If you believe your child has anxiety, then it is so important that you take steps to try and support them. If you don’t, then you may find that they end up feeling worse and that they also have excessive worries about things. You may find that this translates across school as well as at social occasions. Some signs of anxiety include difficulty fitting in, irritability, concentration difficulties, lack of confidence, and even lower grades. As you can imagine, this can have a huge impact on their mental health, as well as your own. If you want to help them here, then it is so important that you try and help them now.
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Identify their Triggers
The first thing you need to do is try and take the time to identify their triggers. You need to make sure that you are aware of what is causing them anxiety, so you can take steps to try and identify their triggers where possible. You also need to try and validate their ideas and empathise with them. No matter how you think or how you feel, you need to try and make sure that you help them to feel validated as well as understood. You also need to put yourself in their shoes and recognise the feelings they are going through. If you can do this, then you will soon be able to give them the help they need to navigate different situations.
Challenge Unhelpful Thinking
Another thing you can do is try and challenge unhelpful thinking. Ask your children to see if they can offer their thoughts and feelings, and take the time to work with them. If you can help them come up with more realistic thoughts, then this will help you decrease their unhelpful thoughts. You may also find that asking them questions that challenge their negative beliefs helps. Ask them if they have ever failed a test before, so you can challenge their way of thinking. Things like this allow your child to think through the evidence, and it also allows them to conclude on a more independent basis. If you can do this, then you will soon find that it is easier for you to not only get the help you need but also to make sure that you are giving them the support they need. Support like this is especially useful if your child is neurodivergent, as if they struggle with things like emotional dysregulation, then you may find that anxiety is even more prominent. If this is the case, then it may help you to look into online services. You can find online therapy and resources suited to children who have autism if you know where to look, so be sure to keep that in mind.
Deep Breathing is Key
Another thing you can do is try and practice deep breathing. Deep belly breathing is a tool that helps you to calm down, and it also helps you to refocus. On top of this, it increases the oxygen levels in the bloodstream. If you want to help your child, then tell them to put their hand on their stomach and their chest. Tell them that their goal is to try and make sure that the hand that is on their belly moves up and down, while the hand on their chest stays the same. If you can try and encourage them to do this, then you will find it easier to teach them what deep breathing is about, and you will also be able to help them calm down. If you have a young child, then telling them to smell flowers and then blow out birthday candles is a good thing to do.Break
Down Tasks
Another thing you can do is try and break down tasks. Break things down into smaller steps and make sure that you offer random rewards throughout the process. If you can do this, then you will find it easier to positively reinforce their behaviour, and you can also make sure that you are making it easier for them to visualise the results they need. Things like this can work wonders for them, so try and keep it in mind.
