Glenbard Parent Series 3/16 event to address managing anxiety and stress

The Glenbard Parent Series: (GPS) Navigating Healthy Families will present Don't Try Harder, Try Different: Managing Anxiety and Stress with Patrick McGrath on Wednesday, March 16.

Every teen feels anxiety, fear, uncertainty or worry at some time. These normal emotions and reactions help people protect themselves, stay safe and solve problems. Usually these feelings don't last long and don't come often, but for some these feelings are taken to extremes. There is a constant stream of doubt or fear in a young person's mind that can be a controlling force that is not easily tamed. Don't Try Harder; Try Different is a stress management philosophy to bring back balance. It is based on the notion that we are really good at trying harder at things that we already know do not work all that well. So, what if we did something else, something different? McGrath will provide a guide for parents and professionals, providing sound advice and answers to our most pressing questions.

This free event is open to the public and will begin at noon March 16 in the Community Consolidated School District 93 Administration Center, 230 Covington Drive in Bloomingdale.

McGrath is director of the Center for Anxiety and Obsessive Compulsive Disorders and co-director of the School Anxiety and School Refusal Program at Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital in Hoffman Estates.

CPDUs are available for education professionals.

GPS is generously sponsored by the Cebrin Goodman Center, Cooperative Association for Special Education (CASE), College of DuPage, DuPage Medical Group, Emmy Gaffey Foundation and Trust Company of Illinois.

For more information, visit glenbardgps.org or contact Gilda Ross, Glenbard District 87 student and community projects coordinator, at 942-7668 or gilda_ross@glenbard.org.