How to Reduce Anxiety in Children 10 Minutes Or Less
In the past, anxiety was a problem only adults suffered from.
Now, it is common to hear of the elderly, teenagers, adolescents and even grade school children that are suffering from anxiety.
This article will focus on relieving children of anxiety.
There are many different degrees of suffering with this ailment, but no matter what level you are at, it is possible to reduce anxiety in as little as 10 minutes.
Without Further Ado, Lets Get to It! The root of anxiety begins deep in the human mind.
It starts long before it is felt.
Here is what you really need to know, anxiety comes about when a person is afraid of something, or someone that is in the future.
For example, a person that has been assaulted doesn't feel anxiety because of what happened, its the fear (which can turn into paranoia) that the trauma will repeat itself, in the future.
In order to eliminate the anxiety, we need to uproot the cause, the fear.
Discovering the fear is the secret.
So in helping a child, begin by talking about what they are afraid will happen.
Common fears include, fear of rejection by peers, fear of bullies hurting them, fear of looking dumb, etc.
After discovering the fear, we begin by facing that fear and lessening it.
Let's assume that the fear is fear of getting beaten up by a bully.
As we face the fear, ask what is the worst that could happen if your worst fear happened.
At this point, the child might fear being hurt so badly, they might get hospitalized.
Whatever the fear and the worse case may be, there is always something worse that can put the fear in its place.
Remember to use an example that is highly unlikely, such as being an astronaut on the moon and running out of air.
For example, dieing in a concentration camp in Germany would be much worse.
Or losing both arms and legs would be worse.
After showing that the root fear isn't as bad as it could, we help the sufferer to realize that even if the fear does come to pass, they'll survive.
Perhaps the fear is becoming an outcast in class.
So as we sart to explore what would happen if they did become an outcast.
Would it be as bad as losing a loved one in death? If they had to chose, would they chose being an outcast or the death of a relative? Obviously, you should choose a worse outcome that you know will be worse than the fear.
The next step is to prove to the child's mind that the probability of the fear coming to pass isn't as likely as the think and coming up with a plan of action.
So, if the fear is failing a test, we could point out how many tests they have actually passed and show that the likelihood of failing isn't as high as they thought.
Then discuss what further steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood even further, such as spending and extra 30 minutes daily preparing for the test.
The final step is to have them imagine the times when the used to feel the anxiety, perhaps as they got on the bus everyday.
Then, as they imagine getting on the bus the next day, have them use the new knowledge that they just gained to eliminate anxiety that might still be there.
You'll see that in practice, this whole process takes under 10 minutes and might well be the best 10 minutes you've ever spent!
Now, it is common to hear of the elderly, teenagers, adolescents and even grade school children that are suffering from anxiety.
This article will focus on relieving children of anxiety.
There are many different degrees of suffering with this ailment, but no matter what level you are at, it is possible to reduce anxiety in as little as 10 minutes.
Without Further Ado, Lets Get to It! The root of anxiety begins deep in the human mind.
It starts long before it is felt.
Here is what you really need to know, anxiety comes about when a person is afraid of something, or someone that is in the future.
For example, a person that has been assaulted doesn't feel anxiety because of what happened, its the fear (which can turn into paranoia) that the trauma will repeat itself, in the future.
In order to eliminate the anxiety, we need to uproot the cause, the fear.
Discovering the fear is the secret.
So in helping a child, begin by talking about what they are afraid will happen.
Common fears include, fear of rejection by peers, fear of bullies hurting them, fear of looking dumb, etc.
After discovering the fear, we begin by facing that fear and lessening it.
Let's assume that the fear is fear of getting beaten up by a bully.
As we face the fear, ask what is the worst that could happen if your worst fear happened.
At this point, the child might fear being hurt so badly, they might get hospitalized.
Whatever the fear and the worse case may be, there is always something worse that can put the fear in its place.
Remember to use an example that is highly unlikely, such as being an astronaut on the moon and running out of air.
For example, dieing in a concentration camp in Germany would be much worse.
Or losing both arms and legs would be worse.
After showing that the root fear isn't as bad as it could, we help the sufferer to realize that even if the fear does come to pass, they'll survive.
Perhaps the fear is becoming an outcast in class.
So as we sart to explore what would happen if they did become an outcast.
Would it be as bad as losing a loved one in death? If they had to chose, would they chose being an outcast or the death of a relative? Obviously, you should choose a worse outcome that you know will be worse than the fear.
The next step is to prove to the child's mind that the probability of the fear coming to pass isn't as likely as the think and coming up with a plan of action.
So, if the fear is failing a test, we could point out how many tests they have actually passed and show that the likelihood of failing isn't as high as they thought.
Then discuss what further steps can be taken to reduce the likelihood even further, such as spending and extra 30 minutes daily preparing for the test.
The final step is to have them imagine the times when the used to feel the anxiety, perhaps as they got on the bus everyday.
Then, as they imagine getting on the bus the next day, have them use the new knowledge that they just gained to eliminate anxiety that might still be there.
You'll see that in practice, this whole process takes under 10 minutes and might well be the best 10 minutes you've ever spent!
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