118. Why does telling an anxious child to relax only make anxiety worse? Parent Traps Recast!
Overpowering Emotions: Tools for Child & Teen Anxiety and Resilience · Caroline Buzanko
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Show Notes
In today's episode, I continue back on the traps we fall into that inadvertently worsen children's anxiety. In today's recast, we focus on the counterintuitive concept that striving for relaxation can actually amplify anxiety.
We unpack the paradox of 'trying' to relax when anxious and why making relaxation the goal can be problematic. In this episode, I discuss how emphasizing the reduction of anxiety may reinforce negative perceptions of anxiety as intolerable and needing to be fixed. Such attitudes can lead to a fear of anxiety, setting children up to view normal anxious feelings as failures, thus perpetuating a cycle of worry and hopelessness.
Learn why controlling emotional responses, particularly in children, is not only unrealistic but can also be counterproductive. I explore strategies for managing anxiety, focusing on tolerance and understanding of anxious feelings as a normal, manageable, and integral part of the human experience.
Tune in to learn why we need to shift the focus from eliminating anxiety to empowering kids to manage and tolerate it.
I also have a FREE webinar for mental health professionals to learn more about the common mistakes we make that stall children's progress in managing anxiety. Be sure to check it out (https://koru-learning-institute.thinkific.com/courses/avoidingcommonmistakeswithanxiety) if you want to learn other ways we could be making anxiety worse.
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