Teen overthinking everything

[SilverGlitterBaubles]

DD16 has been pretty confident up to recently when she has started to doubt herself and massively overthinks everything. It's mainly related to her friendship group where she is constantly worrying about what they think for example if she says no to going out with them and if she does go out with them she worries about what she might have said that could have upset them. I don't get the feeling they are actually being mean it seems like mostly it is just DDs own insecurities. She is constantly questioning and overthinking and it is becoming a problem. Has anyone else had experience of this and have any ideas how I can help her. TIA

Can you find ways to bolster her confidence generally which will then extend into her friendships? Perhaps a part time job or volunteering role which gives her more autonomy? General praise and compliments for small achievements? Pointing out her good qualities and her successes to her?

if she feels good about herself and in herself then other’s opinions matter less.

id get her to think about what she would do in their place eg if someone said to her what she said to them, what she would think- it’s v simple but it helped me a lot realising that people likely aren’t thinking these horrible things about her! x

It might be worth to look into some CBT to increase resilience and help with tools to deal with anxious feelings or worries. Maybe mention the idea that the human brain can constantly generate negative thoughts and worries that have no basis in fact.

Taking part in physical activities helps with mood and can help take the mind off thoughts that are unhelpful. The trouble with this kind of worrying is that it can increase over time and become harder to deal with as beliefs and thoughts become more fixed. Agree with p.p on part time work, volunteering also. Best wishes