“Fandom can provide a powerful social support network for the participating individual, and for some it is their only social support network. As such belonging to a fandom group can be a powerful coping mechanism as social support is critical to mental health and coping,” Dr. Syd Miller, host of On-Call with Dr. Syd, shares via email. “Fandom can also provide a source of validation for yourself, your values and your interests. These are all critical factors in developing a healthy self-esteem, which is also critical to good mental health. This may be particularly important in the teen years where individuation is occurring, when teens are developing a sense of self.”

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Therapist Syd Miller says those feelings most likely did not disappear over summer vacation. “Parents are terrified by the thought that when they drop off their child at school or put them on the school bus, it might be the last time they ever see their child alive again,” he tells Yahoo Life. Miller says these feelings are real, raw and extremely challenging to process.

So how can parents manage both their own anxieties — and those of their kids — as classrooms begin to reopen for a new school year?

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