{"id":2343356,"date":"2024-09-09T14:25:17","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T18:25:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/?p=2343356"},"modified":"2024-09-10T08:33:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-10T12:33:50","slug":"taming-the-anxiety-monster-a-visualization-tool-for-kids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/taming-the-anxiety-monster-a-visualization-tool-for-kids\/","title":{"rendered":"Taming The Anxiety Monster: A Visualization Tool For Kids"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"gzvideo\"><div class=\"fluid-video-wrapper square\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1006663460?badge=0&amp;autopause=0&amp;player_id=0&amp;app_id=58479&amp;dnt=1\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><br><em>Love this video? You can find hundreds more like this inside the <a href=\"http:\/\/gozen.com\/programs\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"gozen.com\/programs\">GoZen! programs<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Question for you to ask your kids: Why do dogs bark at mailmen?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, it\u2019s not a riddle. Serious question! Give up? They\u2019re just trying to protect their owners. If you have a dog, or even if you have a neighbor with a dog, you know they\u2019re loyal, excitable, and very, very protective (even the small, yippy ones).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you know what else matches that description? Anxiety. Yes, believe it or not, your anxiety is loyal to you and wants to protect you, and if you\u2019re like me, you know it can be a little excitable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes, just like a dog, anxiety can get a little confused about what\u2019s really dangerous. The good news is that just like man\u2019s best friend, anxiety can be tamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thinking about anxiety like an overprotective pet is really helpful, especially for kids and teens. Better yet, think about it as a pet monster that is unique to you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Project time!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Meet Your Anxiety Monster<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Have your kids grab some paper and a pen, then draw their anxiety monster. Actually, parents should be doing this too. \ud83d\ude09 Make it as cute or weird as you want\u2014this is your monster, after all. Maybe it\u2019s furry or has wings or horns. Maybe it\u2019s spiky, like mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Visualize Your Monster Protecting You<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>Picture this: your anxiety monster is sitting on your shoulder. It\u2019s not huge or terrifying, just small and kinda cute. Everyone\u2019s anxiety monster looks different. Go ahead, imagine yours. Cut out your drawing and use that if you\u2019d like.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This little guy is super committed to keeping you safe, and he\u2019s always whispering in your ear, telling you to watch out. The problem? It can\u2019t always tell the difference between real threats and, well, the mailman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t Fight the Monster\u2014Comfort It<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>When your anxiety monster freaks out over something minor, your first instinct might be to yell at it or try to push it away but think of it like a scared pet. Tell your kids that instead of yelling at it, try to comfort it. When your anxiety flares up, tell your monster, \u201cThanks for looking out for me, but we\u2019re safe. There\u2019s no danger here.\u201d Maybe even give it a little hug or a pet (if it\u2019s not too spiky).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Visualization Works<\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Sure, the idea of a tiny anxiety monster on your shoulder might seem a little silly to kids, especially older ones, but visualization is actually a powerful tool. By picturing yourself calming your anxiety monster, you\u2019re taking control of your emotions rather than letting them control you. By personifying abstract feelings of anxiety, you can begin a dialogue with your feelings. It\u2019s like telling your brain, \u201cHey, I got this. We\u2019re in charge here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s the best part: we all have the power to train and tame our anxiety. It doesn\u2019t have to rule your life. Next time you feel your anxiety monster getting riled up, remember that you\u2019re the boss. You can calm it down, reassure it, and keep it from blowing things out of proportion. If it doesn\u2019t listen at first, don\u2019t worry. Don\u2019t give up on training it! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Get this anxiety-busting tool for kids and teens (and maybe you)! Learn how your anxiety is like a protective pet.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2190,"featured_media":2343386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,135,127],"tags":[140,75,906],"class_list":["post-2343356","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anxiety-relief-tips","category-gozen-anxiety-relief","category-visualization","tag-anxiety","tag-anxiety-relief","tag-visualization","no-featured-image-padding"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343356","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2190"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2343356"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343356\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2343850,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2343356\/revisions\/2343850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2343386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2343356"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2343356"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gozen.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2343356"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}