Reiki and Anxiety: How can you and your child RELIEVE anxiety and FIND Harmony with reiki?
We love to see kids happy and free! Reiki can help reduce fear and relieve anxiety in children over a series of sessions.
Were you afraid of the dark?
How many of us were afraid of the dark or what was lurking under our bed at night as kids? These types of fears are fairly common in young children - so much so that when I did a Google search out of curiosity, I found a page of picture books devoted to “Kids who are scared of the dark” and of course there are books upon books on Amazon devoted to the same childhood fear (my personal favorite is The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark). As many parents come to know, young children have all sorts fears - it seems to be a natural part of growing up in our world. Of course, these types of childhood fears are largely irrational - sometimes from the imagination, other times based on experience, or a combination of the two. (This isn’t to discount the fact that many children have experienced trauma and this trauma can manifest as fears and anxiety). Regardless, most times children eventually outgrow these more common fears as they grow up and become more confident.
Fear that Persists
But what happens when fear persists? Or the child never truly outgrows the fear? If a fear persists, it can develop into more overwhelming fears that prevents a child from completing their school work, focusing in school or hinders a child from playing with friends and enjoying free time, the fear can be diagnosed as an anxiety disorder. In my experience as a teacher, students with various forms of anxiety had trouble sitting and focusing or distracted themselves (and others) because of the physical and emotional agitation they experienced from their anxiety. My students taught me that anxiety could take on different forms aside from being disruptive - such as a need to have their work so perfect that they would have trouble finishing, and others that were so worried about being wrong that they couldn’t even start a piece of writing. With experience and time, I learned that my anxious students weren’t doing these behaviors consciously, but rather as a reaction to their anxiety.
Reiki can support children of all ages with reducing anxiety and increasing focus and attention in school and at home.
How Can Reiki Support Anxiety in Children (and Adults, too!)?
In my experience, Reiki is extremely helpful with anxiety and is gentle enough for children who have anxious patterns. With my clients, I have seen that Reiki calms the body so that the parasympathetic nervous system can take over, giving the flight or fight response a break. Many times, anxiety itself greatly reduces after a few sessions, or the client may be able to feel where the anxiety lives in their body more specifically (such as a physical or emotional feeling), start to notice times when anxiety arises and even begin to stop a reaction to anxious thoughts (or sometimes the anxious thoughts just go!). Reiki has taught me that anxiety tends to be stuck energy in the body - many times attached to a memory or experience. Once a child (or an adult) starts to regularly attend sessions, Reiki supports the body to restore its natural flow of energy, and patterns like anxiety can release. Stuck energy in the body that may produce anxious thoughts releases over time and the thoughts subside. Ways in which the child (or adult) holds themselves (gripping, scrunching, holding breath) as a result of anxious thoughts can let go and the body and mind return to equilibrium. In their every day life, such interactions as those with teachers, peers and family members that may have once been anxiety provoking can improve, and therefore will provide a more positive feedback cycle for the child (the same is true of course for adults). When any energetic system is in balance, the body included, there is no “disorder” - as Mrs. Takata said, “remove the cause and there will be no effects.” This is what Reiki does! It’s a great compliment to any anxiety treatment you receive with your primary care physician/pediatrician.
How Many Reiki Sessions Might a Child Need for anxiety?
Everyone is different and has different needs. For some, particularly younger children, they may need fewer sessions because their patterns are, in essence, younger. Older children and adults may have more deeply held anxiety and therefore may need a series of longer sessions. We have a special session designed for Children Under 12, which is shorter than our Reiki sessions for adults. Regardless, we can find a way for Reiki to support you and your family. Can’t make it to our office in Bryn Mawr? We can travel to you in the Greater Philadelphia area, including Philadelphia, Montgomery County and Delaware County. For more information, call 610-906-2203 or email us at stephanie@brynmawrreiki.center.
