HEALTH / TEENS

Reducing Stress Mindfulness is derived from Buddhist practice but is gaining in popularity as a practice used by clinical psychologists to ease a variety of mental and physical conditions, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression. It has gained worldwide popularity as a distinctive method to handle emotions and is defined as a moment-bymoment awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment and is said to help us to respond to life’s pressures in a calmer way. It is also thought to reduce the stress hormone, cortisol, in children and lead to improvements in behaviour.

Mindfulness means simply becoming more aware of the present moment by noticing the sights, smells, sounds and tastes that we experience, as well as the thoughts and feelings that occur from one moment to the next. It can help teach teenagers to recognize the downward spiral of thoughts and acknowledging the anxiety without thinking too much about it and letting it ruin their mood.

Empowering Teens As parents of children who might not have an automatic ability to look objectively upon their problems, many of us may feel helpless when faced with helping them deal with and cope with everyday pressures, but at the very least we can show them how to identify, step back from and then process those difficult emotions. ‘Some children don’t know how to recognise stress or how to cope with and process it. Empowering children with this life skill and coping mechanism builds their self esteem which in turn helps to improve educational performance, sport performance and to build strong, lasting, healthy relationships,’ says Wendy.

So how is it done? Wendy says it’s all in the breath. 'By practicing awareness of the

'After a one hour session of mindfulness, just before the tests, my son had totally changed his mind-set towards them'

breath we can safely release emotions and create a sense of calm regardless of the circumstance, enabling us to have level-headed reactions to any situation. This tool empowers kids, giving them an inbuilt coping mechanism to manage stress and life.' In working with young people and mindfulness Wendy says she recognizes that a certain sense of calm comes over a child, particularly the more aggressive ones. 'It sounds unbelievable I’m sure, but I’ve witnessed it. This is what lead me to study and train in teaching children meditation in the first place.' Ten-year-old Matthew was suffering from anxiety due to his upcoming SATs. His teachers felt that he lacked confidence in himself and his parents openly admitted that they had applied a lot of pressure on him. Matthew's mother said, 'After a one hour session of mindfulness, just before the tests, he had totally changed his mind-set towards them, and went into school each day with a smile on his face and unfazed by the impending challenges!' Matthew's results were the highest he had ever achieved. But it’s not just sitting with eyes closed concentrating on "in breath, out breath". Practical activities with the children also help them to focus on something other than their anxieties. One of the activities Wendy does is to take them to work on an allotment project. 'The space, the quiet surroundings, the focus on simple tasks – seemed to dissolve their anger into an inner stillness.'

Wendy’s belief is that mentally stepping back helps them deal with problems in a more adaptive way. 'If we show them how to empower themselves then they come to their own realisation about how they might deal with their problems.' Fifteen-year-old Rebecca had been excluded from school and was separated from her family due to anti-social behavior. Wendy worked with Rebecca and four other girls for 12 weeks, teaching them compassion and trust through mindful activities including spending time in nature. 'It was a difficult task', Wendy said, 'as the group’s self esteem was very low. After one of the sessions Rebecca asked if she could borrow my phone, stating in front of the group that she needed to call her step mum and apologise for all of the trouble she had caused with her previous terrible behavior. She is now living back at home and studying A-levels.' Mindfulness may not be the answer to all the problems and stresses teenagers have to deal with on a daily basis but it does give them another tool in their arsenal of coping strategies to help them navigate the stresses of teenager-hood. If we teach them when they are still young, when they have the love and support of their family, to use techniques such as mindfulness, and to step back out of the problem, rather than rush headlong into their emotional reaction then they can use these skills to keep themselves mentally and emotionally healthy in the long term, putting them in charge of their own future.

Steps to Mindful A is for Awareness Becoming more aware of what you are thinking and doing - whats going on in your mind and body. B is for "just Being" with your experience. Avoiding the tendency to respond on auto-pilot and feed problems by creating your own story. C is for seeing things and responding more wisely. By creating a gap between the experience and our reaction to, we can make wiser choices. Thanks to mindfulnet.org

MORE INSPIRATION FIND Louise on Twitter at twitter.com/loukinnaird VISIT Wendy’s website at mindovermatterkids.co.uk

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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 www.thegreenparent.co.uk