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In daily life, we often feel stressed, anxious, upset, irritated and angry, and whilst it is natural and healthy to feel those emotions, the problem often comes with our reaction to them.  

For kids, understanding how to positively process thoughts and feelings when we feel worried about something can be a difficult thing to understand, and World Mental Health Day on October 10 is the perfect time to practice that. To help with that process, here are three activities from our LEVEL HEADERS series, written in collaboration with Natalie Costa, award-winning confidence coach.

1 . Think – Feel – Act  (From Know Your Feelings!) 

The reason you see situations differently is because of your thoughts Your Thoughts influence your feelings, these influence your actions, and that influences what happens. The good news is that YOU are in charge of your thoughts and you can change them. 

Imagine you are going to a party but you do not know if you will know anyone there. Here are some thoughts you might have about it and how that might play out:

Now imagine we change that first thought – let’s see what happens!

See how changing the thought changed what happened? Even if you cannot change you thoughts that dramatically, you can try making a small change.

Now have a go yourself! 

On a blank piece of paper, draw three vertical lines so you have four columns. Write the following headings in the columns:

THOUGHTS     FEELINGS      ACTIONS     RESULT

Now, think of a situation where you did not get the outcome or results you wanted. Start in the RESULT column and write what happened. Now write the actions you took in the ACTIONS column, what feelings caused those actions in the FEELINGS column and what thoughts caused those feelings in the THOUGHTS column. 

Next, imagine you are going through the same situation or a similar one. This time, think about how you could have changed your thoughts about it. In the THOUGHTS column, write down a different thought you could have had, and then feelings you might have felt if you’d have had that thought in the FEELINGS column. What actions might you have taken differently if you’d have felt that way? Write them down in the ACTIONS column. And finally, write down the result! How is it different from what originally happened?

You can practice this activity any time you feel nervous or not quite sure about something. Can you change your thoughts about it?

2. Distract Yourself (from Stretch your Confidence!)

If you feel worried about something, sometimes it can take over and be the only thing you can focus on. Finding something to do to distract yourself is a really easy way to come away from the worry for a little bit – you might even find that you’re less worried overall after you’ve had some time away from it!

Next time you feel the worry taking over, have a go at these quick activities:

3. Get to know your worry

Finally, here’s an activity from LEVEL HEADERS co- author and confidence coach, Natalie Costa:

What would you name your worry? What colour does it make you think of? Have a go at drawing your worry. What does it look like?