In the next two Newsletters I am going to share with you 8 things parents with an anxious child could try. While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for anxiety, there are a lot of great research-based techniques that can help manage it. Here are the first four:
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for anxiety, there are many great research-based techniques that can help manage it. Here are the first four:
1. Stop Reassuring Your Child
Christine Hawkins
Owner KMEC Hunter
Your anxious child desperately wants to listen to you, but the brain won’t let it happen. During periods of anxiety, there is a rapid dump of chemicals and mental transitions executed in your body for survival. One by-product is that the prefrontal cortex, or more logical part of the brain, gets put on hold while the more automated emotional brain takes over. In other words, it is really hard for your child to think clearly or hear what you are saying to them.
2. Highlight Why Worrying is Good
Teach your child that worry is perfectly normal, it can help protect us, and everyone experiences it from time to time. Understanding that worry is a natural response can reduce the stigma and fear associated with it.
3. Bring Your Child’s Worry to Life
Create a worry character for your child, such as Wally the Worrier. Wally personifies anxiety and lives in the old brain responsible for protecting us when we’re in danger. Sometimes, Wally gets a little out of control, and when that happens, we have to talk some sense into Wally. Personifying worry or creating a character has multiple benefits: it can help demystify this scary physical response children experience when they worry, reactivate the logical brain, and serve as a tool your children can use on their own at any time.
4. Allow Them to Worry
Create a daily ritual called “Worry Time” that lasts 10 to 15 minutes. During this ritual, encourage your children to release all their worries in writing. Make the activity fun by decorating a worry box. During worry time, there are no rules on what constitutes a valid worry—anything goes. When the time is up, close the box and say good-bye to the worries for the day.
In the next newsletter, we will explore four more techniques to help manage your child’s anxiety. Stay tuned!
If you would like more information in the meantime, these websites may be helpful:
• Youth Beyondblue – phone 1300 224 636 (24 hour information regarding depression and anxiety)
• MindShift – an app for iPhones and iPads to assist young people manage their anxiety.
