This Is Magic Tape
This Is Magic Tape
Here is how it works...
I met a young boy who was really struggling with anxiety.
In his world, his biggest fear was that his friends would forget about him. He thought, if his friends were playing without him, they would never want to play with him again.
This fear was causing problems in many other areas of his life.
When he was playing with his friends, he would refuse to go to the bathroom. This caused painful constipation and embarrassing accidents. When he would go to the bathroom, he would be in such a hurry to get back out to his friends, that he would make a real mess.
He would have meltdowns, panic attacks, and throw tantrums when it was time to stop playing and come in for dinner. Then he would be too worried to eat, and would argue and plead to see his friends just one more time.
At bedtime, he could not go to sleep. He would ask his mother endless questions about what she thought his friends were doing right at that moment, and if she thought his friends would still want to play with him tomorrow.
His mother desperately needed a way to help her son.
I decided to give this boy some of the magic tape I keep in my desk.
I told him, “This is how it works. The magic tape helps you remember what you need to do when you are worried.”
I told him to put a piece of the tape on the door where he would see it when he was going outside. The tape would remind him to stop playing when it was time to come in, because even when he had to leave, his friends would still want to play with him tomorrow.
I had him put a piece of tape on the toilet seat. When he went to the bathroom, it would remind him that he could take his time, because his friends would still play with him no matter how long he took.
He was to put a piece of tape on the chair where he sat to eat his meals. It would remind him that he could take his time to eat his food, because even his friends had to stop playing sometime to eat.
He was to put a piece of tape on the post of his bed, and it would remind him to be thankful for his time with his friends today and not to ask questions about tomorrow.
I put the magic tape in his hand, and told his mother that he was ready to go home.
His mother saw the tape and wondered how this could work, but she would try anything to help her son.
I instructed her that each time she saw him start to worry, she was to ask him to look at the tape and remember what he was supposed to do.
She needed to do this because...
When a child is in a cycle of negative thoughts and behavior, they need a moment that disrupts the cycle long enough for them to see a different ending.
For this little boy, the magic tape was exactly what he needed.
