Too Much Holiday Stress? Ring in the New Year with our Favorite Relaxation Strategies
St. Louis Counseling for Kids, Teens, and College Students
Does your child feel extra anxious during the holidays?
There’s so much wonder and excitement this time of year, but there’s also a lot going on. And all of the wonderful things that make this time of year special, can also be extra stressful for anxious kids, teens, and college students. Seeing distant family members, eating new foods for holiday meals, lots of down time, traveling long distance, loud and busy parties, splitting the time between parents…the list could go on and on.
To help make the holidays more enjoyable, take a look at this list of our favorite relaxation strategies. Let your child pick out one or two and give them a try! These tools work great for overwhelmed parents too!
Check out our favorite guided meditation for anxiety scripts, including a few free recordings!
Photo by Mariana B. on Unsplash
Rainbow Guided Meditation: Relaxation Walk-Through for Kids- this is a favorite on our blog!
Warm Light Guided Meditation- focus on letting your muscles soften and relax. Great for kids and teens who hold tension in their bodies.
Mountain Top Guided Meditation- wish you were somewhere else? How about climbing a mountain?
Floating Leaves Meditation- an ACT meditation that helps you disengage from your thoughts
Check out our favorite relaxation strategies that incorporate your muscles and five senses:
Photo by Craig Whitehead on Unsplash
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script- use all the major muscles in your body to help your body relax
5 Senses Scavenger Hunt - name one thing that you see, one thing that you hear, one thing that you smell, one thing that you can physically touch, and check in with how your mouth tastes. This helps bring you back into your body and the moment.
Fog the Windows- Great for all this cozy winter weather. Practice fogging up the windows in your house, or car. Help your child notice that fast, quick breaths don’t really do it. When we slowly, deeply breathe in and out, we can get a much better fog on. This is the kind of breathing we need to do to help our bodies stay calm. Slow breath in through our nose… big sigh out through our mouth.
Read a book- Help Anxious Kids with These 6 Awesome, Effective Books
We hope you have a great holiday season!
Are the holidays a challenge for you? Do you feel totally overwhelmed every year? It can be tough to keep things running smoothly when there’s so much time to fill - and especially tough for anxious, stressed out kids and teens (and their stressed out parents). We’re available all year round for anxious child counseling, therapy for teens, and stress management for college students. Set up your free phone consult on our website.
We work with kids, teens, and college students through the St. Louis region, including Clayton, Ladue, Webster Groves, Kirkwood, and Creve Couer.