Generalised Anxiety Disorder: is your child constantly “fighting or flying”? …

… Why not try homeopathy instead?

The fight or flight response triggered by stress, anxiety can be a life saver… when you face a saber-tooth tiger… Nowadays our triggers are different, but they are constant. It is true for adults, but it is also true for children. A new school, a new sibling, homework, bullying, divorce, moving, wanting to please the parents, the constant noise of the city, etc. and the list goes on and on. Those are no longer life-threatening situations, but the brain still reacts to them in a similar way. Luckily there is a long-term solution.

A permanent state of alert

When a child experiences GAD, their fight of flight response doesn’t have a “switch-off” button. The anxiety then constantly activates a part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The consequence is a constant release of stress hormones (adrenaline and noradrenaline) which fuel the body of the necessary physical resources to fight or flee.

It is very distressing for a child to live, day in and day out, in that permanent state of anxiety, their body flooded by stress hormones. It can cause problems related to sleep, eating patterns, attendance at school, headaches, lack of self-esteem or unexplained illnesses. And can also cause anxiety for the parents who obviously worry for their children.

Are coping mechanisms the only avenue ?

Medications for anxiety have shown their limitations and dangers, especially when it comes to young children. Next to those, internet is full of good advice in order to cope with anxiety such as breathing technique, mindfulness, essential oils, talking therapies… All these techniques can help deal with the anxiety and the panic attacks, they make life manageable but don’t target the root cause of the anxiety.

What if life could be enjoyable instead of manageable?

Of course, being a homeopath, it won’t surprise you if my answer to this question is to use homeopathy. Homeopathy can help for acute situations or panic attacks as there are a few remedies that can bring a quick relief such as Aconite which would work in 30% of the cases, especially if there is a sudden fear, a flushed face and trembling. Those are effective but comparable to coping techniques.

The benefit of homeopathy is that it can bring a permanent relief for chronic anxiety. There are many causes to GAD : trauma, family history of anxiety, abuse, vaccines and other pharmaceutical drugs,… By looking at the precise cause of anxiety and how it manifests itself in each patient, the homeopath will be able to select the most appropriate remedy among the 500+ remedies covering anxiety. Progressively, you should be able to see long-lasting improvements in your child’s display of anxiety. How would you feel if your child was able to enjoy life without that dark cloud hanging above their head ?