Getting Ready for School

Hi guys, and welcome to today’s session with Gilles. I’m Gilles Brideau. I’m a hypnotherapist, and a psychotherapist, and coach that lives in Sudbury, works in Sudbury. On this beautiful early fall day, it’s not fall yet, I thought I’d just do a quick video today about the start of a new academic year.

A lot of the students here in my area are heading back to classes tomorrow, and just in working with clients today, just the apprehension and nervousness that comes with the start of the academic year. Actually, from a personal standpoint, for many years, even after I had completed my degree, I felt this … just a sense of sadness every fall because it was something obviously that I had done for 20 plus years. Every fall it’s really like New Years because it’s really a fresh new start, it’s a new beginning. It doesn’t matter what you had done yesterday, it’s how you’re going to move forward.

A lot of parents, I know I talked about this recently, are just facing a lot of teens and a lot of kids with apprehension and nervousness, especially for new parents that are letting go of their young ones on the first day of school tomorrow. I know with Dominique only being sixteen months old, we still have a little ways to go, but I can imagine the sense of nervousness and apprehension that we will have for him as he starts on this new journey.

Just some quick tips and strategies for parents with their kids starting on a new day. One, get the routine down really early with the night before to just take a lot of the stress and anxiety that happens on the first morning. Setting the routine up is extremely important for kids and adults that struggle with uncertainty. We want to create the most amount of certainty possible. Certainty really comes with laws and structure, to choose the clothes the night before, even though there might be some change in the morning. Choose clothes the night before, good bedtime routine, and early awakening so that we can get a good breakfast in and a good start for the day.

It just seems like such fundamental things, but that’s really what I find with a lot of people is they get away from the fundamental things that help people be really successful. From the ones that are feeling more anxious, it’s just doing a variety of techniques that will keep them grounded, centered, and focused on that first day. Again, it’s just being really attentive to what their needs are. I know it’s difficult with a lot of chaos and stuff happening around the first day, but really allowing them a forum to express themselves about their cares and concerns, and how you will be with them every step of the way. Just some simple stuff that can really help the little ones on their first [Johns 00:03:28] into this new endeavour.

Lastly, if it’s helpful and useful you can just watch the last video about some tips and techniques on how to deal with anxiety specifically. Just some really simple steps that I think you may find useful. At the beginning of this academic year I wish you encouragement, strength, and most of all patients, and with many more rewarding endeavors in the year to come. Thanks so much for joining me today. I wish you all the best at the start of this new academic year. Thanks for watching. Have a great day.