
S3 EP14 - SEL Summer Camp Week 4: Garden of Weedy Thoughts: Helping Middle Schoolers Bust Cognitive Distortions & Calm Anxiety
From The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast by Suzanne M. Swain, EDS LMSW
July 8, 2026 · 30 min
About this episode
This episode explores how middle schoolers can manage cognitive distortions and 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🐶 ———————————- 🌱 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…
People in this episode
Host: Suzanne M. Swain
Guest: Jessica Ragnio
Topics covered
- cognitive distortions
- anxiety
- middle school
- social judgment
- mental health
Keywords
- middle school
- anxiety
- cognitive distortions
- mental health
- social interactions
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Middle School Mary Poppins
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