Many people who have eating disorders also struggle with stress and anxiety, so we thought it would be cool to gather some relaxing videos that you may watch with your child when he or she is feeling anxious. Often anxiety increases eating disorder behavior, so reducing it can be very helpful.
Some people find it helpful to have a library of different relaxation techniques to help in different situations. For example, when your child is in the safety of your home, she might enjoy doing some yoga or journaling. However, if travel is stressful, she’s not going to want to roll out her yoga mat in the middle of the airport. Instead, having a few videos on a smartphone may be a great way to zone out and relax.
First, we thought this ocean meditation was pretty cool, but it might miss the mark for some teenagers … it may feel a little bit cheesy, though the message is powerful.
Then we discovered that there is a huge genre of relaxation videos on YouTube designed to relax cats! WTF! Pretty awesome! Here is a 3-hour relaxation video of an aquarium that put us to sleep in a hot second! We know that your child is not a cat, but this is worth watching!
Remember, your teenager likely needs lots of different options for when she or he is feeling stressed. Some days might be perfect for the aquarium, and other days it might not work at all. Keep trying different relaxation techniques to help your child RELAX.
Emotional Regulation Worksheets
Give these printable worksheets to grow more confident, calm and resilient and feel better, fast!
- Self-Esteem
- Self-Regulation
- Mindfulness
- Calming strategies
Ginny Jones is on a mission to empower parents to help their kids recover from eating disorders, body image issues, and other mental health conditions. She’s the founder of More-Love.org, an online resource supporting parents who have kids with eating disorders, and a Parent Coach who helps parents who have kids with mental health issues.
Ginny has been researching and writing about eating disorders since 2016. She incorporates the principles of neurobiology and attachment parenting with a non-diet, Health At Every Size® approach to health and recovery.