“Our past hurts mixed with our present pressure often dictate our future fear.”

Counselor and author Sissy Goff has watched this reality play out hundreds of times through the decades as she counsels children as well as their moms and dads. So often parents are willing to get help for their anxious children while not addressing their own anxieties. In our conversation today, Licensed Counselor and author Sissy Goff explains that anxiety is contagious, and the worries we see in our children can often come from our own unaddressed anxieties.

In our conversation today, we talk about the rapid growth of anxiety as a major struggle for more and more children and adults. Sissy shares insights from her new book, The Worry Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too. We discuss:

  • The difference between worry and anxiety
  • The way unaddressed past hurts can bleed into our present parenting
  • How the amygdala is contagious
  • Practices to de-escalate when anxiety is taking over
  • The importance of the following advice: Try Softer, Trust Your Gut, and Trust God
  • How the hope of the resurrection re-centers us on our darkest days

 

About Sissy Goff

Sissy Goff, LPC-MHSP, has worked as the director of child and adolescent counseling at Daystar Counseling Ministries since 1993. She speaks to parents and children’s ministers across the country and is a frequent guest on media outlets such as Southern Living, NBC Nightly News, CNN, Good Morning America, Focus on the Family, That Sounds Fun, Family Life Today, Fox News, and many more.

Sissy Goff is the author of 13 books including her latest, The Worry-Free Parent. She co-hosts the chart-topping Raising Boys and Girls podcast, with fellow Daystar Counselor David Thomas. The podcast just celebrated more than 5 million downloads to date www.RaisingBoysandGirls.com

 

Resources mentioned:

Instagram: @RaisingBoysandGirls

The Worry Free Parent: Living in Confidence So Your Kids Can Too: https://amzn.to/3NZCBOm

Are My Kids On Track: The 12 Emotional, Social, and Spiritual Milestones your Child Needs to Reach: https://amzn.to/3PL4bR0

Website: www.RaisingBoysandGirls.com

Episode 217: Worry, Anxiety, and Emotional Vocabulary with Sissy Goff

Support Let’s Parent on Purpose through your Tax Deductible Giving

Join my Things for Thursday Email List and get a free Marriage Snapshot Tool and Fun Family Conversation Ebook!

 

Connect with Jay:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@letsparentonpurpose

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/letsparentonpurpose

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/letsparentonpurpose

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jaydholland