This episode will kick off a series focusing on building coping skills focusing on coping with anxiety.  Coping is a skill that is critical when things do not go as expected. This past year there has been a considerable increase in anxiety in children. Since the start of this year, most of my consults have been related to anxiety. Many of the children have debilitating anxiety. We have all been dealing with much stress and loss. The most challenging aspect of the pandemic is the level of uncertainty and the disruption of our daily routines. The tension and changes have persisted for a year. This has lead to COVID fatigue. For all of us, structure and routines make us feel secure in uncertain times. To compensate for his uncertainty we must focus on the aspects of our days that we can control and provide a system and practices that can reduce the stressors we cannot control. After a long day of uncertainty and change, we need to focus on coping and self-care routines that include new thinking skills to counteract the stress and anxiety-provoking thinking. Story:  For my family and me, anxiety has always been a rather giant monster living in our home. There are different levels of anxiety, and we have always dealt with moderate to severe levels. Some people are just wired to worry. We have always invested much time in building coping skills and self-care routines to proactively manage anxiety. COVID really escalated the need for more consistent and frequent self-care. The pandemic started in my daughter's senior year and first year of college. Her college is in Manhattan; she is still attending online classes. The uncertainty of when she will be able to return to the school campus is very stressful. The drastic and continual changes at schools is a source of great stress. Now many are returning to school; however, there are changes in teachers, curriculum and friendships. Most of my son's friends were not able to return to the same school. We can agree that it has been too much change and loss in a short period. We cannot disregard the impact that this has had on all of us. We must take time to recuperate from COVID fatigue. We must also acknowledge the mental, emotional and physical impact of this pandemic. We are all weary and worn out from the pandemic. Our coping and self-care must be equivalent to the level of anxiety we are experiencing. When things get stressful in our home the first strategy that we do is: Stop/halt and redirect ourselves to a self-care/soothing activity. Our top strategy is a change of scenery is a change of mindset. My son Nick has always understood his need for pacing himself and not overscheduling. His daily schedule has exercise and resting incorporated with his required tasks. When he was a toddler his favorite word was break. He has taught me the importance of pace and how slowing the pace is required sometimes. Slow and steady is his process. His pace was his form of coping. Reducing one’s pace will immediately reduce your stress. I hear parents so often being so hard on themselves and placing strenuous expectations on themselves. What all our kids need most is love and attention the rest is extra. There are so many of our expectations that can be edited or eliminated and some require more time to be accomplished. Our impatience is a great source of stress as well. My son is thriving in high school in 11th grade and my daughter is thriving in her first year of college. Prior to this, it was a climb with many obstacles and barriers that needed to be overcome. Some children may take their time and there is nothing wrong with that it just makes pacing ourselves as parents even more important. Our mental health is critical as it will directly impact our children. We must model coping. If you find that you or your child are consistently struggling with moderate to severe anxiety, consider seeing a professional for guidance. Consistent heightened levels of anxiety lead to depletion