In this conversation we speak with Dr Sarah Allen, a GP with a special interest in anxiety disorders, about the feelings we call anxiety, worry or fear, especially as experienced by our children. Sarah helps us to understand the difference between 'everyday' kinds of worry and clinical anxiety disorders - and what we should do if we think we or our children are suffering from the latter. We talk about how the Bible sheds light on this topic in helping us to understand God's purposes in our and our children's suffering. Sarah encourages us to see how anxiety can actually present an opportunity for us and our children to grow in our knowledge of God and of ourselves. This conversation will equip you not to 'fix' your children's problems, but to walk alongside them with empathy and gently point them back to their loving heavenly Father.

Links:
Scary Stuff by Dr Sarah Allen. A book for children aged 8-12 and parents to work through together to help them discover what fear is all about, how our bodies and minds work, and—best of all!—God himself.

The Parent Hope Project: parenting courses, articles and podcasts designed to empower and support parents in today’s complex world using a 'family systems' approach.

Emerging Minds: Resources on parenting children with mental illness and parenting with a mental illness. This site covers topics such as dealing with trauma, natural disasters and bullying. There are resources for both parents and children

Beyond Blue: Support to achieve and maintain good mental health. This includes resources for family and friends.

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Mothers Union Sydney. Listen to all of the talks from the Mothers Union Seminar on Soundcloud.

Theme music: Soul's Getting Wet by Ali Maegraith. Produced by Ali Maegraith and Gerard Masters. Available on SoundCloud.