I’m so glad you’re here! I’m happy to help.

You can also find more articles about anxiety here.

Hi Misty,
That is so frustrating, tiring and sad! It’s challenging when our kids are stuck in this negative pattern of thinking, and just can’t seem to enjoy life as it happens! And, of course, there is no way to know exactly what will happen during the day, so there’s no way to prepare him.
Let me know if you’d like some suggestions for how to help him – or you – cope with these big feelings.
Nicole

Hi Alexandria,
I think you are on the right track with the fly swatter and the song – help her feel empowered. When I work with kids, I talk about how our brain makes things scarier than they really are, and I encourage them to talk back to their worries. So, in this example, you could say something like, “Come on brain! Do you see how little these bugs are compared to me?!? I’m huge, they’re puny! I’m not going to let a teeny tiny bug ruin my fun!”

You could also have her rewrite the story about bugs – in the story she could go outside, see a bug, start to feel anxious, but use a calming strategy, then have fun playing outside (even with the bugs!).

Most of the work on anxiety happens before your child gets into an anxiety-provoking situation, so talking about it when she’s calm, practicing calming strategies and making a plan for using calming strategies when she’s calm. I have some other tips here: https://imperfectfamilies.com/category/anxiety/

I hope this helps! Let me know if you need any clarification or more ideas.

Nicole