Activities for anxious/depressed 13 year old

[SunnyZ]

DD (13) has started to suffer badly from anxiety and seems depressed. Anxiety is mainly school based bit she has also wanted to stop doing almost all of her extra-curricular activities. I know that is quite common as kids enter their teens but I really want her to be able to find something she enjoys.

She was really enjoying the drama club at school last year but a different teacher has taken it over and she is scared of him so doesn't want to go any more. She used to do dancing and guides, but doesn't want to do those either. She has a tennis lesson once per week which is good but there is not much of a social side do it.

Can anyone recommend any activities/hobbies their anxious teen has been willing to join in,even something from home? I worry that if she just shuts herself away all the time it will make things worse. Or maybe it is better to just leave her to her own devices?

does she have any good friends that do activities either at school or outisde? She may have more confidence if she's with a friend. Otherwise she could join an online class, perhaps a yoga or pilates class? They are pretty good for mental health. Or even an online book club. Or she could learn a new skill such as knitiing.

Thank you. Some good ideas. Her friends seem to mainly do horse riding which is a bit beyond my budget but I will suggest something online.

Does she like horses? I got my DD a "job" volunteering at a local stable, she used to muck out etc, very occasionally got a ride. Hard physical work is good for low mood! Plus she loved the animals. Did her the absolute world of good.

Or volunteer at an animal shelter? Or charity shop?

Scouts might be a good shout. She’ll be one of the older ones, but can move on to explorers afterwards. Might be a good way to try a few different things.

Horse riding!! She should join Pony Club. It's amazing for making friends and horses are great for mental health.

Just be careful as soon she will be like my 13-year-old and make you buy two ponies 😬

Piano. There's some findings that it's beneficial for mental health. It's very mindful as you can't really worry about anything else while playing.

Also walking, especially in green spaces.

Neither of these is social but maybe what she needs right now to build her back to wanting to be more social.

I came on to say this. Living a short walk from a riding stables was my saviour as a kid. I was anxious/depressed/pmdd but the outdoors and horses really helped. I hung out helping all weekend and got a free ride, but tbh I liked grooming and feeding and bringing in the horses best.

Thanks everyone. Looks like ponies is a popular choice. We have a stables nearby so I will look into it more.

I'd back off a bit and try not to push too many hobbies. I always said mine had to do one thing, which your DD does. Keep up with the tennis and then do some low key relaxing things at home.

If the horse stuff is possible and she wants to that sounds good.

What I will say is looking back to my school days, most people had a hobby slump in KS4 - it is quite a modern thing for parents to force their kids to have hobbies. I'm not sure it is helpful.

Riding - DD loved it and it really helped with her anxiety. But, lots of Pony Club groups around us are more for younger ones, think 8-11 year olds.

I would look for a stable for volunteering. One of DD's friends who rode along her for years stopped and now volunteers at a stable, not a lot of riding but lot of horse loving and working with smaller children. She loves it and it did wonders for self confidence. She started originally for the Duke of Edinburgh award but stuck with it because she loves it.

The thing DD really enjoys now outside Scout Explorers is Taekwondo. She can focus (we are waiting for a ASD/ADHD assessement) and it grounds her and she comes out really energised.