Are you wondering how to help your child with his or her anxiety? It’s very common for kids to struggle with anxiety, which can be due to social situations, exposure to new situations such as schools or camps, or changes at home (when a new baby is due or a partner leaves the home). Other children seem to exhibit a baseline of anxiety most of the time, evident through sweating, trembling, picking at clothing or at skin, having headaches or stomachaches, crying, showing restlessness or agitation, or having emotional outbursts.
Are you at your wits’ end trying to figure out how to soothe your child?
The good news is that Chinese medicine is a wonderful tool for treating childhood anxiety.
Acupuncture practitioners understand that children’s nervous systems can get stuck in alarm mode, becoming overly vigilant in a manner that is not beneficial for the child. This can happen at any age, from very young children (ages 1-2) through teenage years. Acupressure, Chinese massage, ac
upuncture, and herbal medicine are all tools that can help to relax and reset the nervous system so that your child feels less anxiety and exhibits fewer difficult behaviors.
I recently worked with nine-year-old Ceci, a sweet and earnest girl and a strong athlete. Her mother called me because Ceci was having irrational fears such as the chandelier falling down on the kitchen table. Ceci came in and it was clear from feeling her pulse that, although overall she was quite healthy, her nervous system was stuck in “fight or flight” mode. I asked her if in addition to having fears, she felt anxious or nervous frequently, and she said yes. After just a single treatment, she and her mother both noticed that she was much calmer. The fears abated and she was more able to go to her activities feeling calm and confident. Her mother will bring her in for a few more treatments to ensure that her body stays properly in balance.
While treatment doesn’t always work fully after just one session, most children experience a feeling of calm after the acupressure/acupuncture session, and within a few or several treatments will feel much more in control of their emotions and less prone to anxiety.
If you’re curious about how an acupuncturist can help your child to manage anxiety, please give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you!
