Tapping away anxiety

I've just watched an interesting discussion about childhood anxiety and depression on TV (with the mums ' fave doctor, lovely Dr Ranj).  Ten minutes wasn't long enough unfortunately and they could do a whole programme on it.

So with this in mind I thought I'd mention something we do to help Missy with her anxiety, alongside all the therapeutic parenting strategies we try to employ.

I've previously mentioned meditation and the guided meditations Missy likes to listen to at bedtime. Another holistic approach we used is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or tapping.  I learnt this simple technique a few years ago. I'm guilty of not using it enough on myself, however I introduced it to Missy a few months ago and now she often asks to do it. In fact she told me she tapped before she went on stage at her school talent show.

Tapping is stimulating the body's meridian points with your fingers, harnessing your body's energy, and using self-healing.  Whilst I can take Missy through a whole tapping routine myself,  we particularly like to follow Brad Yates on YouTube. Brad is a world leader in EFT and has several videos online aimed at kids (demonstrated by his daughter - search for 'Brad Yates Kids'). It only takes five minutes or so and I definitely see an immediate shift in Missy's emotions after that time.  (You can do longer and if you yourself had an appointment with an EFT practitioner you'd probably take an hour).

Missy asks to do tapping when she's feeling angry or sad, but we'll probably use it before we go on holiday and, as mentioned above, I love that she used it to help her feel confident before her talent show.