MIND OVER MIND Therapies

28/11/2025

A great explanation of anxiety in children 💕

What anxiety looks like in children — and what’s actually going on underneath. A lot of people still imagine anxiety as looking shaky, panicked or obviously distressed. But in kids (and many teens), it rarely looks like that.

Most of the young people I work with look absolutely fine on the outside… while their bodies are in full “alarm mode” on the inside.
Here’s what anxiety often actually looks like in children:
>Angry outbursts
>“I don’t want to go”
>Suddenly feeling sick
>Tummy aches
>Freezing when asked a question
>Needing everything ‘just right’
>Being the class clown to hide how they feel

What’s really happening? (In proper plain English)
Children’s brains are still developing. The part that manages emotions and helps them rationalise things is much younger and less skilled than the part that scans for danger and does all the clever stuff and its much more reactive than proactive!
So when something feels scary, uncomfortable or unpredictable, their bodies react before their words can catch up.
> Their heart speeds up.
> Their stomach tightens.
> Their breathing changes.
> Their brain starts shouting: “Something’s wrong!”
> That’s why they lash out, shut down, cling, avoid, or suddenly “feel sick”.
> It’s not manipulation.
> It’s not attitude.
> It’s their nervous system going into protection mode.

Let’s use emetophobia as an example
I work with a lot of children and teens who are terrified of being sick. Here’s how it usually plays out:
>Their brain senses nausea - even normal tummy sensations.
>Their body goes into panic mode.
>Panic makes their stomach feel worse.
>Feeling worse convinces them they might be sick.
>And the cycle continues.
So what do you see?
>Refusing to eat certain foods
>Avoiding school
>“My tummy hurts” every morning
>Fear of long car journeys
>Needing constant reassurance
>Meltdowns before school or bedtime
>To a parent, it can seem irrational.

But to the child, it is completely real, scary and overwhelming!
Their body is reacting as if vomiting is a life-threatening danger!

Now if you are in the situation where your little goes into school and 'seems' to manage...
Don't be alarmed if the melt down when they get home, because they have worked so hard all day to keep it together....now they need a release!

However the good news is Anxiety — including emetophobia — is treatable.
Kids can absolutely learn to understand their body, calm their nervous system and break the cycle. You’re not imagining it.
They’re not doing it on purpose. And you don’t have to figure it out alone.
If your child is struggling with anxiety, I’m here to help support them (and you) through it.
💚 Graham
Brave Journeys Counselling

27/11/2025

A very good reason to carry sweets!! ###

Sour candy can literally help stop a panic attack.

According to mental health experts, the intense flavor acts as a grounding technique—its sharp, jarring taste pulls attention away from overwhelming thoughts and into the immediate physical sensation.

This redirection can help interrupt the cycle of spiraling anxiety, bringing individuals back to the present moment. Additionally, the act of chewing and the surge in saliva production may support the body's calming response, offering a sense of control during distress.

While not a cure or replacement for therapy, this sensory-based strategy can serve as a quick, practical tool in moments of high anxiety. As noted by experts cited by Utah State University, sour candy can be particularly helpful in grounding exercises used during panic attacks. However, they caution that frequent or intense anxiety should always be assessed by a healthcare professional to ensure appropriate long-term care.

Source: Utah State University Extension. (2023). Managing Anxiety with Grounding Techniques.

Al-Ghaili O

UPDATE-
We are so grateful to everyone's reaction to this post. Please give us feedback if you have tried it and how it worked for you! And if you are able please follow us! Please donate and help us in our mission to continue to raise awareness and support parents and caregivers raising children with Complex Trauma! 💚
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EIN-83-2090828

22/10/2025

This has been a long time coming!!! X

🙌🏽HISTORIC CAMPAIGN WIN🙌🏽

👩🏻‍⚖️ After a decade-long campaign, today the government has decided to repeal the legal presumption of parental contact.

This is a HUGE move for child victims of domestic abuse, who for too many years have been failed and silenced by the systems supposed to protect them.

🤔What does that mean?
There will no longer be a legal presumption in the family courts that it's safe and better for a child to have access to both their parents.

🤔Why is it important?
Presumption costs lives. 19 more children have been killed by an abusive parent in the last decade, as a result of unsafe child contact arrangements.

🤔What next?
The repeal will need to be made through legislation in the coming months. It is one step towards protecting more children, but we're calling for a whole-system approach to prioritise children’s voices in the courts, and beyond.

🩷A huge thank you to our survivor Ambassador Claire Throssell and countless other survivors, who's courage and determination have helped lead this campaign.

27/09/2025

Always be kind!

People don't announce when they're barely holding on

10/07/2025

Nobody knows what is going on in someone else’s mind. Be Kind.

03/07/2025

Grief is messy……💔

Grief is messy.

Not in the way people warn you about.

Not in the tears or the heartbreak or the funeral plans.

Grief is messy because it doesn’t make sense.

One moment, you're laughing at a memory—
The next, you’re drowning in guilt for laughing at all.

You think you’ve accepted it,
but then a song, a scent, a date on the calendar
sends you spiraling back to day one.

Grief doesn’t follow rules.
It doesn’t arrive in neat, tidy stages.
It crashes in like a storm,
then disappears,
then comes back just when you think the sky is clear.

It’s confusing.
It’s contradictory.
You can feel deep love and deep anger at the same time.
Relief and regret.
Peace and pain.
Hope and hopelessness—all in one breath.

It doesn’t ask permission.
It doesn’t care how long it’s been.
And just when you start to feel okay,
it whispers, “Don’t forget.”

Grief is messy because it lives in the gray areas.
There’s no handbook.
No finish line.
No right way to do it.

It changes you.
And just when you start to recognize yourself again,
you shift.

You don’t get over it.
You grow around it.
You carry it, reshape it, wrestle with it.

Some days, it feels like a scar.
Other days, like an open wound.

Grief is messy because love is messy.
And when someone you love is gone—
what’s left behind is never simple.

So if your grief feels all over the place,
if it doesn’t make sense,
if you think you're doing it “wrong”—
you’re not.

You’re just living inside the truth of it.

19/06/2025

01/03/2025

Talking is always the best therapy! 🖤👌🏼

Thank you to Tesco for welcoming Andys Man Club to their store in Crewe today 10am to 2pm. We have had some great conversations with customers and raised awareness of the group that meets at Crewe Alexandra Football Club on Mondays from 7pm for men over 18.

25/12/2024

What a lovely way to explain grief! Thinking of everyone who is missing someone this Christmas ❤️Kerry DC

25/12/2024

Sending love to everyone whose Christmas doesn’t feel quite so sparkly this year ###

Christmas eve ❤️. Merry Christmas everyone! Hope you have a lovely day 🎅🎉❤️. Be kind to everyone this year for christmas as we don't know what battles they are fighting.