Welcome Kate!
I am sensory defensive, myself. Emotions, no matter what they are, good or bad, often feel overwhelming. Anxiety is the worst. Many activities are anxiety inducing. We got a new car recently, which you would think would be a good thing and should make me happy. However I experienced anxiety for several days. Every time I walked out the front door and into the driveway I got a burst of anxiety. Something was very different, not what I was used to, and it made me anxious. You would think I could say to myself, "oh it's just a new car, you know this, its okay." But it didn't matter, it still felt terrible. It just took me a while to adjust.

At 12 we want to be with our friends. Nature designed us that way. There is just no substitute for it. And there is a lot of social anxiety that goes with that. As we mature we learn that we don't always get what we want. We learn coping mechanisms to deal with our emotions. It may take him some time to adjust to all the changes happening with him. My oldest son was a monster at that age. But he is a fine man now. He still gets very stressed out about things that don't matter as much to most people but he deals with it more constructively. Try to remember to take good care of yourself so you don't get too stressed out yourself.

What is the ALERT program?