Tag behaviour

Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness – Mental wellness is becoming more and more of a priority amongst the younger generation. In order to feel emotionally and mentally healthy, it’s important to establish and maintain routines that promote relaxation and well-being. Resetting your routine can be an effective way to incorporate activities that nourish your mental state – here are some ideas on how you can do just that.

Be Mindful of What You Eat and Drink | Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness

Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness – We all know the saying “you are what you eat” – and while it may be a bit cliché, there’s truth behind this sentiment. Eating well-balanced meals is key to feeling good in mind and body. Avoiding processed foods, opting for nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, cutting down on sugar intake, drinking lots of water – these are all simple but effective ways to improve our overall physical health, which translates into improved mental health as well.

Take Time for Yourself | Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness

Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness – The hustle and bustle of everyday life can be draining for both adults and youth alike. Taking time out of your busy schedule to relax is one of the best things you can do for yourself when it comes to maintaining good mental health. Whether it’s reserving a few minutes each day for meditation or dedicating an entire day towards selfcare activities like at-home spa treatments or reading a book with no distractions, making sure that you take regular “me time” will help keep stress levels low – which is essential for optimal mental health. 

Get Moving | Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness

Restorative Routines for Mental Wellness – Exercise has long been known as an effective stress reliever, so why not make exercise part of your reset routine? Not only will exercising help lower cortisol (the stress hormone) levels in the body, but it also releases endorphins which trigger positive feelings in the brain – a great way to boost mood! Even if you’re pressed for time during the weekdays, finding small windows throughout the day where you can fit in mini workouts (like 10 minutes of jumping jacks or squats while dinner is cooking!) can make a world of difference in terms of energy levels.

Resetting routines is an easy yet powerful way to take charge over your own wellbeing! Establishing habits such as eating balanced meals, taking time out from our days solely dedicated towards relaxation and doing regular exercises are all great ways to promote better mental health. It doesn’t have to be complicated; even small changes can create big impacts when it comes to mental wellness!

Therapy in Brandon  

If you find that you’re feeling stuck more than often, or you’re noticing that your anxiety or trauma is especially high during the winter season, know that you’re not alone, we encourage you to reach out. Our counsellor here at Bliss Counselling & Wellness Centre have experience working with anxiety, stress, grief, trauma, depression, and so much more. We offer both in-person and online services. To learn more, reach out to us at 431-302-8803, or go here and fill out an online form!

About the Author
Emem Iniobong, is a Brandon MB, Canadian Certified Counsellor who is an EMDR trained and helps children, teens, young adults, parents, and families in dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, parenting support to live a more fulfilled and bliss-full life.

6 Self-Care Activities – Every now and again, it’s important we spend time to take care of ourselves in order to lower stress levels and maintain healthy lives. Many times we get so caught up in meeting everyone else’s needs that we neglect the most important person in our lives–ourselves!

So here are six easy self-care activities you can try (that won’t cost you anything):

Go for a Walk

Thirty minutes of walking does wonders to improve a person’s well-being. You can take a quick lap or two around the neighborhood during lunch, or you can explore your favorite park on a rainy day. Either way, exercise is a tried and true self-care technique and comes with the added bonus of health benefits.

Read a Book | 6 Self-Care Activities | Bliss Counselling & Wellness Centre

Reading books is another great way to decompress and relieve stress. Local libraries have plenty of reading areas to enjoy your favorite topics. And, unlike television or radio, reading requires your full attention, meaning you can minimize distractions more easily and become fully focused on the topic at hand.

Isolate Yourself

Sometimes it’s helpful to be in a quiet location to gather your thoughts. Isolation can help you do this: for thirty minutes, find an empty room at your home or workplace that’s free from distractions or other people. Don’t do anything for the thirty minutes; just contemplate everything on your mind. By spending time with yourself you may find it easier to get answers to your most pressing questions at hand.

Write it Down | 6 Self-Care Activities | Bliss Counselling & Wellness Centre

Have you ever considered keeping a journal? Writing down your thoughts and feelings on a regular basis is another great self-care technique that allows you to vent in a creative manner. You can even come back to old writings and learn about yourself at a particular moment in time.

In addition to writing, drawing also does wonders for self-care. Take some paper and sketch what’s on your mind–you might be surprised at what comes out!

Take a Warm Shower | 6 Self-Care Activities | Bliss Counselling & Wellness Centre

Another self-care technique you can try is a nice, long shower. There’s something therapeutic about taking a shower: feeling the warm water against your skin, hearing the water hit the tub, smelling the soap…and knowing you’ll be clean at the end of it! Spend thirty minutes with the suds and refresh your mind while you’re there.

Listen to Music

Got a favorite song you like to listen to? Then put on some headphones and have at it! Listening to music is another free self-care activity that can get you through the day. Music has a way of evoking emotions we try to keep hidden in ourselves. But by letting them come to the forefront, we can actually detox and feel better afterwards.

People need outlets for channeling whatever they’re feeling at a particular time in order to remain balanced. But sometimes we aren’t always able to make use of these outlets due to money, time constraints, or obligations to others.

The best way to take care of others is to take care of yourself. So, the next time you’re feeling overwhelmed, give these six self-care activities a try or, better yet, take a day to combine them all. Small actions often make the biggest impacts.

Therapy in Brandon

If you find that you’re feeling stuck more than often, or you’re noticing that your anxiety is especially high during the fall season, know that you’re not alone, we encourage you to reach out. Our counsellor here at Bliss Counselling & Wellness Centre have experience working with anxiety, stress, grief, trauma, depression, and so much more. We offer both in-person and online services. To learn more, reach out to us at 431-302-8803, or go here and fill out an online form!

About the Author
Emem Iniobong, is a Brandon MB, Canadian Certified Counsellor who is an EMDR trained and helps children, teens, young adults, parents, and families in dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, parenting support to live a more fulfilled and bliss-full life.

How Self-Reflection Can Improve Your Mental Health – Self-reflection is an important part of mental health. It is the act of taking a step back and evaluating your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Taking time to self-reflect can help you gain a better understanding of yourself, as well as how your actions may be impacting those around you. It allows you to gain perspective on difficult situations and make informed decisions about your life. Here are three ways that self-reflection can improve your mental health.

Enhances Your Emotional Intelligence

Self-reflection helps build emotional intelligence by allowing you to understand how your emotions affect your behavior and decision making. With this understanding, you can gain insight into why you feel the way you do in certain situations, how those emotions are impacting others around you, and how to manage them in an effective manner. This increased emotional intelligence will help you be more aware of yourself and others in the future, which can have a positive impact on your relationships with family, friends, and colleagues alike.

Identifies Areas for Improvement | How Self-Reflection Can Improve Your Mental Health

Self-reflection also gives us insight into areas we can improve upon or change our behavior in order to become better versions of ourselves. By analyzing our thoughts and actions from an objective point of view, we can identify patterns that may be causing stress or negative consequences in our lives – such as overworking or procrastinating – and then come up with solutions for these issues that will benefit us long term. Through self-reflection we can also discover new interests or passions that might lead us down a different path than we thought was possible before.                                                                                                    

 Increases Self-Awareness | How Self-Reflection Can Improve Your Mental Health                         

Finally, self-reflection helps increase our level of self-awareness by teaching us more about who we are as individuals and what our personal values are. This understanding will help us make decisions based on what is important to us instead of simply going with the flow or following someone else’s lead without truly considering its effects on our own lives first — leading to more positive outcomes overall. Increased self-awareness also gives us the opportunity to recognize potential triggers that could cause stress in the future — such as certain people or places — so that we can avoid them when necessary in order to keep ourselves safe mentally and physically. 

Overall, taking the time for regular self-reflection is essential for any individual who wants to improve their mental health long term — especially parents, caregivers, teens, youth, children! Not only does it enhance emotional intelligence but it also identifies areas for improvement while increasing our levels of self-awareness overall — all key elements necessary for taking control over our lives and achieving true happiness within ourselves! So take some time today for introspection — it just might be one of the best things you ever do!

Therapy in Brandon

If you find that you’re feeling stuck more than often, or you’re noticing that your anxiety is especially high during the fall season, know that you’re not alone, we encourage you to reach out. Our counsellor here at Bliss Counselling & Wellness Centre have experience working with anxiety, stress, grief, trauma, depression, and so much more. We offer both in-person and online services. To learn more, reach out to us at 431-302-8803, or go here and fill out an online form!

About the Author
Emem Iniobong, is a Brandon MB, Canadian Certified Counsellor who is an EMDR trained and helps children, teens, young adults, parents, and families in dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, parenting support to live a more fulfilled and bliss-full life.

The power of gratitude – We’ve all heard that old saying, “Count your blessings.” It turns out there may be some truth to that. A growing body of research suggests that gratitude may have a powerful impact on our mental health, can reduce stress, improve sleep, and increase overall well-being. Let’s take a closer look at what the science says about gratitude and mental health and how gratitude can improve your mental health.

The Science of Gratitude

A number of studies have found that gratitude is associated with greater levels of well-being. In one study, participants were asked to keep a weekly journal in which they recorded their thoughts and feelings about various life events. The findings showed that participants who wrote about things they were grateful for were more likely to report higher levels of well-being than those who did not focus on gratitude.

Other studies have found that gratitude may also help reduce stress and anxiety, improve sleep quality, and boost self-esteem. One study even found that gratitude may help protect against depression. Given all these potential benefits, it’s no wonder why so many people are interested in incorporating gratitude into their lives.

The Benefits of Gratitude | The Power of Gratitude

Giving thanks has been shown to have a number of benefits for mental health. For example, gratitude can:

• Reduce stress: In one study, participants who wrote about things they were grateful for had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
• Improve sleep: Another study found that people who kept a gratitude journal slept better and felt more rested in the morning.
• Increase overall well-being: Research shows that gratitude is linked with increased feelings of happiness and satisfaction with life.

How to Incorporate Gratitude Into Your Life

If you’re looking to add more gratitude into your life, here are a few suggestions:

• Keep a gratitude journal: Every night before bed, write down three things you’re grateful for. This can be something as simple as “I’m grateful for my bed” or “I’m grateful for my family.”
• Write thank-you notes: Whenever someone does something nice for you, take the time to write them a thank-you note. This can be an email, text, or even a handwritten letter.
• Express gratitude to others: When you see someone doing something kind or helpful, tell them how much you appreciate their act of kindness. A simple “thank you” can go a long way.

Gratitude is more than just saying “thank you.” It’s an emotion that can have a powerful impact on your mental health. If you’re looking to reduce stress, improve sleep, and increase overall well-being, try incorporating some of these suggestions into your life. You may be surprised at how much difference it makes! For more info on how to incorporate gratitude to your routine call now

Affirmations are an amazing tool when you want to be happier and more optimistic, get the right focus, and improve your mental attitude. You get to choose what affirmations to use, whether writing them down or saying them out loud. Here is some more information about using affirmations in the fall season.

Benefits of Daily Use

Why should you incorporate daily affirmations into your routine? There are actually a few great reasons to use them, and several ways to add them to your routine. Here is a rundown of the main benefits of positive affirmations:

It promotes a positive attitude and change in your mindset. This is definitely one of the best reasons to use daily affirmations. They are always positive statements meant to put you in a right mindset. It helps you throughout the day when you start your day with more positivity and kindness.

You start to appreciate more, and get disappointed in less. Affirmations not only show you what you want or how to feel, but they help you appreciate what you already have. They are written in present tense, such as “I am healthy today”, where not only are they positive and great for your mindset, but they help you appreciate the small things.

You are more aware of the power of your own thoughts. Affirmations teach you that just your thoughts or how you talk to yourself can make a large impact in your entire life. It improves your quality of life, makes you feel more positive, and actually helps you reach your goals.

It helps provide motivation where you need it the most. Sometimes you need to manifest motivation into your life with positive affirmations. They work wonders for this.

How to Choose Your Affirmations

What should your affirmations be? You can definitely choose from the ones other people enjoy using, but you might also want to create your own for specific situations in your life.

To write your own affirmations, here are a few tips:

Keep them positive. Affirmations should always be positive from beginning to end. If you have a negative thought or attitude, write an affirmation that switches it to something positive. For example, if you are dealing with stress about a big change in your life, try “I am capable of adapting to any situation”.

Write in present tense. You also want to write affirmations in present tense, as if what you want has already happened. If you want to achieve a goal, you write it like “I am working hard towards my goals” or something similar that is relevant to you.

Be grateful in your affirmations. Instead of talking about what you want, write your affirmations as if you are grateful for something you have (or want) in your life. For example “I am grateful to work on my goals today”.

Remember also to keep your affirmations brief so that they are easy to remember and repeat as often as needed.

Affirmations are a powerful way to change your mental attitude and focus in a positive direction. When used correctly, affirmations can help you achieve happiness and success. If you want to learn more about how to use affirmations for your personal growth, please call or email us for more information. We would be happy to assist you in using this valuable tool!

3 ways stress affects the body will be discussed in this blog. Stress is a normal part of life. We all experience stress from time to time, and as such, it’s important to know the signs of when your body is under too much. Stress can make you feel anxious or irritable, affect how you sleep or eat, and even cause physical symptoms like nausea. Knowing how stress affects the body is vital in learning how to cope with stress in a healthy way.

In this blog I will explore how stress affect our body physically, emotionally, and behavioural.

Physical Symptoms of Stress

Stress is a natural response to danger or threat. It’s the way that our bodies protect themselves from harm! When you feel stressed, your brain sends signals to release hormones like adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream. These hormones are supposed to help you survive by making sure that blood flows quickly through the body so it can deliver oxygen and nutrients to cells. Unfortunately, when they’re released too often or in large amounts, these hormones have some serious side effects on how we think and behave.

Stress can affect our physical health in many ways, including increased blood pressure, heart rate, weight gain or loss, digestive issues, fatigue, nausea, back pain, headaches, chest pain, and sleep disturbances. It can also cause mood swings which might lead to depression or anxiety.

Emotional/Cognitive Symptoms of Stress

Stress can be defined as an emotional or cognitive symptom that is experienced when you are feeling overwhelmed by the demands of your life. Stress is a normal response to certain events, but it becomes problematic when it’s too intense and lasts for too long. The symptoms of stress vary depending on the person, their age, the type of event that has created stress, and other factors. There are many ways to reduce or eliminate these symptoms altogether!

The teenage years are a challenging time for individuals, parents, teachers and caregivers alike. The adolescent brain is still developing which means that cognitive-emotional development is not complete or mature. The prefrontal cortex of the brain, responsible for reasoning and emotion regulation, doesn’t fully develop until around age 25. Which may make adolescent susceptible to stress and depression than adults because many parts of their brain don’t work together as well as they should.

Stress can affect our emotional and cognitive health in many ways, including worry, anger, mood instability, memory issues, and difficulty in concentrating/focus, irritability, and lack of motivation.

Behavioural Symptoms

The stress behavioural symptoms of children are often overlooked. They can be difficult to spot, but there are some tell-tale signs that you might be able to recognize if you know what to look for.  Here is a list of behavioral symptoms that may signal your child is experiencing the effects of stress. Withdrawal from family members, loss of appetite, lack of interest in hobbies or activities they used to enjoy, difficulty sleeping. In addition, increase in alcohol and substance, hitting, kicking, biting, nail biting, and irritability.

Today, I explored the physical, emotional and behavioural symptoms of stress. If you found this blog post interesting or helpful in any way, please share it with your friends! You can also email me anytime to discuss how we can help you reduce levels of stress through our preventative wellness programs. Thank you for reading!

Emem Iniobong is a Brandon MB, Canadian Certified Counsellor that helps children, teens, young adults, parents, and families in dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, parenting support to live a more fulfilled and bliss-ful life.

If your child or teen struggles with attention span and self-regulation, you may be wondering what to do. You are not alone!

We all know what it’s like to have a hard time paying attention. But for children with ADHD, this problem is more intense and frequent. They may be easily distracted, fidgety or impulsive, which can cause problems in school or at home. For parents of these children, the toughest part might be knowing how to help your child maintain their focus when they are struggling with self-regulation skills on their own.

In this blog we’ll talk about ways you can support your children with ADHD who struggles with attention span and self-regulation skills so that they can succeed in school and life!

1. Identify your child’s strengths and interests

Parents or caregivers ability to identify their child’s strength and interests is an important way to support your child with ADHD who struggles with attention span and self-regulation skills so that they can succeed in school and life!

Identifying your child’s strengths and interest can be difficult because they may not always show up on tests or grades. But there are some signs that can help you find out what makes them unique! You might notice that they love playing video games for hours at a time, or maybe they like building things from scratch. Maybe they’re really good at sports, but hate practising the drills over and over again. Whatever it is, don’t ignore these signs of talent! They could be the key to helping your kid excel in school later on down the road if you know how to use their talents as motivation for success instead of something negative that holds them back from reaching their full potential!

2. Create a routine that works for them

It’s important to create a routine that works for your child. This is because routines help children with ADHD who struggle with attention span and self-regulation skills succeed in school and life! As such, you can do this by creating clear expectations for your child, using visual cues to support them, providing positive reinforcement when they follow the routine, and giving them opportunities to practice following the routine on their own. By doing these things consistently over time you will be able to see improvements in your child’s ability to follow routines. It may take some time but it will be worth it!

3. Consider medication as an option if they are struggling with ADHD symptoms

If your child is having trouble focusing, staying organized, and completing tasks at home or in school, you may want to reach out to your family doctor. Because ADHD can make it difficult for children to succeed in school and maintain friendships. However, there are treatments that can help them manage their symptoms. Parents or caregivers should consider medication as an option if their children are struggling with ADHD symptoms where and when necessary.

Medication can be a great way to manage your symptoms and help you focus on the things that matter most. It’s important to work closely with your doctor when considering medication for ADHD so they can make sure it is right for you.

4. Set up a reward system for behaviours you want to see

A reward system for behaviours you want to see more of in your child (without being reminded), such as staying focused on homework or chores without being reminded can be helpful. For children with autism and ADHD, who struggle with attention span and self-regulation (ADHD), this might help them stay motivated to complete tasks that they find challenging otherwise. Children need positive reinforcement too!

5. Have patience and be patient

It takes time to learn new skills and habits. More so, it can take time to make changes stick! It may help to start small and work up from there, like setting a timer when doing homework or making one chore their responsibility each day.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition that affects about some children and teens. Children with ADHD struggle to pay attention and control their impulses, which can make it difficult for them to succeed academically or socially. There are many treatment options available today that have been shown to be effective at managing symptoms and improving quality of life for those diagnosed with ADHD. We’ve talked about some general tips on how parents can help their child who struggles with these symptoms in this blog post, but if you want more information schedule a free consultation so we can chat further. Thank you

Emem Iniobong is a Brandon MB, Canadian Certified Counsellor that helps children, teens, young adults, parents, and families in dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, parenting support to live a more fulfilled and bliss-ful life.

Dealing with tantrum is a concern for most parents/caregivers. In our first in this blog series we met our guest, Moyin Adefisayo who is currently a graduate student of the Masters of Art in counselling psychology program at Yorkville University. She works with the Vancouver School Board as a Student Support Staff (Urgent Intervention Process Team). Moyin provides behavioural plans to educators (K-12) and works with the child in developing coping strategies to managing their emotions and/or behaviours.

We learned that everyone has behaviour and behaviours are signals. They communicate and also have a function and as such, it is very important to know and understand what these are to support your child or teen.

In this second part of three we look at tantrums; how they may differ and how to handle them.

What is a Tantrum?

Like we mentioned in the last blog everyone has behaviour. Tantrum is a way children and youth express frustration, stress, or anger. Keep in mind that they do not make a conscious plan to embarrass you. Rather, a tantrum could happen as a result of learned behaviour or as a result of stress. Tantrum is a functional behaviour and if you understand what the function of that tantrum is then you will know how to respond. Some tantrums could be manipulative or stressed related.

Manipulative Tantrum

Manipulative tantrum is when your child uses the learned behaviour (tantrum) to get something from you (ha-ha). Children are really smart and at a young age they already know how to get something or gain control over you. When your child knows what to expect and what is expected from them the tendency to use manipulative tantrum will be reduced. This is where being consistent is key.

Stress Tantrum

Stress tantrum could be as a result of your child feeling stressed or a build up of stress that results in the unwanted behaviour. It could also be as a result to emotional response which could include anger, frustration, sadness, and so on. Remember, behaviours are signals! The parent or caregiver needs to discern if the tantrum is stressed related. Then, they must be in tuned with his or her child to know what that behaviour is communicating.

Emem Iniobong, CCC is a Canadian Certified Counsellor in Brandon, Manitoba. She specializes in working with children and adolescents experiencing various mental, behavioural, and emotional challenges. I am passionate about helping children and teens find their unique strengths, develop skills to overcome challenges, and bravely navigate the world around them.

My child, their behaviour sounds common in many homes today. As a mental health counsellor, one common question I get from parents and caregivers is how do I deal with my child’s behaviours or tantrums? How do I respond to my child’s behaviour? Why is time out not working for my child? Why does my child meltdown a lot? What do I do to handle my child’s outbursts, as I am exhausted?

In this 3 week blog series we have a guest speaker who will joining us as we look into and discuss the topic of my child, their behaviour.

Meet Our Guest

Moyin Adefisayo is currently a graduate student of the Masters of Art in counselling psychology program at Yorkville University. She works with the Vancouver School Board as a Student Support Staff (Urgent Intervention Process Team). Moyin provides behavioural plans to educators (K-12) and works with the child in developing coping strategies to managing their emotions and/or behaviours. Referral into the urgent intervention process team is through the Vancouver School Board and the length of interventions for each child range from 1-4 weeks.

What is Behaviour?

Behaviour is simply the way people handle or conduct themselves. These ways or conduct could involve their functioning, reactions, and actions in response to their daily functioning or everyday living. It is safe to say everyone has a behaviour and this behaviour, especially in children, serves a purpose! It can be either functional or communicative.

Behaviour as a Function in My Child, Their Behaviour

It is important to know and understand what purpose the behaviour serves in order to effectively decrease the undesired behaviour and replace it with a desired behaviour. When the function of the behaviour is known that is easy to understand what your child is trying to communicate.

Behaviour as Communicative in My Child, Their Behaviour

Behaviour as communicative in my child is important to know. When parents understand what the purpose of a behaviour is and what it’s trying to communicate they are better equipped to handle the situation.

Tips on How to Handle My Child, Their Behaviour

• Be in tune with your child
• Establish good rapport
• Have Clear Expectation
• Offer Choices
• Follow Through
• Be Consistent

Parents and caregivers need to remember that behaviour is a signal and as such it is important to know and understand what is the need? What is my child trying to communicate and what is the function? I hope you found this blog helpful. Share with others you know may need this info and do not forget to follow us on all our social media.

Emem Iniobong, CCC is a Canadian Certified Counsellor in Brandon, Manitoba. She specializes in working with children and adolescents experiencing various mental, behavioural, and emotional challenges. I am passionate about helping children and teens find their unique strengths, develop skills to overcome challenges, and bravely navigate the world around them.

Supporting teen with anxiety during Covid-19 has been stressful for stressful. How do I support my teen with anxiety during this Covid-19, has been a huge stressors in parents and caregivers. Parents and caregivers are so stressed because during this pandemic is really difficult for them to support their teen with anxiety.

I have heard teens tell me I just want Covid-19 to go away, and my anxiety will go as well. Teens have said to me, I do not want the school to be shut down again as I don’t want to be alone at home without connecting with my friends. Teens have also said when school goes remote I struggle because I do not have any motivation to learn.

This is the new reality that the world leaves in right now. One day is we are free to connect with family and friends and the next day is you cannot visit friends and families; it leads to anxiety because teens do not know what to expect. Research indicates that the rate of anxiety in teens have increased during this Covid-19.

How do I support my teen with anxiety during this Covid-19 is a common question among parents and caregivers.

1) Limit Worry Activities

You know that teens with anxiety are prone to worry a lot and as a parent or caregiver limiting those worry activities or exposures are important in supporting teens with anxiety during this Covis-19. Some ways to support your teen to limit worry activities with anxiety during Covid-19;

• Limit their exposure to media that focus so much on the negative outcomes especially when you know your teen worries a lot. Limiting media will include you as a parent or caregiver been intentional around your teen to limit media exposure.
• Ask your teen what the know or if they have any question that is causing them to worry a lot and use that opportunity answer their questions in an age appropriate way. Please parents avoid details answers that can cause more worries in your teen.
• Validate their feelings, emotions, and thoughts around the situation. Do not be in a hurry to dismiss their feels or worries, be patient and explore and validate your teen. (read more on this topic here).

2) Keep Routine “Normal”

Keep the routine normal and consistent to support teen with anxiety during Covid-19 as it helps teens feel safe, develop life skills, cope with the situation, and build healthy habits. Routine could include bedtime, physical activities, spiritual activities, connecting with loved ones (friends, families, teacher, religious leader etc., through video chat or phone call), schoolwork, appointments, medical professional, and fun with family. Keeping routine normal and consistent in supporting teens with anxiety during Covid-19 can help reduce stress, worry, and anxiety.

3) Connect with Your Supports

Connecting with your supports in other to support your teen with Anxiety during Covid-19 is very important. For a lot of people that support could include;

• Professional Supports. Professional supports could include your family doctor, mental health professional, or school counsellor.
• Spiritual Supports. Spiritual supports could include your pastor, church, and so on.
• Community Supports. The Community supports could include groups in the communities, online group, and so on.

Emem Iniobong, CCC is a Canadian Certified Counsellor in Brandon, Manitoba. She specializes in working with children and adolescents through various mental, emotional, and behavioural challenges.  Passionate about helping children and teens find their unique strengths, she developed tools so they can overcome whatever challenges they face and bravely navigate the world around them. Bliss Counselling and Wellness Centre helps you find your bliss.