While some level of anxiety is normal in children, excessive anxiety can interfere with a child’s daily activities or quality of life. There are several apps available that can help children manage their anxiety. It can provide children with tools and strategies to help them identify, challenge, and reframe negative thoughts, as well as develop emotional intelligence and mindfulness. Here are 5 helpful apps to help support an anxious child: 1. Headspace for Kids: Headspace is a popular mindfulness app that offers a special section for kids. This app provides a range of guided meditations, breathing exercises, and visualizations that are designed to help children manage their anxiety and stress. 2. Stop, Breathe & Think Kids: This app uses fun and engaging activities to help children develop emotional intelligence and mindfulness. It includes a range of guided meditations, breathing exercises, and mindful activities that can help children manage anxiety and improve their overall well-being. 3. Worry Box: Worry Box is a cognitive-behavioural therapy app designed to help children cope with worry and anxiety. The app offers a range of tools and strategies to help children identify, challenge, and reframe negative thoughts. 4. Smiling Mind: Smiling Mind is a mindfulness app designed specifically for children and adolescents. The app offers guided meditations and mindfulness exercises that are tailored to the age and developmental stage of the user. 5. Calm. This app is a popular meditation and relaxation app that offers a range of guided meditations and breathing exercises that can help children manage anxiety and stress. The app also offers sleep stories and other relaxation techniques that can help children calm down and relax before bed. It is important to note that while these apps can be helpful, they should not be used as a replacement for professional help. If a child’s anxiety is severe or interferes with daily activities, it is important to seek professional support from a mental health professional. One of the most powerful tools we have for calming our nervous system is something we are doing every day and, mostly, don't even notice.
Our breathing rate is inextricably linked to our autonomic nervous system - shallow, rapid breaths where we unconsciously focus on the inhale is linked to the fight, flight or freeze response or the sympathetic nervous system and long, deep breaths are associated with relax, rest digest response or parasympathetic nervous system. Fight, flight or freeze is an emergency response and is very useful when we are in danger. In fact, it is a necessary protective response to fear. However, when we live in this state for an indefinite time, we experience this as anxiety and anxiety not only impacts on our capacity to think, learn, organise ourselves and remember, it has long term effects on our health. The Breathing App helps you reconnect with your breath, slow down your breath and hack your autonomic nervous system. You can switch your nervous system from fight, flight or freeze to relax, rest and digest in a few breaths. In addition, you can set the frequency and length of breathing practice to suit your lifestyle, and most importantly, the app brings awareness to the power of your breath. And there are plenty of breathing apps available, so if this one doesn’t work for you, keep trying until you find one that does. Your breath is always with you, it is free and can be your ticket to a peaceful mind and a healthy body. Three long sighs is all you need to start your journey to relax, rest and digest. You can download the breathing app from the Apple store or Google play here: |
Categories
All
|