The Dragon of Anxiety: Friendship Exercises for Children

The child must identify with the help of the parents the problem of anxiety and overcome it, with the support of loved ones. But he must overcome it, no one can do it for him. For a parent it is painful to see his child suffering from anxiety and to think that he cannot do anything. But, in fact, you can do so much. In addition to accepting the problem and identifying it, in addition to calling a specialist, you can also try the methods below.

Natural treatment for anxiety in children

When we say naturist, you automatically think of nature, teas, plants. But naturist means more than that, it means avoiding medication and resorting to methods that go directly to human nature and to non-invasive and fun methods for the child.

Mindfulness

No, it is not difficult at all to help your child relax. Children can do yoga. They can do mental exercises and meditations that can help them face their Dragon, because anxiety induces a constant state of tension. Through relaxation techniques you help them eliminate this tension. Here are some examples of such activities:

Playing with stones or colored balls;
Bubble bath;
Counting with eyes closed;
Lying face up on the floor, with eyes closed, you tell him to imagine something he enjoys and to describe that something;
Soap bubbles;
Playing with soft, pleasant-to-the-touch toys;
Lego game;
Walking and counting various objects as well while walking: trees, red cars, white stones, etc.
Inversion technique: relaxation positions where the head is lower than the level of the heart and held for a few seconds several times, for 5-10 minutes. Any position he likes and is fun for him.

The jar of emotions

Children have difficulty identifying themselves emotions. And from here, most of the time, anxieties are created or accentuated. We must help them understand them better, identify them and learn how to confront them correctly. Face your Dragon, we would tell them. But first, let's find it. Find a large, transparent jar, preferably unbreakable. Place various small objects next to it, glass, crystal, fluff, plush balls, pebbles, figurines, small objects of different shapes, colors and textures. Many, as many and as diverse as possible. And let's take the identification of emotions literally. What would anger look like? Or shame? Or frustration? Envy? Joy? Curiosity? Sadness? Would joy be like a pink fluffy ball? And fear be a little black dragon? And after choosing what each emotion looks like, you can organize exercises to identify emotions through case studies: You meet a friend who has the exact toy you wanted. And he laughs at you because you don't have it and he does. What emotions do you put in the jar? Moreover, during the day, as the child identifies an emotion, he can add it to the jar and at the end of the day you can then discuss what prompted him to put that emotion in the jar. By helping him identify his emotions, you help him overcome his anxiety, better understanding not only you, but also him what is happening with his emotions.

Abdominal breathing technique

Oxygenation of the brain is extremely important for the child's well-being and especially for fighting anxiety. And abdominal breathing is part of this process. To teach your child to breathe like this, try this rhyme game. Have him sit in a yoga position, put one hand on his chest and one on his belly. And then have him say the verses below or have him say them to you. And when he says the last verse, let him breathe as many times as he says in the verse, engaging his belly in the breath, like a tandem, a game between the lungs and the abdomen.

Therefore, anxiety must be faced to be cured. Basically, as we see the Dragon of Anxiety, we must face it. Not run away from it. We must always explain this to the child and support him to be brave and overcome that moment of confronting imaginary fear. Aquatic education is the best exercise for training courage. We will find out in the next episode how!

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