By Tiffany, Mattawa Branch Librarian
Your heart is beating fast – you feel unsure – worried – or even panicked. You break out into a sweat and feel ready to run. What’s happening? You may be experiencing anxiety.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stress and can help in some situations. It can alert us to dangers and help us prepare and pay attention. But when it begins to interfere with our ability to do normal activities, it might be time to get help. As many as 1 in 3 teens experiences anxiety beyond what is normal. Talking about anxiety can connect us to others with similar experiences and help us to find resources to learn how to cope.
Fight Flight Freeze – Anxiety Explained For Teens
NCW Libraries has some great graphic novels that highlight young teens who experience anxiety as a regular part of their lives. Open up one of these stories to open up conversations about anxiety.
Small Things
by Meg Treggoning
A wordless picture book that illustrates a young boy’s worries and how he shares with his sister about his secret anxieties.
Pilu of the Woods 
by Mai K. Nguyen
The beautiful graphic novel tackles the tough topic of grief as a girl deals with complex emotions following the death of a loved one.
Two popular graphic novels that set anxiety against the backdrop of school are Just Roll with It, which also addresses the challenges of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, and Guts, a story that describes the positive ways a person can cope with anxiety through therapy.
Miss Quinces is a lighthearted look at family conflict and the acceptance of someone who experiences terrible anxiety. Finally two powerful graphic novels – The Golden Hour and Last Pick – show how Post Traumatic Stress and Autism can activate anxiety for young teens and how they rely on their connections with others for support.
English 