It is no secret we struggle with a lot of anxiety in our household. It is debilitating, crippling and can consume your life if left unchecked. I thought I would just take a moment to share with you all what we use and our coping mechanisms that help within our family. Now I don’t think for a second that any of this is a cure or that it will work for everyone, I can only give our experiences.
First up we talk. I know it sounds basic but many times in the past we have found ourselves in crisis because we haven’t spoken to someone before it spirals and crushes our mental health. So for us we talk. If there is someone in the family who seems to be struggling with anxiety/depression we ask them. It’s amazing the healing that can be done with a coffee and a chat.
We use rescue remedy (not sponsored). We originally got it to help Samantha when her anxiety was at its highest (and CAMHS were doing their usual stirling job) however we found that it worked so well for her that we use it for all of us.
We have both the pastiles and the drops and have found both work equally well.
We also use the night time drops, which have worked on all of us when struggling to quieten our brains and fall asleep.
We also have a wrist roller with calming essential oils, this alongside the rescue remedy works like a dream.
Now I understand some of these things may be the placebo effect however when we began to use them and in times of high anxiety I would have accepted voodoo magic if it worked.
We use music a lot. Riley has his own MP3 player that comes everywhere with us and stops him from becoming overwhelmed, I sing my emotions and Samantha constantly listens to music in her room. The house is also never quiet. Quiet is not our friend.
Rileys anxiety is helped massively by weight. We handle this by providing heavy softies for him to carry and snuggle (like Stowie). We have given Marsunda (his panda) a weighted vest as he needed more weight and wanted to be like Riley with a weighted blanket.
On that note we have just got Riley a weighted blanket as well to help him regulate and sleep better at night. We discovered the difference weight really made to him when we saw the calm come over him when Lela lay on him when Samantha had wound him up. It is only a cheap one from home bargains (£14.99) but it has made the world of difference to his sleep and calmed him before a full meltdown has ensued.
Lots of sensory play works well for our kids when their anxiety is high. You can literally watch the anxiety melt away as they plunge their hands, arms and anything else they can fit into a tray of slime. Similar trays such as lavender scented rice, shaving foam, kinetic sand and lego also reduce their anxiety and help to regulate them.
If the anxiety isn’t so high we can’t get them out of the house then a walk along a local beach, playing in the sand, watching the waves and searching for the perfect rock, helps all of us to decompress and lowers our anxiety. We always come away feeling much better. Although I appreciate this isn’t practical for everyone. A walk in the woods or any kind of nature has a very similar effect for us all.
These are most of the things in our anxiety arsenal, we also as a family take regular day trips and holidays to reset and regroup. Although again I appreciate this approach isn’t practical for everyone.
For our benefit and others we also crochet small fidget toys, worry worms, nervous jellies and pocket worry monsters, to give out to people or hide for people to find. It benefits us as crochet helps to calm our minds and pain and those who have been given them or found them have expressed their joy to us.
I hope that some of this has helped or will help or at the very least let you know you are not alone.
