Today pandemic parents are dealing with anxiety, fear, and boredom, which seems more contagious than the Coronavirus. We are conscious of our family’s every little ache, pain, cough, and a sign of fatigue all while running out of ways to entertain the kids during the quarantine. Reading everything we can get our hands and constantly looking for answers with what seems like no end in sight, has left many of us feeling paralyzed by fear and disconnected from the life we had. We are in a state of ‘mental’ emergency. When will this end? How can we make the most of this so that our family can somehow thrive during a time?
According to celebrity hypnotherapist Kimberly Freidmutter and author of Subconscious Power: Use Your Inner Mind to Create the Life You’ve Always Wanted (Simon&Schuster/AtriaBooks) says there are easy ways to channel that stress and in turn our kids don’t suffer.
Friedmutter says, “We need coping skills to help us get through this time and there are ways to self soothe and cope at home so you can gain control over your fear, compartmentalize and go through your day helping your kids with their schooling and homework.” She added, “It’s easy to reboot your thought process to give hope in health, finances, and future.”
Kimberly who has helped celebrity parents with young kids such as Sharon Stone, Phaedra Parks, and many others revealed the following quick hypnotic hacks for moms to turn things around and make a home during this time in life so much easier.
Fear Hack: Up up and away! FEAR is perspective rather than fact. When we don’t have facts, we have fear. Children love to use their imagination and they are very good at it too! Letting your child (any age) take a journey of the mind can help relieve quarantine issues. Have them do the following: •*Close your eyes •*Imagine holding a huge bouquet of beautiful magic balloons (any color) •*These magic balloons are big enough and beautiful enough to lift you as high as you want, any time you want; just ask! •*Allow your magic balloons to safely lift you high above your house; how do you feel? •*Allow your magic balloons to safely lift you high above your town; how do you feel? •*Allow your magic balloons to safely lift you high above your state, your country, your planet; how do you feel? •*Look around at the peaceful atmosphere, notice how beautiful and calm it is •*Look at the beautiful planets in the universe, notice the colors and beauty. •*Look at other elements you might have studied in class or have seen in books; the stars and milky way •*Notice how tiny the Earth looks and how beautifully green and blue it looks; like a marble •*Allow your magic balloons to slowly and safely deliver you back to Earth; then your town; then your home where you sit •You will feel the relief of panic, anxiety, stress and fear with an overall sense of well-being, calm and wonderment
Stress Hack: Use this hack during the bewitching hour, when we see a meltdown on its way.*Focus on a point in front of you*Continue staring at the fixed point, allowing your eyesight to diffuse into peripheral vision* Place your tongue at the roof of your mouth; upper palate* Notice the negative mood or emotion has disappeared This hack can be done anywhere or any time, great for kids too! You can even do this when you wake up in the middle of the night and have trouble falling to sleep.
Comfort Hack: This process is great to help ourselves and even better to teach the kids.*Ask yourself, “In this situation, how can I maximize my comfort?”For example: At any given time (at home office, video meeting, homework with the kids) what can I do to maximize my experience? It could be something as simple as a hot tea. Knowing this, You will enjoy your conference, or homework time more if you have that hot tea. Even better with stevia and a squeeze of lemon. Even better with slippers on. This works during terrible times like long lines at the grocery store, surprise trips to the hospital, stressful visits to the bank. Imagine how you can maximize your comfort. Maybe grabbing take-out instead of cooking tonight, perhaps you’ll treat yourself to a hot bath or adult beverage. The idea is setting yourself as a priority in thought. With children, this works great because it gives them a sense of autonomy during this chaotic time in life. It keeps them feeling special. An example is a sip of your child’s favorite beverage that can make the difference in a bedtime story. It’s the thought that comfort isn’t enough right now and that maximizing your comfort is the goal. Managing stressful times in this way softens the corners of our minds.
Worry Hack: This process gives a sense of control and even helps with a solution when kids feel powerless. This exercise allows children to feel like they are participating in their own destiny. It not only gives them a sense of power but a little touch of magic, too! Write any worries or concerns on tiny strips of paper. Fill a baggie with water and place your strips of paper in the baggie, literally floating the concerns away. Seal the baggie and place it in the freezer so you are now freezing your concerns in what will become a baggie of frozen ice! This exercise stops the energy flow to the concerns freezing them out of mind.
Kimberly Friedmutter’s Subconscious Power: Use Your Inner Mind to Create the Life You’ve Always Wanted (Simon&Schuster/AtriaBooks) softback version released September 1st. You can follow Kimberly on Instagram @kimfriedmutter 
Sign-ups for Kimberly’s newsletter for tips, how-to’s and inspiration at
http://www.kimberlyfriedmutter.com/
Kimberly Friedmutter is UCLA Health Systems Board Member-at-large, American Board of Hypnotherapy, Certified Master Hypnotist, American Board of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, Certified NLP Trainer, Certified Master Practitioner, International Hypnosis Federation, Spiritual Counselor Specialist, Medical and Dental Specialist, Researcher Division Registered Member, Coaching Division Registered Member, Association for Integrative Psychology