Anxiety and Occupational Therapy
When anxiety begins to impact a person’s daily life, it is important to consult with a qualified professional. Anxiety can a ffect clients of all ages in a variety of ways, and it is important that we first help our clients identify their symptoms and triggers. Symptoms may manifest over time, and may not have an easily identi able trigger.
Anxiety can present in the form of a racing heart, sweating, tantrums, nausea or frequent tummy aches, unpredictable sleeping patterns, appetite disturbances, unexplained restless energy, muscle tension, and sometimes, a frequent expression of fear.
These symptoms can impact several areas of a child or teen’s life and can result in a detriment to emotional health. We often see the most impact in a child’s ability to engage in social opportunities or school activities as they may experience performance fear, or low self-esteem.
At Roots to Thrive we help our clients to identify the areas of their life that may contribute to this type of symptom manifestation. We sometimes identify that recent life changes can contribute to a child or teen experiencing heightened anxious thoughts and patterns. Once a trigger can be identi ed in a client’s life it is our job as occupational therapists to give our clients useful tools and strategies to try and help manage their symptoms.
At Roots to Thrive we work to treat the root cause of the anxiety, and provide a series of relaxation techniques that can be applied to an individual's daily routine. We work to provide strategies that your child or teen can implement into their daily lives making a positive impact on their typical routines and patterns.
Our approach is highly individualized and involves regulation of the nervous system. We take a bottom up approach in treatment, beginning by healing the nervous system, and then slowly helping to modify patterns and cognitions.
This approach allows us to build meaningful connections with clients and gives them a safe space to begin making small life adjustments. We nd that when these small adjustments are added over time, progress is made, and the body and mind can regulate for improved quality of life for clients.
Source: https://www.aota.org/-/media/corporate/ les/practice/children/schoolmhtoolkit/anxiety%20disorder s%20info%20sheet.pdf