Anxiety
What is Anxiety?
For most people, anxiety is a normal part of the human experience and a normal reaction to stressful situations. We all worry or feel nervous from time to time. From an evolutionary perspective, anxiety is the body's natural response to a fear or threat of danger in our environment. In essence, our mind is preparing our body for a fight-flight-freeze response, which is aimed at protecting our existence by preparing us to respond to an immanent danger, like a lion in the wilderness or a poisonous snake on our doorstep.
Sometimes, however, our mind gets overprotective and views relatively harmless encounters as threatening or dangerous. If this happens frequently and gets worse over time, it can lead to the development of an anxiety disorder. The American Psychiatric Association defines anxiety as an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes or symptoms that occur in the body (2020). There are many different anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and phobias. The National Institute of Health estimates that approximately
With anxiety comes a bunch of physiological symptoms that you might have noticed in your own body at one time of another. Every person experiences anxiety in a slightly different way. What do you notice in your body?
Symptoms of Anxiety
What happens to your Body?
Mind racing
Strange or blurry vision
Dizzy or lightheaded
Headache
Dry mouth or difficulty swallowing
Heart racing or palpitations
Feeling breathless or breathing fast and shallow
Butterflies in the tummy or nausea
Sweaty palms or cold hands
Shaking or trembling hands
Stiff legs or jelly-like legs
Sweaty feet
Seeking Help & treatment
When should you seek treatment for anxiety? If your anxiety is affecting your day-to-day life and interfering with your ability to do the things you need to do, then it may be time to seek help. A psychologist or mental health professional may be able to help you. They are trained professionals that are skilled in diagnosing and treating a range of mental health concerns, and can assist you to identify and manage the factors that contribute to your anxiety.
Mental health professionals use evidence-based treatments including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) strategies such as cognitive restructuring, problem-solving, exposure therapy, and relaxation to treat anxiety. Other treatment options include mindfulness, lifestyle changes, and medications.
Please contact your primary care physician, psychologist, or a mental health professional to discuss the best way to manage your anxiety.
Activity for home
CREATE A WORRY JAR
A worry jar is a creative and useful tool to help you or your child manage anxiety and worries. Knowing that your worries are contained somewhere can help free your mind of your worries and limit the amount of time focused on the worries. Creating a worry jar is easy! Just follow these simple steps:
Step 1: Create a worry jar = Find a glass or plastic jar to use. Have your child decorate the jar and write thier name on it.
Step 2: Write out your worries = Help your child write or draw a worry on a strip of paper. Each worry should have their own piece of paper. Fold the strips of paper, place them in the jar, and have your child close the lid of the jar.
Step 3: Schedule worry time = Set a 10-15 minute time of the day dedicated to worrying. Use a timer or alarm to indicate the start and end of worry time. During this time, your child can open the jar and looks at their worries. This is time that can be spent "worrying" either alone, or with a parent. At the end of worry time, your child places their worries back in the jar and tucks them away for the rest of the day.
anxiety VIDEOS FOR KIDS
Fight Flight Freeze
A guide to anxiety for kids.
Managing Worry
Managing anxiety and worry for kids.
Relaxation Practice
PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION (SCRIPT)
Hands & Arms
Pretend you are squeezing a whole lemon in your left hand. Squeeze it hard. Try to squeeze all the juice out. Feel the tightness in your hand and arm as you squeeze. Now drop the lemon and relax. See how much better your hand and arm feel when they are relaxed. Repeat with other hand.
Arms and Shoulders
Pretend you are a furry, lazy cat. You want to stretch. Stretch your arms out in front of you. Raise them up high over your head. Way back. Feel the pull in your shoulders. Stretch higher. Now just let your arms drop back to your side. Okay kitten, stretch again. Repeat.
Shoulders and Neck
Now pretend you are a turtle. You're sitting out on a rock by a nice, peaceful pond, just relaxing in the warm sun. It feels nice and warm and safe here. Oh-Oh! You sense danger. Pull your head into your house. Try to pull your shoulders up to your ears and push your head down into your shoulders. Hold in tight. It isn't easy to be a turtle in a shell. The danger is past now. You can come out into the warm sunshine and once again you can relax and feel the warm sunshine. Watch out now. More danger. Hurry pull your head back into your house and hold it tight. Repeat.
Jaw Muscles
You have a giant jawbreaker bubble gum in your mouth. It's very hard to chew. Bite down on it. Hard! Let your neck muscles help you. Now relax. Just let your jam hang loose. Notice how good it feels just to let your jaw drop. Okay, let's tackle that jawbreaker again now. Repeat.
Face and Nose
Here comes a pesky old fly. He has landed on your nose. Try to get him off without using your hands. That's right, wrinkle up your nose. Make as many wrinkles in your nose as you can. Scrunch your nose up real hard. Good. You've chased him away. Now you can relax your nose. Opps, here he comes back again. Repeat.
Stomach
Hey! Here comes a cute baby elephant. But he's not watching where he's going. He doesn't see you lying there in the grass, and he's about to step on your stomach. Don't move. You don't have time to get out of the way. Just get ready for him. Make your stomach very hard. Tighten up your stomach muscles real tight. Hold it. It looks like he is going the other way. You can relax now. Let your stomach go soft. Let it be as relaxed as you can. That feels so much better. Opps, he's coming this way again. Get ready. Repeat.
Legs and Feet
Now pretend that you are standing barefoot in a big, fat mud puddle. Squish your toes down deep in to the mud. Try to get your feet down to the bottom of the mud puddle. Push down, spread your toes apart, and feel the mud squish up between your toes. Now step out of the mud puddle. Relax your feet. Let your toes go loose and feel how nice that is. It feels good to be relaxed. Repeat...