Anxiety in the Body

by Leigha Randolph

Anxiety is trending in children, teenagers, and adults rapidly like wildfire. With the increase in our use of technology and easy access to media, our anxiety continues to increase. As a school counselor, I have noticed that students often visit my office when doctors and nurses are unable to find anything medically wrong with them.

As someone that has struggled with anxiety myself, I quickly learned these signs and symptoms at a young age. Anxiety can include flu-like symptoms involving stomachache, headache, muscle pain, nausea, and fatigue. I remember feeling these symptoms on test days, peer disputes, family arguments, and various other life events.

Strategies that I share with my own children and the children that I service are the following. Firstly, breathing techniques including inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Secondly, movement including walking, running, or dancing. Thirdly, music including Binaural Beats and calming songs such as songs by Bob Marley or other various artists. Lastly, encouraging them to talk to a trusted adult or friend. The simple act of talking about the thing that is making the child anxious can completely release it altogether.

If anxiety becomes overwhelmingly too much for a child to bear, I highly recommend making an appointment with a mental health professional and your child’s family physician. An additional resource that you might find helpful in reading is, “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt. This book shares the latest research on anxiety pertaining to our youth and healthy neurodevelopment.

Living with anxiety is like living in a constant state of fight or flight. Thankfully, we have many resources at our fingers that can help us transform our anxiety into peace.

Love and Light,

Leigha