Senior Years and Wellbeing 

Wellbeing Report

This week, my focus will be on practical strategies to help calm a young person who is feeling anxious.  The author of the article suggests that telling children to “calm down” or to “get over it” when they are feeling anxious is in no way helpful; rather, she offers small ideas that can be beneficial for students from ELC up to Year 12.

10 Surprising Ways to Calm an Anxious Child

Ever been at a loss as to how to help your child when he/she is worried or anxious?

For example:

• A child arrives at a birthday party excited but becomes too worried to walk through the door
• A child refuses to get out of the car when he/she doesn’t know anyone at a new activity or event
• A child feels nauseous about performing on stage, trying out for activities, or taking a test

It may seem like nothing you say or do helps. 

When kids are anxious, they often experience a fight, flight, or freeze response, which is a physiological reaction in response to something they perceive as scary. The body's sympathetic nervous system is activated, triggering the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline, which increases heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate. After the threat is gone, it takes 20-60 minutes for the body to return to normal levels. Some kids experience anxiety more than others. Anxious kids may scream, shake, run away, be especially quiet, act silly, hide, cling, have tantrums, or act out to avoid a stressful environment or event. 

10 strategies to calm an anxious young person

1. Stimulate the Vagus Nerve

Stimulating your child’s vagus nerve (located on both sides of the voice box) can interrupt fight or flight mode and send a signal to his/her brain that “he/she is not under attack”. 

Ways to stimulate the vagus nerve include:

• Chew a lolly/mint
• Sing or hum
• Gargle water 

2. Breathe

When kids are anxious, they tend to take rapid, shallow breaths that come directly from the chest. Taking slower, deeper breaths (from the abdomen or diaphragm) can relax them. 

Try having kids:

• Blow bubbles
• Slowly blow out “candles” on your fingertips 
• Imagine that with each breath she takes in, her body becomes filled slowly with a soothing colour, aroma, sound, light, or warmth

3. Cross the Midline

Crossing the midline, or moving one's hands, feet, and eyes across and to the other side of the body can help reset the brain. Research suggests that when you move your arms or legs across the centre of your body, the brain hemispheres are activated and work together so you can think with both logic and emotion. 

Try:

• Cross marches, child marches in place while touching their opposite knee (right arm touch left knee) 
• Windmills, have your child reach out to the side with their arms straight; then pretend that they are a windmill by moving their arms in a circle while crossing across the middle of their body 

4. Heavy Work

Heavy work activities (any activities that push or pull against the body) provide input to a child's muscles and joints, increase a child's focus and attention, and centre a child.

Doing pushups, carrying a backpack, pushing a vacuum, climbing a tree, carrying a pile of books or stacking wood can help kids calm and regulate their emotions.

5. Name It

When kids are in fight or flight mode, their emotions are raging and they have lost touch with their upstairs brain.  Parents can help kids “name it to tame it” by assisting them in telling the story about what’s upsetting them.  By talking, kids will use their left brain to make sense of their experience and feel more in control.

6. Narrow Focus

Use guided imagery/visualisation by asking kids (when the