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Picture a teenager who was moderately engaged all summer — around, at dinner, saying yes to things. Then school gets close, and the door starts closing a little harder than it needs to. Moodier. Doesn't want to do anything, or only wants to be out with friends. Every question lands like too much. You didn't lose your kid. This is back-to-school anxiety, grown up.
In this episode:
Why teen overwhelm withdraws instead of exploding — and why a wired-differently teen who held it together all day comes home completely empty
The real stack they're carrying: responsibility landing on executive-function skills that haven't caught up, a refereeless social world, the sensory tax of the building, reinventing, and lost sleep
Why the summer-job-versus-school comparison is the misread that gets teens in the most trouble
How to tell normal teenage distance from real struggle, plus agency-respecting ways in
Your teen isn't giving you a hard time. They're having one — quietly.