Parent workshop about Anxiety in teens from CAMHS Inreach
Parent workshop about Anxiety in teens from CAMHS Inreach
This is a copy of the presentation by the CAMHS Inreach team on how to support your teen with general anxieties, such as social situations or school work.
it is to help parents to be able to help their child learn how to recognise and then manage their emotions so that these do not overwhelm them.
This
week we will be talking with the students about how to manage their emotions.
Sometimes
we can experience strong emotions which can make us feel overwhelmed.
Experiencing
emotions is all part of being human; it’s the way we manage the difficult ones
that can have a huge impact on how we feel.
Here are three techniques that students can try when they start to feel a bit worried or stressed about something and this should help them to regulate and then manage these feelings
Technique 1: Box Breathing
Box breathing is a technique lots of people use
to reduce feelings of anxiousness.
It can help to calm our thoughts and clear our minds in
stressful situations such as tests, difficult conversations or trying new
things which scare us.
Here is a video that shows you how to do it
Technique 2: Exploring Worries
Step 1: What is something you are worried about?
When you
are worried about something, it’s easy to imagine the worst thing that could
possibly happen. In reality, these worries may never come true.
Step 2: What
could happen isn’t the same as what will happen.
Thinking
about what will happen, instead of what could happen, can help
you worry less. Whenever you start to worry, answer these questions:
What are some clues that your
worry will not come true?
If your worry does not come
true, what will probably happen instead?
If your worry does come
true, how will you handle it? Will you eventually be okay?
After answering these
questions, how has your worry changed?
The technique includes acknowledging and not dismissing the worry, and then getting into perspective, so that the worry is no longer overwhelming, even if it is still present
Technique 3: settling thoughts
Sometimes we need to distract our mind from
thoughts which are keeping our mind busy.
On a piece of A4 paper, draw
five different shapes of your choice.
Next, draw five more shapes
which overlap with the shapes you have drawn to make new shapes.
Finally, colour your shapes.
You can do this at a pace that helps you feel settled. You don’t need to
colour it all in, maybe you’d rather add patterns or leave parts empty.
While colouring, notice what
happens to your thoughts.
•the ability of the brain to form
and reorganise neural connections, especially in response to learning or
experience
•Our brain repeats patterns of
neural connections until “trained” to do it differently, or an experience
changes it
•Every time we avoid a situation
that causes us stress the brain says, “let’s avoid that again”. This makes you more anxious about it so that
you will remember to avoid it next time It rewires the neural pathways, making
you MORE anxious.
•Avoidance feeds anxiety
What is mindfulness?
1. the quality or state of being
conscious or aware of something:
2. a mental state achieved by
focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and
accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a
therapeutic technique.
What does mindfulness mean to me?
It
means training your brain to
Concentrate
Keep
attention
You
do this by becoming aware of / noticing your body and senses and thoughts for
about 10 minutes a day
Breathing
techniques
1.Just become aware of your
breathing. Focus on it, if your mind wanders, bring it back to focus on your
breathing
2.Box Breathing (last week’s ppt)
3.Belly buddies –get a small cuddly
toy. Lie down. Put it on your belly, watch your belly move up and down with
your breathing. If your mind wanders, re focus it back onto your cuddly toy
Doing
this for 5-10 minutes a day is really good for you
Mindfulness
practice reduces the size of the amygdala and stops it sending out “panic” or
avoidance “messages”. Your brain makes stronger neural pathways to the frontal
cortex – emotional regulation
Mindfulness
practice won’t stop you feeling anxiousness or worry, but it will mean you can
redirect your thoughts and manage these feelings better
Other ways to be mindful
1.Spend time in nature – notice it
– the colours or smells or sounds