Ask the therapists: COVID outbreak anxiety
With the recent second wave of COVID, my child has become paranoid and terrified about going to school. He has anxiety to begin with and this is pushing his limits. He’s exhausted and moody all the time. What makes it worse is that some people aren’t taking this seriously and doing risky things. Should I keep my son home and let him stay in his room until this whole thing is over or what?
Jenny
Given your son is wrought with anxiety day in day out, I can imagine that keeping him home from school certainly has its appeal. But if we can bolster his inner ninja, he might be able to stay in school and stay healthy at the same time. We all know that chronic stress is a killer, regardless of age and we’re rounding the corner on a full year of this COVID madness.
With prolonged stress, comes many health hazards, one main one being adrenal exhaustion, which occurs when we face unrelenting stress without adequate recovery time. Sounds like your son might be experiencing this type of deep fatigue. When activated, adrenal hormones promote bodily processes that consume our energy and break down our cells. If the adrenal glands are activated over and over again, as they are in chronic stress, your energy and immunity become depleted. So, let’s nourish your son’s adrenal glands to better equip him for handling the challenges of school life right now.
What’s my go-to response for any mental health issue? You know me so well – the breath. Most of us breathe in dysfunctional ways at the best of times, breathing shallowly, rapidly and erratically. Taking a few deep, full, slow breaths can change our mindset, our muscle tone and even our mood. Encourage him to practice breathing at a time when he’s feeling safe, so he has that tool in his toolbox when anxiety strikes. Breathing not only helps to calm our emotions, it decreases the stress response in the body, in turn lightening the demand on the adrenal glands.
Our Yoga in Schools movement is infiltrating schools across Canada because it’s helping children to feel strong, relaxed and happy in their bodies. With regards to adrenal fatigue, yoga offers the body and mind much needed recovery time and rest. It also helps us face stressful circumstances with more grace and less worry.
The goal here is to turn off the adrenal hormones and promote the secretion of growth hormones, which are released during deep rest. To ensure a good night sleep, make sure he avoids caffeine at night and encourage a calming sleep routine, free of electronics. Legs up the wall pose is one of the best for inducing a relaxation response so he could try that pose just before bed. This posture helps to calm the heart, slow brain activity, and reduce stress hormones.
The final suggestion I have for calming his adrenals is to consider the food he’s munching on. Starchy, high sugary meals can lead to adrenal fatigue, because they cause a yo yo effect on his organs. When we consume simple carbohydrates, the adrenals have to pump out cortisol, the main hormone released when we are under extreme stress. If your child is already experiencing anxiety, high sugar foods can worsen his mood swings, deplete his energy, and impair his ability to self-regulate. Support for your sons hard-working adrenal glands can be found in whole foods, healthy fats and clean protein. Snacks like trail mix with nuts and seeds (pumpkin seeds are perfect), cookies with hidden greens in them, and smoothies are all great choices.
Stay safe and keep the faith!
Blair
While Jenny has focused on helping your son deal with the stress of the unknown by boosting his system, I will focus on the mental workout he can do to bolster his inner resources.
The more we practice an emotion, the more deeply embedded it becomes in our nervous system, making it harder to reverse or change. If your son is reinforcing this pattern of anxiety day in day out, he runs the risk of it lingering for a lifetime. Studies are showing that it takes about 10,000 repetitions to change the wiring in the brain, so he’s got to be diligent with these practices and make them a regular part of his daily rituals. When his emotions are activated, it’s important that he follow Jenny’s guidance on the breath to pull him out of the pattern and eventually break the anxiety cycle.
Truth is always a great way of putting things into perspective, especially for the anxiety-inclined mind that likes to blow up situations. We’ve been keeping our children up to date on the evidence-based research regarding COVID, including the best practices for avoiding the virus. Yes, this is a tough situation, but masks and social distance are proving to be our best defense.
Both of our children have no qualms about asking people to step back to six feet or to put their masks on. It’s important to sit down with your son and create scripted responses for people who may be taking this more lightly than you. Some of these phrases might be “Hey guys, let’s follow Dr. Strang’s guidelines and keep our distance” or “Would you mind putting your mask over your nose, as I have people in my life with health issues and I want to protect them.” You can add your own to these examples of how to set boundaries and honor your needs without sounding like a jerk.
It’s also important to recognize that other people do have the freedom of not wearing a mask in their own homes when your son is visiting someone. If this is difficult for him, he can make other arrangements, such as meeting a friend outside to hang out. If he notices people at school are not abiding by the rules, encourage him to advocate for himself by consulting with administration to share his concerns.
It’s okay to have different beliefs and views around the dangers of COVID, what’s key is that we all practice respect for other people’s needs and safety. I hope the people in your son’s circle can honor his boundaries and do their part to protect everyone.
Have a question for Jenny and Blair? Send all inquiries to info@BreathingSpaceYogaStudio.ca