anger and sadness so that they are modeling healthy emotional awareness.
Lynn answers listener questions and gives parents concrete strategies for developing the traits that are their kids' best defenses against anxiety and depression later in life: flexibility, resilience, autonomy, and problem solving. New episodes every Friday at 5AM EST.
Find us at flusterclux.com https://www.facebook.com/flusterclux https://www.instagram.com/flusterclux/
176
Yelling At Our Kids: When its OK and When It's Not
Yelling, or even when kids perceive that we are yelling, is a part of most family communications. In this episode anxiety expert and therapist, Lynn Lyons, LICSW, talks about the things we need to pay attention to if and when we yell. This is the last of our short summer episodes before Season 4!
14 min
177
Anxiety in Families: Is it Nature or Nurture?
Is anxiety genetic? Does it run in families? If your parents had anxiety or depression, what does that mean for you and your children? What approaches can we take to disrupt these generational cycles?
17 min
178
Not Talking About Anxiety Makes It Worse
One of the easiest mistakes we make when trying to deal without anxiety is to try get rid of the thing that makes us anxious. Anxiety expert Lynn Lyons explains why that isn't the goal but also why talking about anxiety is critical for a family when learning to tame it.
12 min
179
Find This Sweet Spot In Parenting Where There's...
Even though parenting feels like walking a tight rope, it isn't. There's lots of room for your mistakes as long as you stay within the sweet spot of emotional management. Here's how.
9 min
180
Global Language in Kids: How "Never" & "Always"...
What is global language? Do you or your kids have a habit of using it? Why is it such a strong predictor of anxiety and depression? Here's what to do if your kid loves to drop "always" and "never" bombs.
13 min
181
The Opposite of Anxiety isn't Certainty: A Tale...
Parents love offering certainty to their kids. It feels very loving and nurturing. But the opposite of anxiety is not certainty. Hear what parents should focus on helping with instead, as soon as their kids can talk. It's the game changer.
15 min
182
Take a Vacation From Mom Guilt
There's no time for mom guilt in a busy summer. Or ever.
8 min
183
Why Anxiety Makes Us Overreact With Our Kids an...
In this short summer break, we talk about our reactions. Anxiety can make us overreact, so how do we shift?
10 min
184
How Anxious Parents Give Too Much Information T...
Anxiety Expert Lynn Lyons offers some summer homework for anxious parents: stop giving your kids too much information. Learn what to do instead and why anxiety drives this habit.
13 min
185
Summer Safety Traps for Anxious Parents
Summer’s here and parents are stressed. Hear Lynn talk about safety chatter, what it is, and why anxious parents do it. Our language matters so much. Lynn shares how to offer safety instructions to kids and teens that are practical and not catastrophic.
21 min
186
This Makes Anxiety Worse: What Not to Do to He...
At the conclusion of Mental Health Awareness month, we weed through the bad advice that is so prevalent about anxiety that only makes it worse. We discuss the certain skills we must help our kids (and ourselves) develop to manage anxiety, and we talk about the things parents might try that have the desired outcome. This is an updated version of a previously released episode.
42 min
187
Listeners Ask: Teens & Drinking and Anxiety vs....
In today’s episode Lynn answers two listener questions. First a mom discovers her 15 year old has been thinking of drinking to manage her stress. What are the conversations parents should be having with their teens around stress, substance abuse and peer pressure?And another mom raised by an anxious parent is trying to break the cycle with her daughters. She asks Lynn how to know when the voices inside her head are generational patterns of worry repeating or intuitive warnings. How does anxiety filter the decisions we make and the information we receive?
40 min
188
OCD in Families: What it Is and Isn't
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is often missed or just misunderstood. What is OCD and what isn’t? How does it differ from really anxious thoughts? How is it treated? While it can show up at any point in life, some kids commonly show signs around 7 when there’s a family history. Lynn explains the connection with anxiety and how it differs, but most importantly, how to manage it and what signs to look for.
49 min
189
Dads, Depression, and Anxiety
So often the moms assume the role of supporting the family’s health and mental health, but dads have a critical role to play. What is that role? And how do you encourage your partner to step into that role? When a man is unsure of how to talk about emotions with his children, what should he say? What if he doesn’t want to talk about them with anyone? In this episode, we get raw and deep reflecting on the men most dear to us.How do we raise boys that have the permission and the know-how to connect with others? And how do we help them now become the available and emotionally literate dads of tomorrow?
48 min
190
Summer Camp & Separation Anxiety
After an atypical year of intense togetherness with our kids, parents may be out of practice being apart from their kids. Today we talk about the separation anxiety parents feel around summer camp, because it really is harder on us that it is on them. How can we best prepare our own kids leaving home for somewhere new? How we can manage our worry when our kids are out of our sight? Why is it so important to learn this skill as a parent?
40 min
191
The Anxious Parent: When It's One of You or Bo...
The Anxious Parent: Most families have one, some families have two. But what important role does a non-anxious parent play? How do worry and control often dictate parenting dynamics that put stress on a relationship? How can you tell if anxiety is in charge of your household, and what can you do about it?
37 min
192
The Real Truth About Phobias and How To Manage ...
Emetaphobia, Astraphobia, Autophobia. Some kids became afraid of a variety of things: throwing up, needles, dogs, thunderstorms, the dark. As parents we want to help, we want to make our kids feels safe and comfortable. We want to address the worry. But how we do that often just makes the worry and fear stronger. In this episode I ask Lynn to explain her effective approach of addressing the process of worry and not the content. Because when we try to address the specifics of what our kids worry about, we invite anxiety to move in and take hold.
35 min
193
Social Anxiety Or Social Awkwardness: What's No...
Do you or your child have Social Anxiety or are we now pathologizing shyness, too? Learn the different between real signs of social anxiety or just a more introverted temperament. What skills do we need to teach our kids to help them connect with others?As we leave our quarantined isolation, some kids might be feeling out of practice being with other kids and teens again. Hear Lynn tell us how to support them.
38 min
194
What every parent should understand about the c...
In honor of May 1st's deadline for many college-bound seniors to make their choice, Lynn shares advice from her perspective over the last few decades of watching her adolescent clients go to college and struggle with anxiety. For parents, how to support academic success for their kids in a healthy way can be a challenge, so Lynn offers advice for parents of kids of all ages.
29 min
195
Panic Attacks Vs. Anxiety Attacks: What's the D...
Panic Attacks. While they are incredibly common, they are often mislabeled and misunderstood. Teenagers, even adults, will casually throw the label around.What’s the difference between those really powerful moments of anxiety and a panic attack?How do you help your family members when they experience them?
43 min
196
Let Your Kids Fail; Don't Let Your Kids Drown: ...
Mistakes and Failures can be some of life’s best teachers. When it comes to letting our kids fail, how do we know the difference between letting them fail and letting them drown? What do you do if your teenager hasn’t mastered the skill of asking for help? Or, what do you say when your teen doesn’t even care?
31 min
197
When Your Teen's Friends Are In Crisis: A Guide...
At some point one of your children’s friends will be in crisis. How do you help your teens help their friends? How do you teach them to develop boundaries with those friends? When your child shares that a friend is feeling suicidal or cutting or other self-harming behaviors, what do you do?
45 min
198
School Anxiety: How To Help Our Kids & Teens
Many families are feeling anxious about changes to their school routine, both kids and parents. How do we support our kids and teens and help them manage their worry about going back to school? And when does this worry become more serious and lead to school avoidance and school refusal?
36 min
199
Families & The Power of Listening
We talk a lot about the power of words...teaching kids to put words to their feelings, modeling emotional literacy. But the flip side of talking—the critical flip side—is listening. What happens when you don’t feel heard? What’s the toll on your mental health, royal or not? When our kids and teens talk, can we tap into the full power of listening? We discuss the way the public health conversation may change after Oprah's interview with Megan and Harry.
17 min
200
The Bad Advice That Makes Anxiety Worse
There's a lot of bad advice out there to weed through when so many claim to be parenting or anxiety experts. But some well-meaning advice will actually strengthen your child's anxious habits, and Lynn Lyons explains why.
40 min