We've talked a lot about anxiety on the podcast. In this episode, Marneta Viegas talks about how "crippling" self-esteem got the better of her as a teenager. If this is you - or your child - have a listen, and find out what can be done to help teenagers relax.

Marneta tells me about her father's sudden death when she was a teenager, and how that filled her with guilt - another self-esteem thief.

19:20 - Strategies for improving self-esteem and helping teenagers relax

Who is Marneta Viegas?

Marneta is the founder of Relax Kids Ltd - a leading expert on children's relaxation. She has been running her relaxation programme for the last 25 years and it has helped over 5 million children at home and in school. Marneta has written 20 children’s meditation books and has recorded over 500 meditation audios. She has developed a unique (award winning) 7 step method to teach children to self-regulate and manage their anxiety. Marneta’s father died suddenly when she was 18, just before she went to university. I’m going to ask her about her relaxation programme, and for her tips on how – as parent’s – we can help our teens learn to relax more.

More teenage parenting from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy, a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please email teenagekickspodcast@gmail.com.

There are already stories from fabulous guests about difficult things that happened to them as teenagers - including losing a parent, becoming a young carer, and being hospitalised with mental health problems - and how they overcame things to move on with their lives.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Zencastr's policy page

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

"Loneliness is a condition that's just as bad for you as cancer", says Dr Richard Pile, a GP and specialist in loneliness. He goes on to say that the age bracket most affected by loneliness is young adults aged 16-24.

Loneliness at a young age can leave mental health 'scars' in the same way that physical injuries stay with us for the rest of our lives. So it's important to help our teenagers identify when they're lonely, and learn what to do about it.

What can we do to prevent loneliness in teenagers?

• Try to mitigate the effects of academic pressure. Richard sees a lot of teenagers who are isolating thanks to the stress of expectations from schools and ambitious families. We need to help our kids work out what makes them happy, and encourage them to spend time doing more of that.
• Help them realise that feeling lonely at times is normal. Boredom, stress and loneliness help kids learn who they are and work out what they want to do next. It's only a problem when it's long-term.
• Digital connection is valuable (especially during the pandemic) but a lot of young people got out of the habit of connecting in a physical space because of the ease of online interactions. We need to help our kids learn how to enjoy being with other people more often.
• Fight the "cult of the individual". Wellbeing comes from interdependency with friends and family - community.

Who is Dr Richard Pile?

Richard is an NHS GP specialising in Lifestyle Medicine and Cardiology. Outside of the surgery, his other jobs include promoting lifestyle medicine amongst the public and health professionals, training & appraisal, and being a mentor and coach.

He has written for the national press and the British Medical Journal and is the author of a book on wellbeing.

More from Richard :

• Listen to Richard's TEDx talk on loneliness in young adults.
• Get Richard's book Fit For Purpose (affiliate link)
• His website Feel Good For Life
• Other links, including Richard's newsletter, podcast and social media

More from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy, a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please get in touch.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Zencastr's policy page

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Episode produced by Michael J Cunningham.

In this episode, we talk about academic pressure and the anxiety it can create for our teenagers. But more than that, we talk about FAILURE. Fear of failure, what failure really means, and how to help our teenagers when they think they've failed.

Amelie Moore is a former language teacher who thinks it’s vital that kids learn to fail. Amelie says teenagers need to know that failure is not the end of the road, and that offering a safe, non-judgmental space for them to make mistakes and reflect, is how they will learn how to reach their goals and overcome challenges in their own way.

As someone who felt overwhelmed by academic anxiety in her own teenage years, Amelie believes there’s a different way to help teenagers succeed whatever their school record.

She says to teenagers listening: "You are not broken, you don't need fixing, you are amazing, unique individuals full of potential."

Get more from Amélie Moore?

• Amélie's website It's Mindcraft coaching

More from Helen Wills:

Helen wills is a teen mental health podcaster and blogger at Actually Mummy, a resource for midlife parents of teens.

Thank you for listening! Subscribe to the Teenage Kicks podcast to hear new episodes. If you have a suggestion for the podcast please get in touch.

You can find more from Helen Wills on parenting teenagers on Instagram and Twitter @iamhelenwills.

For information on your data privacy please visit Zencastr's policy page

Please note that Helen Wills is not a medical expert, and nothing in the podcast should be taken as medical advice. If you're worried about yourself or a teenager, please seek support from a medical professional.

Episode produced by Michael J Cunningham.