“What if I have no friends to sit with at lunch?”
“What if I have no friends to sit with at lunch?”
“What if I have no friends to sit with at lunch?”
One anxious thought can repeat in the mind like a vicious broken record. Are you familiar with this phenomenon?
If you’re a parent of an anxious child, you might even hear this thought repeated out loud. What can you do to help? When nothing in your verbal toolbox seems to break the cycle of repetitive anxious thoughts, try the power of physical touch. A hug can actually activate the parasympathetic nervous system and soothe a child’s chattering mind.
But what if you are not around to give your child a hug when he or she needs it? Believe it or not, self-soothing touch can have powerful calming effects. Here are 11 techniques to teach your child:
1. Cradle your face with your hands
2. Gently pat or stroke one arm with the opposite hand
3. Rub one of your ear lobes
4. Cross your arms and squeeze (give yourself a hug)
5. Place one hand on your chest over your heart
6. Place one hand in a fist over your heart, place the other hand over your fist
7. Place one hand on your tummy
8. Hold your own hand
9. Rub the space between your thumb and index finger
10. Place one hand on your heart and the other hand on your tummy
11. Place one hand on your cheek
By Renee Jain, MAPP
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