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 If your child experiences andsuffers 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

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