The Neuroscience of Teen Tantrums: How Your Calm Can Regulate Their Chaos

The Neuroscience of Teen Tantrums: How Your Calm Can Regulate Their Chaos

From The Positively Healthy Mom by Laura Ollinger, M.Ed. in Health & Wellness | Teen & Parent Well-Being Coach

June 3, 2026 · 29 min · Episode 109

About this episode

This episode explores how parents can use their presence to help regulate their teenagers' emotional outbursts through neuroscience and practical tools.

How do mirror neurons and parent co-regulation help de-escalate emotional outbursts and stress in teenagers? In this episode of The Positively Healthy Mom, we dive deep into the science of nervous system regulation, exploring how parents can use their own energetic presence to calm a dysregulated teen, while also providing practical mind-body tools to support competitive teen athletes through injury prevention and intense physical stress. It is a must-listen for moms navigating high-stress seasons with their teenagers, academic or performance pressures, and the daily chaotic bursts of teen hormones. Listen in as we sit down with Lisa Danahy, an MS in Yoga Therapy, BA in Psychology, and founder of the non-profit Create Calm [https://createcalm.org/], who specializes in evidence-based behavioral and emotional regulation. Key Conversations in This Episode: * Why telling an upset teenager to "just calm down" backfires, and how to help them access actual nervous system resources instead. * Understanding the neuroscience behind why emotions are contagious and how an adult's steady presence serves as a physical reflection for a teen's emotional reset. * A breakdown of a 30-second…

People in this episode

Host: Laura Ollinger

Guest: Lisa Danahy

Topics covered

  • neuroscience
  • teen tantrums
  • emotional regulation
  • parenting
  • mind-body tools
  • competitive sports

Keywords

  • mirror neurons
  • co-regulation
  • nervous system
  • emotional outbursts
  • stress
  • somatic tools
  • breathwork
  • competitive athletes
  • teen hormones

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Create Calm

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