Worry Brain
What is one place in your body where you might feel worry?
Stomach, hands, chest, head
Name three feelings.
Any three emotions.
Show us one deep breath.
Demonstrates slow/deep breathing
Kid or Grown-Up: Whose job is it to tell an adult when you need help?
Kid
Name one thing you are good at.
Any genuine strength
True or false: Just because your worry brain tells you something bad might happen doesn't mean it will happen.
True
Act out frustrated without saying anything.
Any reasonable frustrated expression/pose
Name two things that help you calm down and the last time you used them.
Any two effective coping strategies.
Kid or Grown-Up: Whose job is it to decide what to do when there's an emergency?
Grown-up
Finish this sentence: "I can feel worried AND _____."
Any reasonable answer: be brave, go to school, have fun, etc.
Your brain says, "I'm going to mess up my part in the school play and everyone will laugh!" Name one fact you could use to answer your worry brain.
Examples: I practiced; making a mistake doesn't mean everyone will laugh; I can keep going if I mess up.
Can you feel two different feelings at the same time? Give an example.
Yes; e.g., excited and nervous about trying something new
True or false: A coping skill has to make an uncomfortable feeling disappear completely to be working.
False. A coping skill might just make the feeling smaller, easier to handle, or help you keep doing what you need/want to do even while the feeling is still there.
Your friend is having a bad day. Is being kind and trying to cheer them up a kid job, grown-up job, both, or nobody's job?
What could you say to a friend who was nervous about doing something new?
Any supportive/encouraging response
What's the difference between a real problem and a worry-brain problem?
What's the difference between a thought and a feeling?
A thought is something your brain says/thinks; a feeling is an emotion
Your butterflies show up and your usual coping skill isn't helping. What's something you could do instead of deciding, "It doesn't work!"
Try another skill, give it time, ask for help, etc
True or False: If you love somebody, it's your job to make sure nothing bad ever happens to them.
False
You feel nervous about going somewhere without Mom. Give three tools from your therapy toolbox that could help you do it anyway.
Coping strategy + support + helpful thought, etc
Your friend says, "My mom is five minutes late. Something terrible must have happened!" Be the Worry Detective: What does your friend know, and what is their worry brain guessing?
Knows Mom is five minutes late; guessing something terrible happened.
Taylor's friend doesn't answer her message. Taylor thinks, "She's mad at me," feels nervous, and her stomach starts hurting. Identify the thought, feeling, and body sensation.
Thought - she's mad at me; feeling - nervous; body - stomach ache
Why can slowing your breathing help when your body thinks you're in danger even though you're actually safe?
It helps signal to the body/brain that it can calm down.
What's the difference between caring about someone and being responsible for someone?
Caring means loving/helping/supporting them; being responsible means it's your job to manage their needs/safety.
What does it mean to be brave:
A. Never feeling scared
B. Making the scared feeling disappear first
C. Doing something even though part of you feels scared
C. Doing something even though part of you feels scared