The Mind-Body Connection: Supporting Children with Chronic Illness

Chronic illness affects more than just the physical body; it also has a profound impact on the nervous system and emotional well-being. When a child faces ongoing health issues, like autoimmune conditions or gastrointestinal disorders, their body is in a constant state of stress. Persistent symptoms, such as pain or fatigue, can send danger signals to the brain, triggering a continuous stress response that deregulates the nervous system.

For children, who may struggle to understand their condition, this ongoing stress can result in emotional overwhelm. It’s not uncommon for them to experience heightened anxiety, difficulty concentrating, or disturbed sleep. These symptoms often create a vicious cycle where emotional stress worsens physical symptoms and vice versa. Understanding the mind-body connection can help parents provide better support for their children.

Emotional Responses and Chronic Illness

Children with chronic illness often feel trapped by their condition. They may develop thoughts like, “This will never get better” or “I can’t cope,” which further activate their stress response. The ongoing nature of chronic illness can make them feel out of control, leading to anxiety. The nervous system can remain on high alert, perceiving everyday situations as threats due to the ongoing discomfort.

Parents can play a key role in breaking this cycle by acknowledging their child’s emotional experience. Providing psychoeducation about the mind-body connection can help children make sense of their symptoms, offering them some control in how they respond. Helping children understand that their body’s reactions to stress is normal can alleviate some of their fear and anxiety.

Practical Tips for Parents to Support Resilience

1. Teach Relaxation Techniques: Introducing simple breathing exercises can help children manage their stress response. These techniques allow them to reset their nervous system, which can reduce both emotional and physical discomfort.
2. Create a Safe Environment: Children with chronic illness need to feel secure, especially when their bodies may feel unpredictable. Establishing routines and open conversations about their symptoms can foster emotional safety. Letting them express their worries without fear of judgment helps them feel understood.
3. Model Emotional Regulation: Parents can show their children how to handle stressful moments by modelling calm and collected behaviour. When children see their parents manage emotions effectively, they learn to do the same, even when their illness feels overwhelming.
4. Encourage Connection: Children with chronic illness can sometimes feel isolated from their peers. Facilitating opportunities for social interaction, whether through structured playdates, support groups, or team activities, can help them maintain important connections and feel less alone.
5. Balance Activity and Rest: It’s crucial to help children listen to their bodies and strike a balance between being active and getting adequate rest. Learning to respect their limits can prevent them from overexerting themselves, which can worsen symptoms, while also ensuring they stay engaged with the world around them

Navigating the Mind-Body Connection

When children live with chronic illness, it’s easy for their physical symptoms to take the spotlight, but their emotional and psychological well-being plays an equally important role. Chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation can exacerbate their condition, creating a continuous loop of discomfort and anxiety. However, with the right strategies and support, children can learn to manage both the physical and emotional challenges of their illness.

Parents can make a meaningful difference by teaching their children practical coping mechanisms, offering emotional safety, and fostering resilience. While chronic illness presents ongoing challenges, addressing the mind-body connection can help children regain a sense of control and improve their overall quality of life.

In the pursuit of a more fulfilling and positive life, many turn to a simple yet transformative tool: positive affirmations. These concise, uplifting statements have the power to shift our mindset, boost self-esteem, and set us on a path of self-improvement. In this blog, we’ll explore what positive affirmations are and delve into some compelling reasons why they work.

What Are Positive Affirmations?

Positive affirmations are short, affirmative statements designed to challenge and overcome negative thoughts. They are often repeated daily, serving as a reminder of our goals, dreams, and capabilities. These affirmations can encompass a wide range of areas, from self-love and confidence to success and happiness. The key is to craft them in the present tense, as if they are already true, and to infuse them with sincerity and emotion.

Why Positive Affirmations Work:

1. Reprogramming the Mind: Our thoughts shape our reality. Positive affirmations act as a mental reset button, gradually replacing negative or self-limiting beliefs with more positive and empowering ones. As we repeat these affirmations, we reprogram our subconscious mind, encouraging it to accept these new beliefs as truths.
2. Enhancing Self-Confidence: One of the most remarkable aspects of positive affirmations is their ability to boost self-confidence. When we regularly tell ourselves that we are capable, worthy, and deserving of success, we start to believe it. This newfound self-assurance can lead to more assertive actions and a greater willingness to take on challenges.
3. Motivation and Goal Setting: Affirmations are like a compass that points us toward our goals. By continually affirming what we want to achieve, we stay motivated and focused. This persistent focus increases our commitment to taking steps in the right direction, ultimately leading to the realization of our aspirations.
4. Stress Reduction: Positive affirmations can act as a powerful stress management tool. When we face challenging situations, repeating calming and reassuring affirmations can help lower stress levels. This, in turn, can improve our ability to cope with difficulties and make rational decisions.
5. Improved Resilience: Positive affirmations are not about denying reality but about cultivating a positive perspective. When we embrace these affirmations, we develop a more resilient mindset. We’re better equipped to bounce back from setbacks and maintain a positive outlook, even in challenging circumstances.
6. Health and Well-Being: Research has shown that a positive mindset can have tangible effects on physical health. By reducing stress, increasing optimism, and fostering self-care, positive affirmations contribute to overall well-being.

Incorporating positive affirmations into your daily routine is a simple yet effective method to cultivate a more positive and confident mindset. Whether you’re aiming to boost self-esteem, improve relationships, or achieve your career goals, positive affirmations can be a valuable tool on your journey to a more fulfilling life. So why not give them a try and watch the transformative power of your thoughts unfold? Remember, your mind is a powerful tool, and with positive affirmations, you have the ability to reshape your world in a brighter, more positive light.

There are so many ways our psychologists and early intervention specialists can help with these subtle communication and emotional strategies so don’t forget to add these micro skills to your communication with your child. 

Some helpful links:

Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University

Family Therapy

Malini

When I first got told my mother had dementia and was terminally I was about 16 years old with very little idea of what that meant. It was 35 years or so ago and we have very little information about it compared to what we have today. And I lived in a small town in India where we didn’t have the access to computers or the Internet like we do now! So, it was a journey that not only shaped my life in many many ways to be the person I am today but also understand that this condition wasn’t so much about one person- it affected everyone around it. In my case, my family, parent’s relationship, our friends, my mother’s job, and my schooling at the time. In fact, it has taken me decades to write about it and share my thoughts such as this blog, as this personal journey has been one of the most powerful ones for me as a carer in my late teens and till I was about 23 years old, when we lost my mother to this condition, at the age of approx 56.

What has inspired me to write is that it is a simple way of reaching out to others who may be on this position and although everybody has a different experience we can all hold hands to share our support as this can change the whole course of how one lives through a very confusing and emotionally charged journey.We do have so much information now and can find all these posts and blogs and support groups, it can be an information overload and one has to think about how to find information that is relevant to you and your situation to make small decisions about yourself and how you are travelling in that space.  This emotional rollercoaster can be shared by talking to your counsellor, a support group where you may have some good connections, and connecting to what is happening around you.  I feel especially proud of Im part of Dementia Awareness Week and sharing this with everyone whom it may help or inspire. This week has a special meaning for me- not just because it helps me to focus on the topic that I relegate to the side in the busyness of life, but also because it connects me to my journey and allows me to reflect on my memories and experiences in new ways that bring a sense of positivity to my life. It is an oasis in the desert of fear and anxiety if you are a carer.  It has been struggle (and you can relate to that if you have been in these shoes in any way), that one cannot see much positivity in a condition that can lead to such deterioration and loss. At least, I did not and have often thought why we still have these conditions when Man has reached the Moon? It inspired me to study further in Neuroscience and has fostered a life long passion for understanding how to work with our neural networks (no brain, no me as far as I can see).

This week I want to share the message that this too shall pass. Looking back, I did not often see that apart from a sense of how to get through the day and try to see what the planning needed to be like. Thats mostly all I did and there were new things to contend with as we progressed through the maze. I went to a birthday celebration at a nursing home for advanced dementia residents at the request of the family and what struck me was the sense that they could celebrate and share the memories of beautiful family moments. The family visited every day in turns and it became quite a focal point of their daily life. When the time came for them to stop visiting, I was very moved by their comments to continue to visit the nursing home and help others with meals and outings as they had made these incredible connections through their time there.

My physical journey as a carer has passed and many of the memories have receded in my mind, but as I go down memory lane (and I feel fortunate that I am able to do that, more so now having been a carer than ever before and I am ageing with my own fears) the emotional journey is ongoing in new ways. I want to share that sense of appreciation of the gift of knowing who people are around me, sharing the small joys with my family, and building memories for the future. I could not have had that deep personal experience without the experience of deeply understanding what it could be like without that ability. For that alone, I am grateful to my experiences as being a child who looked after their parent with dementia. Although mama you may not have known who I was physically towards the end, the love and the connection will never end. What one cannot hear in words one can feel through a million other ways (the way your eyes lit up when you saw me or a big grin when I said something silly which you always found funny) and that can never be taken away from you or me and my message to everyone here today reading this about the person you love.

Here are some links to help support people caring for loved ones with Dementia:

Home | Dementia Australia

Nationwide, 24-hour carer support | Dementia Support Australia

Persuasive Letters for Perspective Taking.

Michael Audas – Speech Pathology.

Writing a persuasive letter can be a fun way to encourage children to think about the perspectives and motivations of others. In order to convince someone, you need to think about a person’s personality traits, desires, beliefs, and circumstances.

Ordinarily, persuasive writing tasks in school are addressed to a generic audience (e.g., a classroom cohort), but a persuasive letter is addressed to a particular person. This means that one has to think deeply about that person in order to select, and then word, the points of argument that will persuade them to adopt a particular position, or to undertake a particular action.

Books with rich, vibrant characters—such as classic fairytales—are a great way to kick off this exercise. Children can select their favourite character from the story, take on their perspective, and then write a letter to persuade another character from the story. For example, Rapunzel’s father might write a letter to the Witch, pleading for his daughter’s release, or The Big Bad Wolf might write an apology letter to Little Red Riding Hood, and attempt to convince her that their unfortunate history was really just a big misunderstanding.

The following is a helpful checklist to run through with children in order to keep them on track, and to check whether their letter is sufficiently persuasive:

• [ ] Includes sender’s address
• [ ] Includes an opening sentence that hooks the reader
• [ ] Includes an introduction, paragraphs explaining a point each and a conclusion
• [ ] Each point has an explanation and evidence to support it
• [ ] Includes emotive language, such as “Everyone would ecstatic if…”
• [ ] Includes rhetorical questions, such as “Are we supposed to just sit back…?”
• [ ] Includes exaggeration, such as “It would be a tragedy if…”
• [ ] Includes flattery, such as “I’ sure that you have already noticed…”
• [ ] Includes a conclusion that summarises the main point and reiterates the opinion
• [ ] Finishes with “Yours faithfully” if you don’t know the recipient or “Yours sincerely” if you do know the recipient.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique

Stephanie Cordingley – Psychologist

The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique helps to you to reconnect and refocus on the here and now (the present moment) by tuning into your five senses. The technique is useful when you find yourself feeling very overwhelmed. It only takes a few minutes and can be practiced at any time.

School Holiday Activity!

Rachael Downing – Speech Allied Health Assistant

During these school holidays it can be a great activity to make rainbows with fruit or crafts!
This can help build your children’s language surrounding colours and their fine motor skills!