The Benefits of Worry Stones
As we enter the year of 2022 and the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic it can be assumed that worry, anxiety, and stress will continue to rise for our youth. It’s important for parents to support their child with understanding what worry is, how worry can be helpful, and when worry becomes a problem.
Worry is when the mind focuses on negative thoughts or things that could go wrong. It serves as an important function in our lives by causing our brain to solve problems, make a decision, or take action. Worry is helpful when it leads to change, but becomes a problem when negative thoughts cannot be controlled.
Signs that your child may be struggling with worry may include difficulties sleeping, trouble with focus or concentration, irritability, new problems at school, and problems with friends or family. It’s important that parents during this time provide children and teens with validation of their experience along with support about how to manage their worries.
Worry stones can be used as a “grounding” or “mindfulness” tool to stay in the present moment by rubbing the worry stone between the index finger and thumb. This action brings the individual back to the present moment. Adolescents and children have reported that the best thing about using a worry stone is that they fit in the pocket and using the worry stone is often not noticed by those around them.
Below are some examples of worry stones that I recently made and have given out to youth during the month of December.
Below are some resources for how to make your own worry stones and my go to books about worry for youth.
Worry Stone How To:
Books:
Let me know in the comment section how you support your teen or child with managing feelings of worry!
Lisa Torres, LMFT #48946