Anxious child - how do I help him?

amother

Mon, Jan 08 2024, 6:52 pm

DS is only 3.5 years old, but he's very obviously anxious.

*He fears many ordinary things which no one else in the family fears - cats, dogs, things that move, things that smell... I try to expose him to these stimuli in a gentle and friendly manner, but we've made barely any progress.

*He cries/gets overwhelmed by little things

*After a stressful moment, he always seeks a long "huggie", and his body just melts in relief during the hug.

*If he asks for something, and the item is delayed even for a minute or two, then he melts down.

*He needs to always be with people; being alone even for a moment worries him.

He has many cute parts of his personality, and a few mischievous ones too, but his anxiety is what really worries me. I don't want his fears to hold him back.

He is not my first child, but he's the first one with this challenge!

Has anyone else experienced a kid like this? How do I help him?

amother

Cerise

Mon, Jan 08 2024, 8:20 pm

I would do lots of magnesium. Lotion, soaks, drops in his water.
Some craniosacral therapy.
Maybe some of the bioray kids line like calm and happy.
Address any mouth issues if there are -- mouth breathing, bite issues, large tonsils or adenoids, tongue ties, crowding.

amother

Forsythia

Mon, Jan 08 2024, 10:14 pm

Definitely agree with all the posters who said OT.

I recommend you start following the Guttmann sisters, read their blogs, posts, what's app, podcast, whatever you can do. Tons of information and I've been helped just by listening.

www.handsonaproaches.com

www.handsonotrehab.com

amother

Mon, Jan 08 2024, 10:47 pm

amother Brown wrote:

Definitely get OT and a sensory diet for him

Can you explain what this is for? Could over-stimulation be causing anxiety?

And what's the magnesium for?

amother

Forsythia

Mon, Jan 08 2024, 10:49 pm

amother OP wrote:

Can you explain what this is for? Could over-stimulation be causing anxiety?

Read this: https://handsonotrehab.com/chi.....body/

amother

Cerise

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 4:51 am

amother OP wrote:

Can you explain what this is for? Could over-stimulation be causing anxiety?

And what's the magnesium for?

Anxiety is caused by an over-aroused nervous system. Magnesium is very calming for the nervous system, it promotes calming neurotransmitters and help move out of fight-flight mode.

amother

Winterberry

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 6:49 am

amother Cerise wrote:

My 4 year old son is very anxious and has enormous tonsils. Doctors say they don`t recommend surgery to remove before age 5 bc they might shrink by themselves. In that case, would magnesium still help?

amother

Cerise

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 7:22 am

amother Winterberry wrote:

It may help a little but addressing the root cause will help even more.
There are things to do to help shrink tonsils outside of removing them. Depending on what's causing them to be large.

amother

Salmon

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 10:24 am

amother Cerise wrote:

It may help a little but addressing the root cause will help even more.
There are things to do to help shrink tonsils outside of removing them. Depending on what's causing them to be large.

Like what?
What's the connection between enlarged tonsils and anxiety?

amother

Cerise

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:02 pm

amother Salmon wrote:

Like what?
What's the connection between enlarged tonsils and anxiety?

Enlarged tonsils are often a sign of chronic strep or another chronic infection. Chronic infections can cause the immune system to tip over into autoimmunity and attack the brain, which will show up as anxiety.

Additionally, enlarged tonsils can be a cause for or an effect of mouth breathing. Mouth breathing can cause an over active, hyper vigilant nervous system via the trigeminal nerves, vagus nerve and insufficient oxygen .

amother

Mistyrose

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:53 pm

amother Cerise wrote:

That's interesting. My now adult child had anxiety as a kid and also had huge tonsils!

amother

Cognac

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 1:55 pm

Sorry to hijack thread. My age 10 daughter also has a lot of anxiety and she seems to always be not feeling well and has enlarged tonsils. Who should I go to to help me with the medical side to see if it might be exasperating the anxiety?

amother

Cerise

Tue, Jan 09 2024, 6:17 pm

amother Cognac wrote:

I don't want to hijack. Would you want to start another thread?

amother

Winterberry

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 5:27 pm

amother Cerise wrote:

It may help a little but addressing the root cause will help even more.
There are things to do to help shrink tonsils outside of removing them. Depending on what's causing them to be large.

Do you know any ways to shrink tonsils?

amother

Cerise

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 6:01 pm

amother Winterberry wrote:

Do you know any ways to shrink tonsils?

Depends on what's causing them.
We did long term antibiotics for chronic strep. Herbal antivirals for ebv. Homeopathy. Craniosacral therapy. Myofunctional therapy, palate expansion and tongue tie release.
Anti histamine and air purifier for environmental allergies.
Dairy and gluten free diet.

amother

Winterberry

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 6:03 pm

amother Cerise wrote:

Thanks. what`s ebv?
sounds like you put in a lot of effort. did his tonsils shrink? how long did it take?