Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch
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By: Rachel Fowler, MS, LPC Everyone, including children, have habits that make anxiety worse—for example, staying up late one night to finish a movie or skipping a meal because we lost track of time in the day. Those examples might have little to no effect at first, but once they become habits, they have significant […]
Everyone, including children, have habits that make anxiety worse—for example, staying up late one night to finish a movie or skipping a meal because we lost track of time in the day. Those examples might have little to no effect at first, but once they become habits, they have significant consequences on your body. Unhealthy habits can increase stress levels in the body and cause chemical imbalances making anxiety worsen. Anxiety can quickly spiral out of control for anyone, especially in children, when paired with unhealthy habits.
Anxiety can present itself in multiple ways in children. Each child’s experience with anxiety is different, and so are the symptoms. Anxiety’s common physical symptoms are shaking/trembling, increased heart rate, stomach pains, rapid breathing, and headaches. Mood-related anxiety symptoms are feeling irritable, tired, and an overall sense of panic or fear.
Dehydration causes increased cortisol levels, the stress hormone, throughout the body. Prolonged levels of cortisol in the body can mimic symptoms of anxiety. High Cortisol levels cause fatigue, increase irritability, and make it difficult to concentrate.
Healthy blood sugar levels are essential to mood stabilization. Like adults, when children skip meals, there is an increased chance of their blood sugar levels dropping. In addition, low blood sugar levels cause irritability, dizziness, shaking, and increased heart rate.
Lack of sleep affects children the same way it affects adults. Not getting enough sleep causes irritability, moodiness, and decreased concentration. All these symptoms are common when discussing anxiety.
These habits and many others make anxiety worse by exaggerating the symptoms commonly related to anxiety. The child’s window of stress tolerance will get smaller. This leads children to feel higher levels of stress and nervousness. Therefore, the child is more likely to act out, show unwanted behaviors, and experience anxiety.
The child and families can benefit from understanding how seemly harmless habits can increase their stress and worsen their anxiety. Therefore, these habits make it more difficult for children to manage their anxiety and complete daily activities. Creating and establishing healthy habits early in life is essential to managing and coping with stress.
Have you noticed your child struggling with habits that make their anxiety worse? If you feel like your child could benefit from counseling and help improve their mental health. Let one of the therapists at The Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide mental health counseling, as well as other mental health services.
If you are ready to lessen your child’s anxiety, one of the therapists at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide counseling and mental health services. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:
Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men’s issues, women’s issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!
By: Margie Frisco, MA, LPC-Associate Supervised by Melissa Barton MA, LPC-S Having self-confidence as a kid can be tricky! Remember back when you were a kid. Did you experience a situation where another classmate was mean to you? Or remember the old saying of sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never […]
Having self-confidence as a kid can be tricky! Remember back when you were a kid. Did you experience a situation where another classmate was mean to you? Or remember the old saying of sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me…..really? Words can hurt significantly if a child listens to the mean comments and starts to believe them. This blog will go over how you, as a parent, can help your child build confidence.
Daily affirmations have become more popular over the years. But, let us start with defining what a daily affirmation is. It is a statement that someone can say to themselves. It can be helpful for a person to feel better about themselves. Additionally, it can help that person learn how to use positive self-talk. Think of positive self-talk and daily affirmations as a hopeful and “good” expression about yourself TO yourself. See an example below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJs7_rrPaEI
Teaching your children to say nice things to themselves early will help grow that confidence. They learn how to make eye contact, explore their facial expressions, get experience with direct conversations, and most importantly, how to say nice things to themselves. I know it can seem silly, but telling the affirmations in the mirror is helpful. Depending on their age, you can create these affirmations, work together to make them, or check the link below to see some printable cards for your kids.
As parents, we have one of the biggest influences on our child’s life. We can demonstrate or model a specific behavior. Many child therapists agree that children learn by seeing. To help your child grow their confidence, you can show them how. You can model behavior by celebrating a victory in front of them. For example, if you got the promotion you have been working hard to get, do a happy dance and have them join in. Furthermore, if your child has been struggling with school and does well, have them choose (within reason) how to celebrate.
Another way you can model having healthy confidence is using a positive affirmation when you are not feeling your best. For instance, if
someone says something mean about how you look or act, say, “that is ok. I know I am worthy of love.” Or if someone blames you for something you had no control over, say, “I tried my best.” Showing your child how to react when others are not nice can show them how to respond if they experience the same thing.
Now, I know it is easy for me to sit here and say, “oh, just say or do this.” I realize that it can be hard not to react. I completely get it. Emotions, right!?! Even if you respond in a not-so-great way, it is ok. You have the opportunity to have another conversation with your child when you are calm. And then you can both practice what could be a better response. This will help your child learn how to reflect on their behaviors and actions to find ways to improve.
Reflecting on the action shows your child that they can make mistakes. Also, it allows your child to see what actions they can take. And you are there to help them critically think. Most kids under twelve do not have analytical thinking completely working. You can step in, help them think through the options, and find which action is best for them.
I understand that sometimes the best option might be something new. As the parent, you can feed their confidence by saying they can do it. Moreover, you can practice or try new things with them.
For instance, if you reflect and the new action is talking to someone new. You can set up their stuffed toy animals and practice how to introduce themselves. This might feel silly, but it can be a helpful teaching aid with your children, create a fun memory, and teach them to come to you with difficult situations.
If you are ready to help build confidence in your child or children, one of the therapists at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide counseling and mental health services. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:
Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men’s issues, women’s issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!
By: Ally Hoffman MA, LPC Associate Supervised by Melissa Barton MA, LPC-S Looking to find anxiety and stress relief during these times? Have you been procrastinating on doing your spring cleaning? If you have not already partaken in this annual purge, now may be a good time! It seems like many people have taken advantage […]
By: Ally Hoffman MA, LPC AssociateLooking to find anxiety and stress relief during these times? Have you been procrastinating on doing your spring cleaning? If you have not already partaken in this annual purge, now may be a good time! It seems like many people have taken advantage of their extra time at home working on organizing and cleaning out. If you haven’t, keep reading about how this can help you ease stress and increase self-care and healthy habits. Taking some time to tend to the clutter in your life is a great way to ease some unnecessary anxiety.
There are many benefits to cleaning out your home. Our living spaces should be our own personal oasis; having a clean home can reduce stress, improve sleep, and make us more productive! The physical act of cleaning can be a great way to de-stress and turn your mind off for a bit. We can distract ourselves for a little while by focusing on mindless tasks such as cleaning dishes or wiping down counters or distract ourselves by cleaning out a junk drawer, closet, or pantry.
Cleaning can also be good for your physical health; for example, regularly cleaning and tidying your home can reduce dust and other triggers for your allergies. Cleaning can also lead to feelings of accomplishment; though you might not always enjoy actually completing the task of de-cluttering or cleaning, that feeling of satisfaction afterward makes the chore totally worth it. Keeping things cleaner can also encourage you to engage in other positive habits, such as better sleep hygiene, healthy eating, and self-care.
It may be a good time to consider cleaning out some of that internal clutter while you’re at it. Often, we need to let go of other things that are affecting our mental health. Consider reevaluating toxic relationships, unhealthy coping skills, and negative thinking patterns. Many times, we get stuck in our bad habits and forget that there is something we can do about it. Take some time for yourself and consider what other things may need moving on with.
Are you still talking to that person in your life who always brings you down or engaging in activities that may provide short-term relief, but in actuality, are not really alleviating your stress and anxiety? This is a great time to check those habits and chuck them if necessary. So, pick up something new and healthy instead. Spring cleaning does not have to be just about the items in your closet or garage. Make sure that you are doing away with negativity in all aspects of your life. Do some weeding so that you can blossom! Tree blossoming in the springtime represents clear mental health and new healthy habits.
Though we often hear about “Spring” cleaning, it is important that we are consistently checking with ourselves if there are things we can weed out, whether it be those clothes you haven’t worn in five years, or that one coping skill that you know is not good for you – don’t be afraid to let go. This is a huge part of self-care and you deserve to have a clutter-free life. I hope that you find this will reduce your stress and anxiety and provide a tranquil space and peace of mind. Stay safe and happy cleaning!
If you are ready to talk about your anxiety, and ways to cope, one of the therapists at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch can help! We provide counseling and mental health services. To begin counseling in Katy, TX follow these three steps:
Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men’s issues, women’s issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to post blogs regularly. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!
By: Jessica Johns-Green, LPC Eating disorders are on the rise, with binge eating disorders leading the way as the standard form of an eating disorder. Post-pandemic life finds many of us living in sweatpants and leggings while working from home. Social isolation gives rise to habits and emotions that are difficult to manage. Food, especially […]
Eating disorders are on the rise, with binge eating disorders leading the way as the standard form of an eating disorder. Post-pandemic life finds many of us living in sweatpants and leggings while working from home. Social isolation gives rise to habits and emotions that are difficult to
manage. Food, especially ‘binge-friendly’ foods high in fat, sugar, or carbohydrate, provides comforting feelings that counteract or numb more distressing emotions. Now that door-dash is a way of life, binge eating has become more difficult than ever to manage.
A binge is eating to excess. For some, this may be simply eating beyond a feeling of fulness or continuing to eat when not hungry. For others, a binge may be eating beyond physical discomfort and even until becoming physically sick with a sore stomach or vomiting.
The emotional experience is often one of shame and confusion. “Why did I do that?” or even “Did I do that?” Typically, binges result in a period of cutting back on calories, dieting, or exercising to make up for it. The unintended consequences of binges are low mood, anxiety, poor body image, and guilt or shame. Binge eating behavior often harms our relationships and ability to socialize with others.
A key aspect of binge eating is the cycle of binging and restricting. After binging, the felt need to make up for it makes us likelier to repeat the process with another binge. Binges followed by loading for ourselves or our bodies are another cycle aspect.
Breaking this cycle requires attention and effort after a binge to care for ourselves.
Watch your internal dialogue. Is it kind? Would you say it to someone else who had just binged? If not, check it. You don’t need to stop forcefully self-critical thinking but notice and not accept it as fact – it’s just a thought. Binging is a problem, but it doesn’t make you a bad person. It’s a way of dealing with overwhelming things, but it’s not a character trait or a sign of weakness. Being too critical of yourself will only make it easier to feel shame and binge in the future.
Many binges happen later in the day or at night. It feels easy to skip breakfast the following day, but this will only make you more hungry later and more likely to binge. Even though it may feel like you can make up for overeating by eating less, the reality is that our bodies need a steady and predictable food intake throughout the day. Binging causes are multifaceted, but not enough calories are usually a primary risk factor throughout the day.
The answers may not always be clear, but it’s important to start asking – ‘What was happening for me?’ and ‘How have I been feeling?’ Adopting an attitude of curiosity rather than a judgment about binging helps to start asking what a binge helps us manage in life. Discovering this will allow for problem-solving on different ways to manage difficulties without binging.
Take a look at your day or week leading up to the binge. Were you eating enough? Or, were you restricting calories, cutting out certain foods, or labeling them evil? Are you getting enough sleep? All of these things play into a binge. Inadequate sleep creates more significant cravings for high-calorie foods. Insufficient calories will backfire fire, making it difficult not to overeat when there is an opportunity—cutting out foods that we can label as ‘bad’ fuels cravings. When willpower breaks due to insufficient calories or a tough, stressful day, we will reach for the ‘bad’ foods and over-consume them.
Partly this is because we feel that we will not get another opportunity. Instead, make sure the calorie intake is enough and steer clear of diets that label food groups or types as “bad.” Create a bedtime routine and include a little of what you enjoy with a lot of what is good for you.
Mayo clinic calorie calculator https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/calorie-calculator/itt-20402304
Struggling with your relationship with food and ready to find a way forward? Ready to heal and gain power over these kinds of issues? We provide couple’s counseling, as well as, other mental health services. To begin couples counseling in Katy, TX, follow these three steps:
Here at The Counseling Center at Cinco Ranch, we offer counseling services for people of all ages in areas including counseling for kids, counseling for young adults, teen counseling, couples counseling, eating disorder treatment, men’s issues, women’s issues, anxiety treatment, depression therapy, trauma counseling, family therapy, and group counseling. Our therapists strive to regularly post blogs. We provide helpful information on a variety of mental health topics. To learn more about our therapists and our counseling services, please reach out to the Counseling Center today!