Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche dodged answering whether President Donald Trump has strategically eluded calling the conflict in Iran a war so he can avoid having to get congressional approval.

Blanche couched Trump’s ongoing, mixed messages about the Iran war on Sunday’s Meet The Press after NBC’s Kristen Welker played back a clip of Trump during a Friday presser where he says that “you don’t have legal problems” if you call the conflict a “military operation” instead of a “war.”

“Is the president effectively arguing that he can avoid congressional approval by avoiding using the word war?” Welker asked Blanche.

Claiming that Trump is “not effectively arguing anything except that he is trying to keep this country safe,” he replied, “We have kept Congress updated at every step of the way, consistent with what other presidents have done.”

“Trump is doing something that the past five presidents did not do,” he continued. “They promised to do it, they promised, ‘Oh, we’ll stop Iran.’ ‘Oh, Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.’ President Trump is doing what others have promised but failed to do. And as far as what we’re doing with Congress, keeping them updated, we are doing so.”

Welker went on to press Blanche over whether there are “any legal limits on the president’s powers to carry out the war with Iran.”

“Suggesting that President Trump or this administration or the Department of War is violating the law is just completely wrong,” he responded. “It’s not appropriate to say that. We are complying with the law. I can tell you that as the acting attorney general. We are doing exactly what we’re supposed to do legally and President Trump will continue to do that.”

After Welker further grilled him on whether he thinks the president has limitations regarding carrying out the war, Blanche argued Trump “never said there aren’t limits.”

“Yes, of course there’s limits to what President Trump can do … He’s acting within his duty to the American people to keep us safe,” Blanche said. “He’s not engaged in a popularity contest when it comes to what we’re doing in Iran. He’s doing something that will save us for generations. And so he’s doing something, again, that every president since [Ronald] Reagan has said that we should do, and he’s the only one willing to do it.”

Blanche’s remarks came after Trump told Congress in a letter on Friday that the war has ended, prompting backlash from lawmakers like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who called the president’s claims “bullshit.”

“This is an illegal war, and every day Republicans remain complicit and allow it to continue is another day lives are endangered, chaos erupts and prices increase, all while Americans foot the bill,” Schumer said.

Watch Blanche’s Meet the Press appearance below.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio played make-believe behind DJ equipment on Saturday as he tried to hype up a wedding crowd while President Donald Trump signaled his apparent distaste for Iranian efforts to end his unpopular war.

Rubio, per a video posted by White House deputy chief of staff Dan Scavino, got behind the deck and held up headphones to his ear as the event’s DJ appeared to walk him through the process.

The clip shows the DJ clapping along to the song “Shiver” by John Summit & Hayla before he eventually shuffles offstage, leaving Rubio alone behind the tech as a group of men could be seen dancing to the music.

“Can you feel it now?” asked the song as Rubio, who seemingly didn’t touch the equipment whatsoever in the video, pumped his right hand in the air along to the beat.

“Let’s goooooo!!!🎶🎼🎵,” wrote Scavino alongside the clip.

Additional footage circulating social media shows Rubio clicking buttons on a laptop and mouthing along to the lyrics of “Feel So Close” by Calvin Harris as the track plays from nearby speakers, leading wedding guests to jump up and down in excitement, some with drinks in hand.

The videos arrive just hours after Rubio’s boss wrote on his Truth Social platform that he was reviewing Iran’s new proposal to bring the war to a close before noting he “can’t imagine that it would be acceptable.”

Rubio described Tehran’s negotiating team as “very good” and “very experienced” in an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst last week.

The president’s estimated $25 billion war — now over two months long — has cratered to historic disapproval levels similar to figures seen during the Iraq and Vietnam wars, noted The Washington Post of results from a new Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.

With gas prices at an estimated national average of $4.44 a gallon, Diane Swonk, the chief economist at KPMG, predicted on ABC’s This Week that prices will go higher and could “easily break” records set back in 2022.

Social media users ripped the Rubio clip on X, with one critic particularly finding issue with Fox News’ presentation of the footage and another calling the video a “mind-bending sign of the times.”

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President Donald Trump baffled nearly everyone with a Truth Social post showcasing an AI-generated image of himself swimming in one of Washington DC’s most iconic monuments.

In the wee hours of Friday, the president uploaded an image of a thinner, younger version of himself, wearing swim trunks and floating bare-chested in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

As his digital dupe lounged in a gold inflatable pool chair and flashed a thumbs up, he was joined by bare-chested versions of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, alongside an unidentified (likely imaginary) woman wearing a gingham bikini and sitting on an invisible floating pool chair.

The image was part of a spree of photos Trump posted to herald renovations he’s put in motion ahead of the nation’s 250th anniversary.

This past week, the 2,030-foot-long water feature was drained so crews could paint the bottom of the pool a vibrant cerulean shade, which the president dubbed “American flag blue.” The makeover was projected to take about one week and cost $2 million, per Trump.

The reflecting pool’s revamp was just one of the president’s plans to leave his personal mark on the nation’s capital. Last month, his Commission of Fine Arts approved preliminary designs for a 250-foot stone arch near the National Mall, despite reports that it received around 1,000 public comments opposing the monument.

A district judge for DC ordered the White House to halt construction on his East Wing ballroom in mid-April, ruling the project must get congressional approval to move forward. Days later, however, a three-judge Appeals Court panel ruled work could resume pending a June 5 hearing.

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Next Thursday’s elections have not even happened yet, but Labour’s post-mortem is already well underway.

The party is forecast to lose nearly 2,000 councillors across England as voters deliver a damning verdict on Keir Starmer’s time in No.10 so far.

Labour will also suffer humiliating defeat in Scotland and Wales to further compound the prime minister’s misery.

It is therefore unsurprising that the thoughts of Labour MPs are already consumed by what will come next.

The leadership ambitions of Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham are undeniable as they ready themselves to grab the ball should it, as Boris Johnson once memorably said, come loose at the back of the scrum.

But the PM’s remaining supporters insist that with the economic fallout of the war in Iran about to engulf the UK, now is not the time to be changing leader.

Rugby MP John Slinger, the loyalist’s loyalist, told HuffPost UK: “We should stick with Keir.

“Not as a way to block Angela Rayner or others, or as the least bad option amid a range of far worse alternatives, but because he is the right leader for this time.”

Starmer himself pleaded his case at last Monday’s meeting of the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP).

The target of his speech was officially the Tories, who that evening were trying to persuade the Commons to launch a Privileges Committee probe into whether the PM had misled parliament over the Peter Mandelson scandal.

“We are the first government for generations to take key parts of the public realm back into public ownership,” Starmer told the assembled MPs and peers.

“They don’t like that, but we’re doing it. The first government for generations to give rights and power to workers, to renters, to the less fortunate.

“The first government for generations prepared to stand against wealth interests, to raise money and put that into public services and fighting child poverty. They don’t like it, they said they’d reverse it.

“We have a mandate to do all of those things. And they are not going to stop us.”

His peroration, however, was a direct plea for his own MPs not to throw him overboard.

“When we stick together and fight together we are so much stronger,” the PM said.

A No.10 insider insisted Starmer “doesn’t really engage with all the leadership stuff – he’s got enough on his plate without having to worry about that”.

“The fundamentals of the situations haven’t changed,” the source said. “We’ve just got to stay away from all the chatter that’s going around.

“The war in Iran has brought into sharp focus what we need to do as a country – boost energy security, economic security and national security.

“The PM has a plan for how we do that and that’s what he’s focussing on.”

Many Labour MPs believe a change of leader, and soon, is vital if the party is to stand any chance at all of being re-elected.

One backbencher said: “A year or so of drift and decline? No thanks.”

The received wisdom at Westminster in recent months has been that Rayner’s leadership hopes are stymied until His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs completes its probe into her tax affairs.

However, supporters of hers – including her close ally, former Jeremy Corbyn aide Sam Tarry – believe she needs to strike quickly or her chance of seizing the crown will be gone.

One minister said her problems with HMRC could even help her in any leadership contest.

“Some people think we should go for it whilst she is still under investigation,” he said. “She could portray herself as an anti-establishment, working class women who was simply given bad tax advice.

“What you have to remember is it would be the Labour membership choosing the leader, not the country. The HMRC stuff may actually strengthen her case.”

According to the Daily Telegraph, Streeting already has the 80 MPs needed to launch a challenge to Starmer, and could move as soon as Friday if the election results are as bad for Labour as feared.

Sensing that such chatter could backfire on him, Streeting issued a non-denial denial in the Labour MPs’ WhatsApp group, saying: “There is currently an industry in fishing expeditions by lobby journalists at the moment. Don’t feed it. It undermines all of us fighting elections locally.”

But one senior Labour figure told HuffPost UK: “I simply don’t believe for a second that Wes has 80 MPs.”

Another added: “Where Wes has an advantage is that the cabinet won’t want to hand the party over to Sam Tarry. Where he has a disadvantage is that his colleagues can’t stand him.”

Support for Burnham – one of the few remaining popular Labour politicians – is undoubtedly growing among MPs, with one source claiming Rayner is “rapidly losing her base to Andy”

Speaking at a Bloomberg event last week, he again refused to rule out a comeback, and notably refused to back Starmer continuing as PM after May 7.

The Manchester mayor also suggested that the defence budget be removed from the Treasury’s fiscal rules, allowing the government to borrow more to fund an increase in spending.

The Guardian reported that he could do so “within weeks”, prompting an angry backlash from some of those whose support he will be seeking should be manage to become an MP again.

Banbury MP Sean Woodcock said on X: “It’s a massive kick in the teeth to see people putting this sort of stuff out while hardworking candidates and activists are busy ahead of next week. Some would say it lacks class.”

A minister added: “We are days away from major elections and you’d think Andy would be trying to help his colleagues not hinder them with more ‘look at me’ nonsense.”

One senior Labour figure said: “Andy had a reputation as a government minister for being indecisive and under briefed. So the hope is that his time in Manchester has improved him.

“The first problem would come when he sits down and the fiscal reality is set out for him by officials. Suddenly all the dismissive talk about the bond markets becomes real and you have to decide whether you are going to roll the dice on interest rates and inflation.”

Another insider added: “I think Andy’s got a better chance of being a plausible and attractive offer than any other candidate.

“But I also think that any PM is going to quickly find themselves being the embodiment of the British state and British decline – look at how every PM back to May has seen their ratings plunge – and that is structural rather than just about the strengths and weaknesses of any one person.”

Meanwhile, speculation that defence secretary John Healey could become a unity candidate refuses to go away.

“He’s from the soft left, is a safe pair of hands and not offensive to anyone,” one senior MP said.

The PM is being urged by some of his top team, including his political director Amy Richards, to hold a reshuffle immediately after Thursday’s elections.

Others, however, doubt whether he is politically strong enough to risk angering even more of his already-unhappy MPs.

Ahead of what could be a defining week for Starmer and the Labour Party, the one thing we know for sure is that no one really knows what is going to happen – not even the main protagonists.

One Starmer ally told HuffPost UK: “Angie, Wes and Andy are setting in train a process none of them can control and if they think things are bad now, let’s see what happens when they open the gates to chaos just as the effects of Trump’s war bite.”

Subscribe to Commons People, the podcast that makes politics easy. Every week, Kevin Schofield and Kate Nicholson unpack the week’s biggest stories to keep you informed. Join us for straightforward analysis of what’s going on at Westminster.

Anyone who’s gone a cup over their usual coffee limit will know it can sometimes lead to agitation and jitters. It can even mess with your sleep.

But a new study, which looked at the data from 461,586 people across a median of 13.4 years, has suggested that in the right amount, drinking coffee may actually lower your stress levels and is linked to reduced rates of mental health issues.

“J-shaped associations were identified between coffee consumption and mental disorders, suggesting that a moderate intake of coffee might be beneficial for mental health,” the paper, published in the Journal of Affective Disorders, said.

The researchers wanted to pick up on unfinished previous research, which looked at the link between coffee and anxiety and depression rates.

Using data from the UK Biobank, they looked at incidence rates of mood and stress disorders and compared it to self-reported coffee consumption.

They found that drinking two to three cups of coffee a day appeared to be linked to lower rates of these conditions.

That “protective effect” seemed stronger in men than women, the paper added.

The researchers speculated that this might be because of how drinking coffee affects inflammation biomarkers.

People who drank no coffee, or those who drank more than three a day, were more likely to have a mood or stress disorder on their records. And those who drank five or more cups of coffee a day appeared likeliest to experience mood or stress disorder.

However, this did not say that coffee definitely caused any of these associations; it just showed a link.

Speaking to HuffPost previously, Dr James Udelson, chief of cardiology at Tufts Medical Centre, said, “Three to four cups of coffee per day has been shown to be safe for most people and not associated with adverse effects on cardiovascular health or health in general”.

One study found that “moderate” coffee consumption (two to three cups a day) appears to be linked to lower dementia risk.

And it appears to be associated with a longer life and better heart health, too.

Coffee with no sugar or cream may be better for us, other studies have suggested.

Fans of fashion and celebrity gossip alike have a major reason to get excited on Monday night, as the red carpet is rolled out for this year’s Met Gala.

The star-studded annual event has become known as a playground for the rich and famous, but few ever have quite as much fun – or get people talking quite as much – with their red carpet looks as Rihanna.

Over the last decade, the chart-topping singer and beauty entrepreneur has cemented herself as the undeniable queen of the Met Ball, thanks to her show-stopping fashion choices – and all signs point to us getting another Rih moment on this year’s red carpet.

So, while we wait for all the red carpet snaps from the 2026 Met Ball, here’s our definitive ranking of the looks the musician has worn to the Met Gala over the years…

Fresh from the success of her then-recent chart-topping single Umbrella, Rihanna attended her very first Met Gala in 2007 (still rocking that now-iconic Good Girl Gone Bad hairstyle, no less).

We have to be honest, this outfit really isn’t one for the history books, particularly in comparison to how cutting-edge Rihanna’s fashion choices would become in the years that followed.

Still, even if we’re not blown away by the white dress, we have to give a shout-out to those gloves, which do bring a certain something to the outfit.

Again, this isn’t our favourite Rihanna look by any stretch of the imagination, but we are very into this red fish-braid moment.

What saves this outfit from being bottom of the list is that the dress is a lot more innovative than it might look on first glance, although…

…you do have to see it from all angles to get the full effect.

Rih certainly stepped things up the following year, didn’t she?

In tight black snakeskin, this look is definitely more reminiscent of “Rihanna the fashion icon” that would emerge in the not-too-distant future after this was taken

Still, although this outfit is a little too simple to have it any higher than eighth place on our definitive ranking, we still have to give her props for the cool material (and, of course, her fabulous hairstyle).

Another very pretty outfit from Rihanna. What we like most about her 2014 ensemble is just how youthful, fresh and fun it is, particularly at an event where we secretly suspect laughs are actually few and far between.

Of course, having fun with fashion would eventually become Rih’s forte, as we’re about to discover later down this list…

This outfit might not be to everybody’s tastes, but if anyone on earth can pull off this enormous Balenciaga coat with a matching bejeweled beanie, it’s Rihanna – and we’re big fans of the makeup and jewellery.

In 2021, Rih walked the red carpet with A$AP Rocky, marking their first ever public appearance as a couple, and within a few months, the We Found Love singer would confirm she was expecting their first child.

A pregnant Rih certainly made an entrance when she and A$AP Rocky arrived late at the Met Ball in 2023, with most guests already seated at their tables by the time the Grammy winner made her way down the red carpet.

Still, what an outfit this was.

Between the massive flower coat (which turned into a completely different look when she took down the hood) and those white gloves, there was a lot to love, but we all know the true star of the show…

…were those incredible sunglasses.

Back in 2009, Rihanna was still in the early days of experimenting with a more avant-garde and daring style than we had been used to seeing from her at that time.

Mixing masculine and feminine, with her suit trousers, bow tie and towering heels, Rihanna gave one of the stand-out looks of the night that year, and she would carry on serving similar fashion moments to this while promoting her fourth album Rated R, which was released later that year.

It’s also worth noting that this was the then-21-year-old’s first red carpet appearance after being physically assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown just a few months earlier, making this already powerful (and, in our opinion, underrated) look even more impactful.

Rihanna got everyone talking during last year’s Met Gala, when she used the event’s red carpet to announce that she and her partner A$AP Rocky – who was one of that year’s celebrity organisers – were expecting their third child.

Even without the iconic pregnancy reveal, this would still be one of our favourite ever Rihanna looks, with the dandy-inspired look both perfectly encompassing the night’s theme and complementing the Pour It Up singer’s whole vibe.

Rihanna was one of the co-chairs of the Met Gala in 2018, so the stakes were especially high when it came to the red carpet.

Fortunately, she more than delivered, giving us the stand-out moment of the whole night.

What’s funny about this outfit is that while some critics on social media suggested it was blasphemous or in poor taste, the Vatican actually endorsed the theme that year, and Rihanna herself borrowed part of her outfit from an actual Catholic Cardinal.

The dress that spawned a thousand memes, whether you thought it looked like a pizza, an omelette or a tribute to Big Bird, Rihanna’s 2015 look was one that got absolutely everyone talking.

Rihanna later revealed that shex actually stumbled on the dress while Googling Chinese couture online, telling Vanity Fair: “I’m so in love with this dress, but the train is insane!

“I can’t really walk in it without any help—but it’s so worth it. I love this dress so much! It’s Chinese couture and it’s made by Guo Pei. It’s handmade by one Chinese woman and it took her two years to make. I found it online.”

It was a big year for Rihanna at the 2015 Met Gala, not only winning the red carpet but performing during the event (in a much more stage-friendly ensemble, obv).

There are always one or two cop-outs on the Met Gala red carpet, with celebs preferring to wear something pretty or flattering rather than actually stick to the event’s theme – but 2016 was next level.

Because the night was inspired by Comme Des Garçons, the fashion house known for their elaborate and outlandish silhouettes, many of the stars in attendance opted for something a little more simple than the invitation requested.

She hit the red carpet in this enormous creation, ensuring all eyes were on her and serving us a look so jaw-dropping it was literally, at one point, used to illustrate the Met Gala on Wikipedia.

Not only is it stunning and inventive (and actually nails that year’s theme, when so many opted not to even try), it’s also tonnes of fun, completely exemplifying everything we love about Rihanna’s fashion.

It’s not just you – Anne Hathaway really is everywhere at the moment.

The Oscar winner has been enjoying something of a career renaissance at the moment, with no fewer than five films either already out or due to hit cinemas later in 2026 (and you thought Zendaya was a busy bee…).

Of course, the Devil Wears Prada star is currently back in action as Andy Sachs in the hit rom-com’s long-awaited sequel, but her other projects from this year encompass everything from dystopian sci-fi and erotic thrillers to one of the year’s most anticipated big-screen epics.

Here’s a quick run-through of Anne Hathaway’s very busy 2026…

Two years after her last outing in the romance The Idea Of You, Anne Hathaway returned to the big screen in April 2026 in another musical project, albeit one of a very different nature.

Psychological thriller Mother Mary stars Anne as the titular pop icon, who is reunited with her old costume designer, played by Michaela Coel, with disastrous and nightmarish results.

Produced by A24, the film’s cast list was a dream for any fan of the indie production company, including Euphoria’s Hunter Schafer, model-turned-actor Kaia Gerber, Fleabag’s Sian Clifford, Grammy winner FKA Twigs and Black Mirror’s Jessica Brown Findlay.

FKA Twigs also contributed original songs to the soundtrack, which also featured Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff.

Mother Mary is in cinemas now.

What is it they say about Anne Hathaway projects and buses? What? Nothing? Well, we’re saying it now.

Just one week after Mother Mary hit cinemas, Anne reprised her role from the first Devil Wears Prada movie in the new sequel, reuniting her with former co-stars Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci.

The new film picks up 20 years after the original, reintroducing Andy as a successful investigative journalist, recruited by her old stomping ground, Runway magazine, to help reverse its fortunes after a PR nightmare.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is in cinemas now.

Christopher Nolan’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, The Odyssey, is undoubtedly one of 2026’s most anticipated films.

An adaptation of the epic Ancient Greek story of the same name, Nolan has recruited several of his old collaborators for his most ambitious project to date, including Matt Damon, Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie and Elliot Page.

Those returning faces will also include Anne, who previously worked with the British director in The Dark Knight Rises and Interstellar.

Meanwhile, the film will also welcome a host of new A-listers into the Nolan-verse, with the cast boasting the likes of Tom Holland, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Mia Goth and Himesh Patel.

The Odyssey will arrive in cinemas on 17 July.

The End Of Oak Street is a new dystopian sci-fi offering from David Robert Michell, the filmmaker behind the psychological horror It Follows.

In the film, Anne and her on-screen husband Ewan McGregor play suburban parents who are shocked when a cosmic anomaly somehow transports their entire street to a mysterious unknown location, leaving all of its residents to lean into their survivalist instincts to fend for themselves.

The End Of Oak Street is released in 14 August.

In Verity, Anne plays Verity Crawford, a successful author who finds herself unable to complete her popular series of novels after a mysterious accident, so enlists the help of Lowen Ashleigh, a younger aspiring writer.

However, while working on the next instalment in Verity’s series, she unearths secrets about the author that raise a whole lot of questions.

Based on the novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover (yes, she of It Ends With Us fame), the thriller also features appearances from Josh Hartnett as Anne’s on-screen husband alongside Ismael Cruz Córdova, Irina Dvorovenko and child actor Brady Wagner.

Verity is the latest collaboration between Anne Hathaway and Amazon, following 2024’s The Idea Of You.

Verity is slated for release on 2 October.

With five Anne Hathaway movies already coming in 2026, another is already in post-production.

Alone At Dawn tells the true story of John A. Chapman, who served as a combat controller in the United States Air Force during the war in Afghanistan, and was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honour in 2018.

Based on the 2019 book of the same name, the war drama will feature Ron Howard on directing duties, with Adam Driver in the lead role as Chapman and Anne set to portray the intelligence officer who fought for him to receive the medal.

A release date for Alone At Dawn is yet to be announced, though it’s unlikely to be until 2027.

What Kids Are Carrying is a HuffPost UK series focusing on how the nation’s youngest generation is *really* feeling right now – and how parents and caregivers can support them.

There can be so many things going on when a child tells you their tummy hurts. They might have a stomach bug, lactose intolerance, trapped wind, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation – the list goes on.

But one thing many parents might not consider is that when a child is anxious, it can also cause them to suffer physically, and stomach pain is a pretty common manifestation of that.

Counselling Directory member Patricia Calabro tells HuffPost UK: “Many of my adult anxiety clients can recall sore tummies, nausea or feeling sick before school, social events or family stress as children, but didn’t know at the time that what they were feeling was pressure, fear or overwhelm.

“Kids don’t have the language, self-understanding or ability to opt out when something feels too big, so the distress lands in the body. The gut is densely connected to the nervous system and reactive to stress hormones – a ‘tummy ache’ is a real physiological event, not an excuse.”

She highlights one particular study which followed children with functional abdominal pain into adulthood – it found 51% had experienced an anxiety disorder in their lives, compared to 20% of children without tummy aches.

“So, taking it seriously early really is a form of prevention,” she adds.

Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns children brought up in therapy last year, according to therapists and counsellors.

In October last year, the NSPCC revealed anxiety was the most common mental health concern for children reaching out to Childline, too. The service delivered more than 12,000 counselling sessions to children and young people with concerns about anxiety.

Therapist Claire Seadon tells us stomach ache is “commonly reported by children who are experiencing anxiety”.

First of all, speak to your GP who can rule out any physical issues like constipation or an intolerance.

If everything seems normal on that front, Seadon advises parents to notice any patterns emerging: do they get stomach ache on a Sunday evening before the school week begins? Or are they feeling unwell on a certain day of the week? Or at a certain time?

“Ask yourself, what happens on this day? Do they attend an activity or come into contact with a particular person? A bit of detective work is required,” says the therapist.

Integrative counsellor and psychotherapist Nadia DiLuzio, who is also a Counselling Directory member, suggests if you do notice a pattern in the symptoms occurring and you’ve had their health checked, it could be driven by “a part of the anxiety cycle in which our brain looks for a way to relieve us of these feelings”.

“For example, if I am unwell, I won’t have to sit this exam, attend school, go to that specific lesson, club or activity – or be in a school/home environment I find overwhelming, or with other young people or adults that are unkind to me,” she said.

“If I can avoid the situation or the friendship group or the environment, then I can stay safe.”

If you suspect your child is feeling anxious about something, it’s best to chat to them about where it’s coming from. Snuggle up, have a calm conversation, and see where it leads.

“It’s important to note that a child may not be able to make the link between the stomach ache and feeling anxious,” adds Seadon.

“Depending on the age of the child, they may not be able to articulate a worry, but they will feel the pain of a stomach ache. Perhaps say to them: ‘I notice that you feel unwell every Sunday night, are you worried about going to school tomorrow?’”

If it turns out that something is worrying them, you can then provide support.

DiLuzio advises validating their experience and feelings, rather than jumping to rescue them. “Whilst we want to help them feel better, we also want to show them that it is OK to feel the way they do, that having a range of feelings is part of being human,” she says.

“It can be a gentle way to help them learn how to tolerate uncomfortable feelings because they have support for them.”

You can also explain more about how anxiety impacts our bodies, so your child understands what’s happening when their stomach starts to hurt.

You can say that worry doesn’t just show up in our minds, but in our bodies as well. DiLuzio describes anxiety as “the part of us that is simply wanting to keep us safe and we need to be curious about what it may wish to keep us safe from”.

You could tell your child that “in trying to keep us safe, it amplifies how we feel, so we listen to it and I am here to listen to what that part of you is wanting me to hear”.

Seadon suggests parents might even want to share their own experiences of anxiety showing up in their bodies – for example, before an exam or driving test.

It’s important to bear in mind that these are examples of situational, one off stressors, but a child’s environment, home or school, may also be causing them anxiety.

“For example, if they are being bullied at school, walking into school each day, not knowing what they will have to face, is going to impact them,” she adds.

“Some age appropriate psychoeducation around this can be really helpful, as it can empower the child in understanding their bodies natural responses to anxiety and can support them in making the connection between their emotions and their stomach pain.

“You can enable them to develop an understanding that the physical manifestations of anxiety, serve as a warning signal that they need to reach out for help and support. Knowledge is power!”