S3 EP14 - SEL Summer Camp Week 4: Garden of Weedy Thoughts: Helping Middle Schoolers Bust Cognitive Distortions & Calm Anxiety

🍎Apple Listeners: The show’s ratings were hacked & dropped to  3.1 rating from 4.9. It is under investigation currently. If you could help out & provide a positive star rating, it would mean everything! So grateful! Best, Suz & Steve🐶
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🌱 Garden of Weedy Thoughts: Helping Middle Schoolers Bust Cognitive Distortions & Calm Anxiety

Why does your middle schooler suddenly believe everyone is judging them? Why can one awkward interaction at school turn into “Nobody likes me!”? And why do worries seem to grow so quickly during adolescence?

Welcome to the strange garden of the middle school brain.

In this week’s episode of Middle School Mary Poppins, Suzanne M. Swain, EdS, LMSW, is joined by Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW, Clinical Director at Mightier, to explore one of the most important mental health concepts parents can teach their children: cognitive distortions—the thinking traps that make anxiety feel real, even when our thoughts aren’t telling us the whole story.

Using a whimsical garden metaphor, Suzanne explains why middle school isn’t just a grade level—it’s a culture. Together, Suzanne and Jessica discuss how anxiety quietly plants “sticky weeds” in our minds, why belonging becomes so important during adolescence, and how parents can help children recognize these unhelpful thought patterns before they take over the entire garden.

🌸 In This Episode You’ll Learn

🌷 What cognitive distortions are—and why they feel so believable.

🌼 Why anxiety often shows up as stomach aches, headaches, perfectionism, school avoidance, or irritability.

🌺 How girls and boys may experience anxiety differently during adolescence.

🌻 Why friendships, cliques, and social belonging feel so overwhelming in middle school.

🪻 How thoughts, emotions, and behaviors work together to shape our experiences.

🌹 Practical ways to help children challenge anxious thinking with curiosity instead of fear.

🌿 Why Stop. Regulate. Listen. is a brain-based strategy that helps kids regulate emotions before solving problems.

🌱 Free Family Activity

Continue today’s conversation with the Garden of Weedy Thoughts family activity from Mightier:

https://www.mightier.com/resources/weeds-badge-activities/

💜 Special Offer from Mightier

NOTE: Suzanne is NOT being paid by them. She simply loves what they do for  for and the research behind it. An evidence- based way to help your child build emotional regulation skills? They created a video game tablet where the game uses heart rate information to include that in the gameplay where regulation is taught by the video game itself! Self-sufficiency is good! My neighbor kiddo used it and his mother is thrilled! Affordable too! The best part about the company are the people!

Middle School Mary Poppins listeners receive 15% OFF Mightier with promo code:MARYPOPPINS

🎥 Watch on YouTube

Watch full podcast episodes, parenting shorts, bonus clips, and exclusive content on our YouTube channel:

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE_8pZC17nLY&si=kiKjRO_sx9Uu-3l8

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⭐ Thank You

A heartfelt thank you to our incredible community for your encouragement, thoughtful messages, and recent reviews. Because of your support, Middle School Mary Poppins is now approaching 675,000 downloads worldwide and has earned more than 6,100 five-star reviews on Spotify!

Every download, review, subscription, and recommendation helps another parent, educator, counselor, or caregiver discover tools that can truly make a difference in a child’s life.

If today’s episode encouraged you, one of the greatest ways you can support the podcast is by:

💜 Following the show on your favorite podcast platform.

⭐ Leaving a rating or written review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

🎥 Subscribing to our YouTube channel and sharing your favorite episodes.

📣 Sharing this episode with another parent, teacher, or caregiver who could use a little extra support.

Your kindness helps this community continue to grow, and I truly appreciate every single one of you.

Stay clever, little foxes. 🦊💜

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Middle school anxiety • Cognitive distortions • Parenting tweens • Tween mental health • Emotional regulation • School anxiety • Adolescent brain • Friendship drama • Self-esteem • Parenting middle schoolers • Social Emotional Learning (SEL) • Executive functioning • Neurodivergent children • Autism • ADHD • Anxiety in girls • Anxiety in boys • Parenting podcast • Teacher resources • Family mental health • Brain-based parenting • Cognitive behavioral strategies • Middle school behavior

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