Back to School: Blissful or Stressful?

It’s back-to-school time! Every single student and parent has a love-hate relationship with this August 1 headline. Summer is a time of little structure, sleeping late, reduced academic stress and time for more overall chilling. We all love summer’s promise of less agonizing hours spent on homework and less arguing between parent and student. Summer brings more opportunities to sleep late, which mean a more refreshed and delightful child. School time hits and the realities of educational stress hit all students and parents right between the eyes.

Take hope! There are powerful solutions to help parents and students alike create a newfound positive relationship with this notion of “back to school.”

1. Stress Release Technologies:

• The Alpha-Stim™ is an almost magical device that immediately and cumulatively drastically reduces overall stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD and much more! The 40 years of research and my anecdotal clinical experiences boast amazing results. We are offering a very special price for the Alpha-Stim package this month. Supplies are limited so call Peyton or Jasmine at the clinic now! Check out our special starting September.

• Touch Points are our newest device with our Holistic Therapy Services. These tools are based on the trauma healing modality of EMDR. They are a less invasive approach because you simply wear them on your wrists while we process your stress/trauma during a session for immediate results. They help with trauma release, anxiety, stress, focus, anger and sleep.

2. Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the practice of paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, without judging what you are observing. When feeling the effects of stress, simply stop and notice what you are feeling or thinking. Label it (“There’s that thought I often have about the agony of school and I am getting that familiar pit in my stomach.”). Sit and notice it without trying to push it away. Mindfulness brings awareness and awareness is the biggest piece of the healing process. Remind yourself that you have the ability to bring mindful awareness to the negative “stories” you retell over and over and then change your story!

3. Acupressure Release Points: By holding your neurovascular points (also called your “Oh My God” points) on your forehead, you activate your Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). Your PFC is the newest part in the evolution of the human brain. The PFC is responsible for our executive functions such as organization, problem solving, conflict resolution and emotional regulation. When we hold these points, we pull energy away from our amygdala (fight or flight area) and redirect blood and energy to the area that will help us remember to mindfully mange our own emotional responses. Use your fingertips to press gently between both eyebrows and the hairline, directly above each pupil. Many people actually have a small bump/ridge where the NVPs are. Our bodies are so intelligent about self-healing. In fact, have you ever experienced a shock and automatically said “Oh My God!” while you simultaneously slap your palms to your forehead? Self-healing at its best!

4. Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT or “Tapping”): Tapping is a powerful tool for stress release (and anything else that is bugging you!). This technique has you use your fingertips to tap on meridian end points on 8 specific areas on the body while you talk/think and process through the event/memory/feeling. It has been referred to as modern psychology meets ancient medicine. For more information on how to tap, please visit eftuniverse.com or make an appointment with me to learn more. Meanwhile, you can tap on one point that is specific to trauma or stress release. This point is called “the eyebrow point” and is located at the end of the eyebrow (closest to the nose). You can tap both eyebrow points or just one. While you are tapping say, “I choose to release all this stress stuck in my body immediately and gracefully.”

5. Visualization and Imagery: Have you ever heard the saying, “Your thoughts create your reality?” Well, it is absolutely true! The key to manifesting new realities for yourself is to not only change your thoughts, but use those new thoughts to actually visualize, even fantasize about the intentions you desire. Visualized or imaged thought stimulates the same parts of the brain that actually engaging in an activity does. This is why professional musicians and athletes use this technique to “practice” without even having to physically engage in their art or sport. Try this: choose the new reality you desire, create a visualized story in your mind’s eye and feel the positive emotion this evokes. By doing this as much as you can throughout your day (even for just 20 seconds at a time), I promise you will start to experience almost miraculous manifestations. I can tell you from a personal standpoint, I have used visualization and imagery with both of my kids and have seen almost magical results. And yes, I’ve done this with school stress! I’ve taught this technique to numerous clients and have seen the same amazing transformation in their lives as well.