Gremlin Tricks
What are doom and gloom glasses?
Make us see everything negatively.
Name something you do to help you calm down.
Deep breaths
Square breathing
Progressive muscle relaxation
Etc.
True or false:
Our thoughts, feelings and actions all affect each other.
True.
What is one thing that you do to distract yourself when you're anxious?
Go for a walk. Play a game. Listen to music. etc.
What do thought detectives do?
Search for facts.
What do we call it when we imagine we know that other people are thinking?
Mind-Reading glasses
True or False
Daydreaming can help us calm our minds and bodies.
True - it's like taking a vacation in our mind.
What is a trigger?
A person/place/situation that causes us to think about something or react to something.
When you are anxious who can you talk to to get help?
Trusted adult: parent, teacher etc.
True or False:
Thoughts are only thoughts and they can't hurt me.
True!
What do "What if?" glasses make us do more often than we should?
We ask ourselves "What if this bad think happens?" or "What if that bad thing happens?"
When taking deep breaths to calm down we should
"Smell the flower..." and what?
Blow out the candle, blow the pinwheel
Why is it a good thing to look for facts when we are anxious?
Because facts are things that we know are true and the Anxiety Gremlin can't play tricks on us when we know what's true.
Name 2 of the three things we should do to take care of ourselves.
Eat well.
Get enough sleep.
Get exercise (especially outside).
True or False
When I'm anxious it is the animal/person/situation (the trigger) that causes me to feel anxiety.
False!
It is how we think about that animal/person/situation that causes anxiety.
The anxiety gremlin plays 3 tricks.
Can you name one of them?
Ignores the positive
Focuses on the negative
Exaggerates the risk or danger
Demonstrate square breathing
Good job!
True or False:
"What am I thinking? Is it worth getting anxious over? Am I thinking through anxiety thinking glasses? Are my thoughts helpful?" are good questions to ask when we are being thought detectives.
True
What is a Bravery Ladder?
Method of learning to deal with a big anxiety trigger by starting with something easier and working toward the harder goal. We get rewards are each step along the way.
How many steps does a bravery ladder have?
It has as many steps as we need it to have and can take as long as we need in order to be successful.
Does avoiding something that makes us anxious feed or starve our Anxiety Gremlin?
Feeds
It makes it harder to face that thing the next time.
What is "Progressive Muscle Relaxation?"
Tensing and releasing one group of muscles at a time.
Clench toes, then relax. Clench thighs, then relax.
It helps us be brave when we think about ourselves in positive ways.
Name one thing that you are really good at.
Good job!
Was your Bravery Ladder helpful or was it hard to do?
Keep trying/using it because it will help.
Why is being scared or worried a problem?
It makes us miss out on fun things and/or we miss lots of school. It can also make us sick physically.