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| Foreword | |
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| Preface | |
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| Acknowledgments | |
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| How to Use the Overcoming School Anxiety Program | |
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| What Is School Anxiety? | |
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| Anxiety is a normal aspect of being human | |
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| Positive and negative effects on mental and physical functioning | |
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| Definition of school anxiety and discussion of symptoms | |
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| Causes and effects of school anxiety | |
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| Short- and long-term effects of school anxiety | |
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| Anxiety Is a Mind-Body Experience | |
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| Examination of stress and children's reaction to stress | |
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| Physiological effects of anxiety | |
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| Discussion of the nervous system | |
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| Fight-or-flight and relaxation responses | |
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| Matching physical, mental, and emotional anxiety symptoms to physiological changes | |
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| Reasons for chronic anxiety | |
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| Development of an anxiety disorder | |
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| Guidelines for professional help | |
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| List of common anxiety disorders | |
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| Ways to help children deal with stress | |
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| Help! My Child Won't Go to School | |
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| Causes and effects of school refusal | |
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| Discussion of why leaving home can be difficult | |
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| Childhood fears of parents dying while child is at school | |
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| Childhood worries about not "fitting in" | |
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| Definition of separation anxiety disorder (SAD) and its symptoms | |
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| Guidelines for preventing and easing the anxiety of school refusal | |
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| Exercises, techniques, and parental guidelines | |
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| My Child Can't Stop Worrying | |
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| Sources of childhood worry (testing, homework assignments, teachers, socializing) | |
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| Explanation of chronic worry and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) | |
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| Effects of worry on school performance | |
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| Tips to help children stop worrying | |
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| Exercises, techniques, and parental guidelines | |
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| My Child Panics and Avoids Situations | |
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| Definition of panic disorders and symptoms | |
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| Causes and effects of panic | |
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| Discussion of agoraphobia and its effect on attending school | |
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| Tips on helping children cope with panic | |
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| Exercises and examples | |
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| My Child Fears People, Places, and Things | |
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| Definitions of social phobia and simple phobia and explanation of childhood symptoms | |
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| Causes of phobias | |
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| Examination of phobia's effects on school experience | |
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| Information on types of professional treatment | |
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| Exercises and techniques to help stop phobias | |
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| Tips for creating a systematic desensitization program | |
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| Guidelines for helping children cope with phobias | |
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| My Child Has Homework Anxiety | |
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| Guidelines if child dreads homework | |
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| How to ease homework anxiety | |
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| Creating a comfortable homework space | |
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| Breaking down the homework load | |
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| Answers to common questions for parents of a school-anxious child | |
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| Exercises and techniques for conquering homework anxiety | |
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| Tips for making learning exciting for children | |
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| My Child Has Test Anxiety | |
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| Definition of test anxiety and discussion of its symptoms | |
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| How test anxiety builds up | |
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| Explanation of physical, mental, and emotional effects of pretest anxiety | |
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| Symptoms of test anxiety | |
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| Exercises, test-taking techniques, and parental guidelines | |
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| My Child Is a Perfectionist | |
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| Definition of perfectionism | |
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| Characteristics and causes of perfectionism | |
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| Link between perfectionism and anxiety | |
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| Guidelines to help children become less rigid in their thinking and ease the anxiety associated with perfectionism | |
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| Exercises and techniques include learning how to relax, "letting go," and practicing making mistakes | |
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| Building Your Child's Self-Esteem | |
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| Definition of self-esteem and self-worth | |
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| Causes of low self-esteem | |
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| Negative self-talk | |
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| Guidelines to build up a child's self-esteem | |
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| Easy projects and exercises for parents and children to work on together | |
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| Tips on how to use a child's strengths to build self-esteem | |
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| My Child Is Being Bullied | |
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| Definition of bullying | |
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| Differences between girl and boy bullies | |
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| Link between bullying and school anxiety | |
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| How to help children cope with bullies | |
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| When to step in to help your child and when to contact the school | |
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| What to do if your child is the bully | |
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| Exercises to help children take control of the bullying situation | |
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| How to help your school enact an antibullying program | |
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| Parental and Family Conflict and Issues | |
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| Types of family conflict that create anxiety and lead to school anxiety | |
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| Unique ways children handle family conflict | |
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| Symptoms of family conflict such as anxiety, behavior problems, and poor grades | |
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| Guidelines to help a child deal with divorce, death of a parent, and moving to a new home and school | |
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| My Child Has Learning, Physical, or Emotional Challenges | |
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| Physical and learning challenges that make the school experience difficult | |
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| Link between learning challenges, physical challenges, and anxiety | |
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| Information on how to prepare children for the school environment academically and emotionally | |
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| Tips and exercises to teach children how to cope and thrive at school | |
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| Learn to Breathe to Feel at Ease | |
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| Breathing and anxiety | |
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| Explanation of belly breathing (diaphragmatic breathing) and its positive effect on the relaxation response | |
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| Physical, mental, and emotional effects of belly breathing | |
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| How belly breathing can stop school anxiety | |
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| Guidelines and instructions for practicing belly breathing | |
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| How to use belly breathing in stressful school situations | |
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| "Be Present" for School Success | |
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| How to live in the moment | |
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| How being in the moment can reduce school anxiety for test taking, homework, or speaking up in class | |
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| Guidelines for practicing living in the moment | |
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| Instructions for teaching children to live in the moment | |
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| Exercises for a variety of school situations | |
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| Learning to Let Go and Flow | |
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| Teaching your child to face fears to reduce anxiety | |
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| Description of the white-knuckle response and how it increases your child's school anxiety | |
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| Instructions on helping your child ride out anxiety when it surfaces in school | |
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| How to help your child to "loosen and float" at school | |
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| Guidelines for loosening anxiety's grip on your child's mind | |
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| Exercises for facing fears and letting them go | |
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| Eat Right to Feel Right | |
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| Link between nutrition and increased or decreased anxiety | |
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| Effects on school performance of a child's diet that is high in processed and fatty foods | |
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| How vitamin and mineral deficiencies cause anxiety | |
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| Guidelines for choosing a diet to help prevent and ease anxiety | |
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| Types of professional help available for parents | |
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| Suggestions for helping your school change its lunch menus and snacks | |
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| Studies showing how diet can help decrease anxiety and behavioral problems | |
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| Getting Physical with Your Child | |
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| How exercise reduces anxiety | |
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| Why exercise has a positive effect on anxiety and anxiety disorders | |
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| Description of kinds of exercises paired with developmental stages | |
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| Guidelines for beginning an exercise program for your child, yourself, and even your whole family | |
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| What Are Traditional Medical Treatments for Children? | |
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| Discussion of traditional medical treatments such as medication and numerous psychotherapies | |
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| Use of antidepressants in children | |
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| What happens in a psychotherapist's or psychiatrist's office | |
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| Types of mental health practitioners who practice therapy | |
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| Kinds of therapy available for children | |
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| Discussion of the downside of psychotropic medications for children | |
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| What Are Alternative Treatments for Children? | |
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| Description of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) | |
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| Discussion of yoga, herbs, and acupuncture | |
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| Practitioners of CAM such as holistic medical physicians and alternative practitioners | |
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| Wrap-Up | |
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| Resources | |
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| Index | |
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| About the Author | |