Theravive

WHAT IS ANXIETY?

To understand anxiety, let’s look at fear first.  Fear is a protective mechanism and an appropriate reaction to a real danger.  Anxiety is a reaction to a perceived danger or threat and becomes a problem when magnified out of proportion.  Some of the symptoms that may be  experienced with excessive anxiety are:

• panic and fear
• sleep problems
• obsessive thoughts
  
• heart palpitations
• compulsive behaviors
• sweating

 

ANXIETY IS TAKING OVER YOUR LIFE

When anxiety is taking over your life you feel overwhelmed, helpless and out of control.  Worrying takes up more and more of your time and energy.  You know that some of your thoughts and behaviors are unreasonable, but can't stop them.  Anxiety shows itself in many ways.  You may have panic attacks, phobias, obsessive thoughts or compulsive behaviors.  Loneliness and isolation are becoming your frequent companions.  It's hard to explain and often embarrassing to tell your family and friends what you're going through and hard for them to understand.  This is not the life you want to live.     

 

YOU WONDER WHY YOU ARE SO ANXIOUS

You wonder, "Why me? Why can't I stop this?".  Self-blame comes in.....  You need to know that you are not the only one.  One out of six people experience significant symptoms of anxiety at some point in their lives.  There are several factors that can cause or increase anxiety.

 

YOU WONDER WHERE THE ANXIETY COMES FROM

There is a strong biological component to anxiety.  Often, when there is a parent who is worrying excessively about their child being anxious, that parent probably has a history of being “a worrier” too.  And if you go back another generation, one of those grandparents very likely had some “worries of their own”.  In addition to the biological sensitivity to anxiety, the environment that the child grows up in is a contributing factor to the anxiety.  When a parent is anxious, the child will absorb some of this anxiety, increasing his own.  Other stressors and traumas that one has experienced over time will contribute to the increasing anxiety.

 

HOW YOU HANDLE IT

Anxiety may be new to you, or you may have struggled with anxiety for a long time, maybe your entire life.  You try to handle it the best way you can.  Sometimes you avoid the situation or the people you are feeling uncomfortable with.  You try to live with it, live around it, sometimes just suffering through it.  Your fears take over, you keep obsessing.  You try not to worry, you know you shouldn't worry so much, but you can't seem to stop.  You've tried different ways to lessen your anxieties and decrease your stress and maybe even tried some therapies to cope with it, but with only some success.

 

WHAT NOW?

You're frustrated and wondering if there is a way out.  Is there really anything that can make a difference?....  The answer is yes.  Even if you have a biological predisposition to anxiety, have anxiety in your family, or have experienced trauma in your life, you can recover from this.  There is help for anxiety.  There are different strategies and therapies that do help....  These are several of the unique and powerful therapies that I have found to be most effective in my work in helping to reduce anxiety:

• Percussive Suggestion Technique (PSTEC)
• Meridian Tapping Therapies / EFT
• SandPlay Therapy
• Heart Rate Variability Therapy
  

 

For more information about these therapies and additional articles on anxiety, please visit my website at CounselingbytheShore.com. 

Give yourself the chance to live the life that you really want to live. 

 

 

I specialize in working with  parent and children experiencing anxiety. My goal is
to help you to decrease your anxiety and that of your child. I use innovative and
creative therapies that will help to resolve distressing feelings either of you are
experiencing. If you have any questions about this article or would like to discuss
any concerns that you have, please feel free to contact me at the phone number or
email address below.

Elaine M. Corona, MSW, LCSW
Counseling by the Shore, LLC
509 Main Street- Suite 2
Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ 07717
(732) 233-9026   
CounselingbytheShore@gmail.com
CounselingbytheShore.com
©

Percussive Suggestion Technique (PSTEC) has only recently been developed and is a unique and cutting-edge new therapy designed to neutralize any disturbing feelings in a very powerful way. PSTEC quickly decreases and often eliminates anxiety and feelings of depression and neutralizes disturbing memories. Although the painful memory will not actually be forgotten, the intensity level of the negative emotion associated with it will be significantly diminished and more often, eliminated. It will then be just that, a memory, but without the painful feelings that were attached to it.

“PSTEC is a unique 11 minute audio track which can be played to create a resolution
for almost any problem related to unwanted emotions or feelings. It is a very
efficient neutralizer of any problem feelings or emotions.”
- Tim Phizackerly, Creator of PSTEC

PSTEC incorporates different aspects of hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming
and eye movement therapy. One of the primary reasons that PSTEC is so effective is
that it is able to bypass the critical factor (the resistant mechanism) of the conscious
mind and gain direct access to the subconscious mind where memories are stored.

PSTEC is helpful in resolving issues of:

• sadness and depression
• stress
• fears and phobias
• anger and resentment
• issues of confidence
• addictions
• worries and anxieties
• panic attacks
• obsessions
• relationship issues
• eating disorders
• migraine headaches

PSTEC is now being used to help people stop smoking, conquer bulimia nervosa, lose
weight and resolve issues of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PSTEC is very
effective in diminishing negative emotions but it can also help to replace the negative
feelings that have been cleared with positive feelings about self, and to help one
succeed in areas that they may have struggled with up until now.

When using the basic PSTEC system, the client identifies a disturbing memory related to
either a past event, a present upset, or a future event. They then listen to the audio
while tapping along with the audio “click tracks” and performing a series of eye
movements, all while focusing on the memory and the feelings attached to it.
Amazingly, the intensity of the feelings associated with the memory will most often be
significantly decreased, and frequently the distressing feeling is completely eliminated.

Following are just a few comments made by some of my clients after using PSTEC for
just one session:

● "Oh my gosh, I can barely remember that night now! It seems so
insignificant, it's just not important anymore!"

● "When the problem comes into my mind, I don't go into the usual terror; it's
more like the thought comes into my mind, and then it just leaves.”

● “I was really upset about an upcoming event and after just two rounds of
PSTEC, I just don’t care, it just doesn’t seem important anymore!

● The obsessive thoughts just aren't coming into my mind anymore, they're
just gone!"

PSTEC was created very recently and even in this short period of time has helped many
people to be released from the pain of the past, the struggles of the every day, and the
fears of the future. PSTEC is an amazing new therapy; it is simple to do, works very
quickly, works on many issues, and gets great results; definitely worth trying!

If you would like further information or would like to get a free PSTEC audio download
please visit my website at CounselingbytheShore.com.

I specialize in working with  parent and children experiencing anxiety. My goal is
to help you to decrease your anxiety and that of your child. I use innovative and
creative therapies that will help to resolve distressing feelings either of you are
experiencing. If you have any questions about this article or would like to discuss
any concerns that you have, please feel free to contact me at the phone number or
email address below.

Elaine M. Corona, MSW, LCSW
Counseling by the Shore, LLC
509 Main Street- Suite 2
Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ 07717
(732) 233-9026
CounselingbytheShore@gmail.com
CounselingbytheShore.com
©

 

If your child experiences and suffers with anxiety, it is not only hard for them, but

hard for you too. Seeing pain in our children brings us pain too. Anxiety disorders

are fairly common during childhood, affecting approximately 1 out of every 8 children.

Developmentally appropriate anxiety usually has little or no effect on your child's ability

to function in daily life but higher levels may cause difficulty with school, friends, and

family.

Anxiety is a reaction to a perceived danger or threat. Children have both a lack of

experience in life and an incomplete ability to reason logically. Therefore, they are

often unable to judge the likelihood of a frightening event and may perceive them as

more dangerous than they actually are.

Some of the symptoms that are experienced and behaviors you may see with excessive

anxiety are:

● phobias and feelings of panic and fear (e.g. fears of bugs, germs, and social

situations; school phobia, test-anxiety)

● compulsive behaviors / obsessive thoughts (e.g. excessive hand-washing, hairpulling,

compulsive counting, worrying and asking about the same thing over and

over)

● physical symptoms (cold or sweaty hands or feet, racing heart, sleep problems,

stomachaches)

When your child’s anxiety starts to interfere with their daily functioning or is causing

them distress, then it’s time to find a way to help them. There are a number of

strategies, techniques and therapies that may help your child. Meridian Tapping

Techniques (MTT), relaxation techniques, Mindfulness, Percussive Suggestion

Technique (PSTEC), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), physical exercise and

nutritional / homeopathic therapies are just some of them.

The technique that I would like to focus on is called the Meridian Tapping Technique

or MTT. You may also hear MTT referred to as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).

All the Meridian Tapping Techniques involve putting pressure on acupuncture points

(meridians) on our bodies while focusing on the disturbing emotion or thoughts. Often,

this releases blocked energy and decreases feelings of anxiety in just a short period

of time. "The cause of all negative emotions is a disruption in the body's energy

system.....” (Gary Craig). Meridian Tapping stimulates the body’s energy system,

allowing painful emotions to be released. “Tapping” works similarly to acupuncture, but

without the needles!

Meridian Tapping is very easy to learn and simple to use which is why it is especially

suited to children. Once the child has been taught what the “tapping points” are,

they are asked to rate the intensity of their feelings of anxiety (or anger or sadness,

etc.). Then they “tap” on the points while repeating a statement about the issue that is

bothering them. Afterwards, they rate their intensity level and more often than not, it

has gone down and sometimes the worry or “bother” has even disappeared. Many case

examples demonstrate the incredible healing power of “tapping”.

To illustrate this, let me tell you about a child I worked with who had a severe case of

hair-pulling (trichotillomania)...not only had she pulled all of her eyelashes out, but the

hair from her eyebrows as well. She was a beautiful girl, but was suffering. She was

doing something she did not want to do (pulling out her hair) but couldn’t stop herself.

She learned about “tapping” in therapy and was able to stop the pulling completely

within a short period of time and now has the most beautiful eyelashes and eyebrows

you could ask for. But even more importantly, she is not suffering from the compulsion

to pull or the fear of social rejection anymore.

There are many more examples of this wonderful technique and it is well worth further

investigation. If you would like to find out more information and view some videos

about MTT you can go to my website at www.counselingbytheshore.com. I hope this information has

been helpful and “happy tapping”!

I specialize in working with children and parents experiencing anxiety. My goal is

to help you to decrease your anxiety and that of your child. I use innovative and

creative therapies that will help to resolve distressing feelings either of you are

experiencing. If you have any questions about this article or would like to discuss

any concerns that you have, please feel free to contact me at the phone number or

email address below.

Elaine M. Corona, MSW, LCSW

Counseling by the Shore, LLC

509 Main Street- Suite 2

Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ 07717

(732) 233-9026

counselingbytheshore@gmail.com

counselingbytheshore.com

©

We all love our children so much and when we see them anxious we worry. Anxiety disorders are fairly common during childhood, affecting approximately 1 out of every 8 children. But in addition to abnormal anxiety (in which fears are irrational and magnified), some types of anxiety are developmentally appropriate (such as separation anxiety in a 1-yr-old child). Even so, any kind of anxiety can be upsetting for you and your child. A relatively low level of anxiety usually has little or no effect on your child's ability to function in daily life, but higher levels may cause difficulty with school, friends, and family.

What is anxiety?
To understand anxiety, let’s look at fear first. Fear is a protective mechanism and part of normal development, it’s an appropriate reaction to a real danger. Anxiety is a reaction to a perceived danger or threat and becomes a problem when magnified to the extreme. Some of the symptoms that are experienced with excessive anxiety are:

• feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness
• uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
• compulsive behavior
• sleep problems
• cold or sweaty hands or feet
• racing heart

Developmentally Appropriate Anxiety
Developmentally appropriate anxiety includes any anxiety that relates to a fear common to developing children of the same age.

• Infants and toddlers: fears such as separating from the parent, fear of strangers, being in the dark and hearing loud noises
• Preschoolers: fears of imaginary entities such as ghosts and monsters, sleeping alone, and weather events such as thunder and lightning
• Elementary school-aged children: realistic fears about natural disasters, animals, burglars, physical injury, and worries about academic performance
• Middle school-aged children: concerns about social comparison and acceptance by their peers, and concerns about academic and athletic performance
• High school teenagers: continued concerns about social acceptance, academic and athletic performance, and worries about larger world issues and the future

Developmentally appropriate anxiety usually does not require intervention by a doctor or counselor, unless it becomes severe enough that it interferes with your child's functioning.

Abnormal Anxiety
Abnormal anxiety results from irrational fears or rational fears that have been magnified to appear much more dangerous than they really are. Some examples are:

• excessive concern about germs
• severe test anxiety resulting in physical symptoms
• fear of monsters
• fear of flying insects
• school phobia
• fear of and avoidance of social interactions

Children have both a lack of experience in life and an incomplete ability to reason logically. Therefore, they are often unable to accurately assess the likelihood of a frightening event.

Different Forms that Anxiety Can Take

• Generalized Anxiety- excessive uncontrollable worry in most areas of life

• Separation Anxiety- worry about separating from parent, fearful something will happen

• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder- unwanted thoughts or impulses, repetitive behavior
• Phobias- anxiety about specific object or event
• Panic Attacks- sudden surges of severe anxiety symptoms, fear of fainting, having a heart attack, dying, losing control, going crazy
• Social Anxiety- consistent fear of social situations or of performance
• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder- exposure to a traumatic event, resulting in  intrusive thoughts about event, flashbacks, nightmares

How Anxiety is Manifested in Adults and Children
Adults have greater insight into themselves, so are more likely to be able to name their feelings and discuss them. Symptoms often seen in adults include:

• obsessions and compulsions
• restlessness and sleep disturbances (insomnia, difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep)

• physical symptoms (headache, stomachache, nausea, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, a “choking” feeling, difficulty breathing)

Children are more limited in their ability to cope verbally and may experience:

• irritability, anger and tantrums
• frequent crying
• many physical problems also
• sleep disturbances such as nightmares and night terrors.

Causes

• anxiety in caretakers
• inability to express feelings even while sensing caretaker’s emotional upset
• repeated exposure to high levels of stress
• traumatic events such as tornadoes, earthquakes, floods, and house fires
• other kinds of trauma such as abuse or neglect causing hyper-vigilance
• repetitive thoughts about traumatic events leading to chronic anxiety or compulsions
• family history of anxiety
• allergies or food intolerances
• no apparent cause
  

Treatments
Treatment for most anxiety disorders generally involves one or more types of therapy.

• Meridian Tapping Technique (MTT)- tapping on accupuncture points (meridians) while focusing on the disturbing emotion or thoughts which releases blocked energy and decreases feelings of anxiety in just a short period of time (works very well with children)
• Relaxation Techniques- slow deep breathing, visualization, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness meditation, yoga, Qi Gong, Tai Chi, massage therapy
• Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)- identifying self-defeating thoughts and learning to replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk
• Percussive Suggestion Technique (PSTEC)- audio therapy that includes tapping sequences, with a rapid desensitization to the feared events or objects; can significantly reduce anxiety

• Exposure Therapy- gradual exposure to uncomfortable situation or objects
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)- helping child to take responsibility for their own feelings
• Adaptive Coping Techniques- helps child gain confidence that he can handle a new situation
• Accepting and Commitment Therapy- teaches child to live in the present and to accept thoughts and feelings with mindfulness instead of judgement
• Physical exercise- boosts mood, stimulates anti-anxiety effects by decreasing adrenaline (“fight or flight” chemicals) and increasing endorphins (“feel good” chemicals)
• Nutritional supplementation/herbal and homeopathic remedies- can often decrease anxiety and improve mood
• Allergy testing and treatment- ruling out, and if needed, removing aggravating factors
• Anti-anxiety medication- may be beneficial when used short-term with other therapies
  

Helping Your Anxious Child
As a parent, you want to do everything you can to help your child recover from his or her anxiety. You may feel your own anxiety about the situation, even if you were not anxious before. The first best action you can take to help your child is to deal with your own anxiety.  As indicated earlier, children can “pick up” anxious feelings from parents and other caregivers. If you learn more and better ways to cope with your own anxiety, then you can set an example by using coping techniques and you will also keep from transmitting your own negative feelings to your child. Getting help for your anxiety first will make it much more likely that your child's level of anxiety will decrease.

Other Ways You Can Help

• Validate your child's feelings– “It's okay to feel bad sometimes.”
• Refrain from saying things such as “Don't be scared” which do not acknowledge your child's feelings.
• Don’t over-schedule your child.
• Limit the number of activities and make sure your child has some free time, in addition to a good night's sleep.
• Give your child a little extra comfort.
• Routines will help your child to know what to expect; a chaotic home is stressful to you and your child.
• Listen if your child wants to talk, but don't pressure.
• Reassure your child that you are there whenever he or she needs you.
• Let your child know that you have confidence in them.
• Physical health is important. This can be achieved by plenty of sleep, healthy eating, and exercise to distract and lift your child's spirits.

                                            
By obtaining therapy for yourself, then following the tips above, you will help yourself and your child to experience less stress and anxiety. This will result in a healthier mind and body and a happier life for both you and your child!

.   .   .   .   .   .

I specialize in working with children and parents experiencing anxiety. My goal is to help you to decrease your anxiety and that of your child. I use innovative and creative therapies that will help to resolve distressing feelings either of you are experiencing. If you have any questions about this article or would like to discuss any concerns that you have, please feel free to contact me at the phone number or email address below.

     

                                                                        Elaine M. Corona, MSW, LCSW 

Counseling by the Shore, LLC  

509 Main Street - Suite 2                          

Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ 07717                     

(732) 233-9026

                                    counselingbytheshore@gmail.com

                                    counselingbytheshore.com

 

©

 

Are you a worrier?  Is your child a worrier too?  Watching our children go through what we experience as anxiety is so hard and we can’t help but worry!  When we have an extra dose of anxiety of our own, this worry is sometimes hard to control.  So often, when there is a parent who is worrying excessively about their child being anxious, that parent probably has a history of being “a worrier” too.  And if you go back another generation, one of those grandparents very likely had some “worries of their own”.  So, on and on it goes.

There are a couple of factors that are probably involved in perpetuating this family trait.  There can be a biological predisposition to anxiety, just as there is to depression, diabetes, addiction and other disorders.  When you couple this with a parent who also has anxiety, the problem is compounded.  We are all sensitive to the people around us and to their emotions, whether those feelings are verbalized or not.  Children are especially sensitive and often intuitively know how their parent is feeling, even if their parent doesn’t say a word. 

So now we have a sensitive child who is predisposed to anxiety and a parent whose anxiety sometimes “spills out” onto their child.  The parent worrying about their child reinforces the child’s anxiety and a vicious cycle begins.  The child is worried already and realizes that his parent is worried too.  The child interprets this as “there must be something to worry about if Mom or Dad is worried too”, and the worry builds. 

So what is a parent to do?  The first thing that a parent really needs to do is to take care of their own anxiety.  There are many different strategies that a parent can use to decrease their anxiety and different techniques and therapies that can help.  At the same time, the child can be taught strategies of their own to decrease their “worries” and parents can “brainstorm” with their child about ways to handle stressful situations.

If your family is the “anxious type”, you don’t have to just continue to worry; there are steps you can take to decrease your own anxiety and that of your child, and start to break the “cycle of worrying”.

 

I specialize in working with children and parents experiencing anxiety.  My goal is to help you to decrease your anxiety and that of your child.  If you have any questions about this article or would like to discuss any concerns that you have, please feel free to contact me at the phone number or email address below.  I have a private practice on the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County and I offer the option of in-office or phone sessions.

 

Elaine M. Corona, MSW, LCSW       

Counseling by the Shore, LLC       

509 Main Street - Suite 2

Avon-by-the-Sea, NJ 07717

(732) 233-9026

counselingbytheshore.com

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