3 Natural Anxiety Relief Options for Kids

Is your child displaying stress, worry, low self-esteem, or other anxiety symptoms? Your child, on the other hand, is not alone. According to research, 8.3 percent of 13–18-year-olds have a severe impairment anxiety disorder, with an average onset age of six years. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the United States, affecting a large proportion of the population.

Anxiety is a natural part of life for some people. It keeps you alert to potential threats and encourages you to be prepared. On the other hand, anxiety affects some people more frequently than others. It occurs to them daily. Anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder or phobias can make it difficult for people to go about their daily lives, affecting their work and personal lives.

Anxiety is a stressful condition, but it is treatable. Treatment helps a lot of people who are suffering from anxiety. Some people benefit from medication, while others find natural remedies effective. Natural solutions may include the following.

1.  Hypnosis

Hypnotherapy is the process of inducing a trance-like state in which the patient is actually in a higher state of awareness and is wholly focused on the therapist’s voice. The conscious mind is suppressed in this state, which allows the subconscious mind to open up. The therapist may suggest ideas, concepts, and lifestyle changes to the patient, which become planted seeds for positive change. Hypnotherapy helps people overcome irrational fears, phobias, negative thoughts, and suppressed emotions by reprogramming behavioral patterns within the mind. Breathing becomes slower and deeper, the pulse rate decreases and the metabolic rate decreases as the body is released from conscious control during hypnosis’ relaxed trance-like state. Similar changes along nervous pathways and hormonal channels reduce the awareness of unpleasant symptoms. Many psychological, emotional, and physical problems can be treated with hypnotherapy.

2.  Somatic Therapy

Somatic Therapy is a body-centered therapy with the primary goal of recognizing and releasing physical tension that may persist in the body following a traumatic event or resulting from chronic long-term anxiety. It’s one of the most preferred ways of helping kids with anxiety. During therapy sessions, the patient is usually asked to track their sensations throughout the body. Because this bottom-up approach focuses on connecting to body sensations before more profound cognitive-behavioral work can be accomplished, somatic psychotherapy differs from talk therapy. Somatic Therapy works at the deepest levels of the nervous system, helping to reset it so that a person doesn’t need to be as activated to do the therapeutic work required to relieve stress, anxiety, pain, or trauma. In somatic approach therapy sessions, children learn to become aware of and tolerate physical sensations, including an awareness of bodily sensations that signal one to become aware and in control rather than activated. Sessions create a window of tolerance through breathing techniques, voice work, and movement. This type of Therapy can offer various benefits that calm the nervous system, helping reframe and transform current or past negative experiences. It also reduces discomfort, strain, and stress while developing a heightened concentration ability.

3.  Use of Herbs (Ashwagandha)

The herb ashwagandha, also known as Withania somnifera, belongs to plants’ “adaptogen” family. Adaptogens affect the stress-response systems and hormones in the body.

Traditional Indian medicine, or Ayurvedic medicine, has long used ashwagandha. A small clinical trial will be conducted in 2019. The effectiveness of ashwagandha for stress and anxiety was investigated by Trusted Source. A total of 58 people with a high-stress level took part in the eight-week study. Each participant was assigned to three treatments: ashwagandha extract (250 mg or 600 mg per day) or a placebo. The stress hormone cortisol was lower in the ashwagandha group than in the placebo group. Additionally, the quality of their sleep improved.

Stress levels were significantly reduced in participants who took 600 mg of ashwagandha. Participants who took the lower dose of ashwagandha, on the other hand, did not experience a stress reduction.

Anxiety that feels out of control could signify an anxiety disorder. Getting proper care from a health professional is critical for a kid with an anxiety disorder. Of course, these hints can be helpful as well. However, the only way to overcome an anxiety disorder is to seek professional help.