Asking your kids to calm down can be difficult especially if they are experiencing mind-body complications. Majority of kids these days struggle with educational and societal demands that it contributes to a lot of pressure and growing stress. Often, technology also plays a huge part in your child’s anxiety and mental health.
Research has shown that stress does not only directly affect a child’s psychological state but the physical state as well. Some of the most common drawbacks of mind-body turmoil are upset stomach, tantrums, and headache.
To counter these adverse effects, here are some fun and effective therapies that would surely lessen your child’s stress and create stable mind and body interaction.
1. Biofeedback therapy
Mind-body therapists recommend biofeedback therapy for temperamental episodes.It is a therapy that incorporates techniques to lessen symptoms of stress and conditions that causes pain. With the use an apparatus, biofeedback therapy monitors a child’s physical reactions like the heart rate and temperature. Once the child is hooked up to the non-invasive instruments, the machine senses the body’s activities while playing or doing a task explicitly designed for biofeedback.
“Instead of just treating the symptom, therapy addresses the cause of our distress and the behavior patterns that curb our progress. ” –Chris Corbett, PsyD
The therapist will collect the data once the child acts out or loses control over a particular activity. The therapist now introduces relaxation techniques like proper breathing and will teach the child how to practice the method. So next time something challenges the child’s mental or physical state, he or she can adapt rapidly and appropriately with ease.
2. Hypnosis therapy
If you want to get rid of your child’s bad habits, mind-body therapists encourage the use of hypnosis. By tapping a child’s ability to imagine steadily, hypnosis therapy creates a calm and friendly environment for the child to visualize the different issues and mannerisms that anxiety and stress aggravate.
“Hypnosis and hypnotherapy have an extensive history as reputable methods used the therapeutic process by trained and skilled hypnotists and hypnotherapists alike.” –Ann Marie Sochia, MS, LPCA, CHT, NLP
Using children’s powerful imaginations make this kind of mind-body therapy especially useful in eliminating your kid’s unwanted habits. The therapist will first make the child relax through progressive storytelling. After which, the therapist will now involve familiar places and parts of the child’s life without losing guidance of the whole imagery. By asking the child to imagine episodes wherein he or she is not refusing to the bad habit, the therapist is gradually erasing the child’s urge to do it.
3. Cognitive behavior therapy
Is your child experiencing tension headaches or migraines now and then? Cognitive behavior therapy is favored by a lot of mind-body therapists to treat the condition. Cognitive behavior therapy is a technique that focuses mainly on the child’s emotions and thoughts which are directing to specific behaviors. Therapists examine a child’s behavior, mood, and anxiety by looking into deviated or confused patterns of thoughts.
“Cognitive behavioral therapy, often shortened to CBT, focuses on recognizing negative thought patterns and changing thoughts and behaviors and feelings through concrete skills.” –Hannah Goodman, LMHC
Cognitive behavior therapists train children that what they think may cause certain moods and feelings that will directly and immediately influence how they behave. Therapy sessions educate children in identifying various types of harmful trains of thoughts. Once these thoughts are adequately enumerated, the therapist will help the child replace their destructive thoughts by teaching them better behaviors, feelings, and thought processes.
Thoughts to ponder on
While it is beneficial to have your child undergo mind-body therapy, you should not forget that it has to be something that they should first understand and accept. Explain to your child the reason for the treatment and its benefits to his or her well-being.