112: Anxiety and Aggression with Karen Young

In this episode, Karen Young joins me on the Peaceful Parenting Podcast to talk about co-regulation, anxiety, and aggression that sometimes comes to light within our kiddos.  Karen began her career as a psychologist in private practice. She has worked extensively with children, teens and families, and in educational and organization settings. She has lectured and has a Masters in Gestalt Therapy. It is through her work with children, teens and families, that she learned the power of solid information when it is placed in the solid, loving hands of parents or any important person in the life of a child.  Karen created Hey Sigmund, an internationally popular online resource, as a way to provide contemporary, research-driven information on the art of being human, and being with humans.   We talk about: [2:55] How she became an anxiety specialist [5:10] Where to begin when it comes to anxiety and aggression [8:25] Using recognition as a first step [10:00] Regulating your own nervous system [10:50] Using co-regulation  [17:00] Is repair most effective done immediately? [19:20] How ‘soothing’ changes as kids get older  [20:25] Validating ‘anger’ as an emotion  [23:05] How kids learn what a threat is and isn’t [27:30] Strategies for compassion when there's a meltdown [31:05] Helping kids understand where their big emotions come from [37:00] Tips for when kids refuse to use the strategies you've worked on them with [43:50] Advice to her younger parent self   She is the author of four books, including the bestselling ‘Hey Warrior’ and ‘Hey Awesome’, which creatively assist children to understand and manage anxiety. The books have been translated into a number of languages and have sold more than 180,000 copies worldwide.  Karen lives in Australia and has two children and two stepchildren. Experience has taught her that people can do amazing things with the right information, psychology has something for everyone, jargon doesn’t, everyone has a story to tell, short bios are the longest to write, nobody has it all figured out and the best people to be around are the ones who already know this.   Resources mentioned in this episode: Free ‘How to Stop Yelling’ Course: www.sarahrosensweet.com/yelling  Join us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/peacefulparenting    Connect with Karen Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/karenyoungheysigmund Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.ca/heysigmund001 Twitter: https://twitter.com/hey_sigmund Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenyoung_heysigmund Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/KarenYoungHeySigmund Website: https://www.heysigmund.com/ Connect with Sarah Rosensweet   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahrosensweet/  Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/peacefulparentingfreegroup Website: https://www.sarahrosensweet.com  Book a short consult or coaching session call: https://book-with-sarah-rosensweet.as.me/schedule.php