E 261 How Podcasting Changed Me in 5 Years

Send us Fan Mail Does your teen refuse to go to school, then seem better once you agree they can stay home? School refusal and teen anxiety can leave parents wondering what’s happening and how to help. In this episode, I explain the school avoidance loop: worry builds, your teen avoids school, and the immediate relief can make returning feel difficult again. Feeling better at home doesn’t mean their distress was pretend. Using my Perception → Process → Plan framework, we explore: • How to i...

Send us Fan Mail Does your anxious teen keep asking for reassurance, even after you’ve told them everything will be okay? If “don’t worry” leads to another “but what if,” this video offers a different way to respond. I’m Cynthia Coufal, a teen and young adult anxiety coach. In this episode, I share: - Why repeated reassurance may only help briefly - Two questions that help you understand your teen’s worry - What to say when anxiety gets in the way of friendships or homework - How to ...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever noticed that when something good happens, your brain immediately starts imagining what could go wrong? That experience is sometimes called foreboding joy, and it can make it surprisingly difficult to enjoy good moments. In this episode, anxiety coach Cynthia Coufal explains why happiness can sometimes trigger worry, how parents can unknowingly brace for their child's next struggle, and how to practice staying present without pretending that difficult thi...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever missed one class, had one unproductive day, or received no response to a message, and suddenly your brain decided everything was falling apart? One small event can quickly become a much bigger story: “You’re getting behind.” “Here we go again.” “You always mess things up.” “You’re never going to figure this out.” In this episode, I share a conversation with a college student who worried that she was “slipping” after missing one planned day of classes. Although s...

Send us Fan Mail What if staying awake longer to study is actually making it harder to remember what you learned? Sleep is not time taken away from studying, emotional regulation, or productivity. It is part of all three. In this updated episode, Cynthia explains how sleep affects learning, memory, anxiety, mood, decision-making, and academic performance. You will also learn how much sleep teens and young adults need, why teenagers naturally become tired later at night, and how to use ...