Coping Skills/Strategies: Ways to work through uncomfortable feelings/situations.
Self- Talk: can be used to alert ourselves and others to how we are feeling. This can be done by using a whisper voice or with an internal "thought bubble". We are acknowledging our current emotion. May also be used to affirm positive feelings/situations (i.e. "I feel happy when I ride my bike with a friend.")
Anger = "I feel angry, I need to calm down."
Sadness = "I feel sad, I will work to feel better."
Visualizing:
Close your eyes and think about a favorite memory or place you love.
Encourage students to think about how this memory/place feels, smells and sounds.
Open your eyes once you begin to feel more calm/content.
Repeat as needed.
Deep Breathing: Squeezing an Orange:
Students will visualize an orange in their upward facing palm.
They will squeeze their hand into a fist while breathing in deeply through their nose.
They will release the squeeze and breath out deeply from their mouth.
Repeat as needed.
Flowers and Candles:
Students will visualize smelling a bouquet of flowers, breathing in deeply through their nose.
Students will release this breath through their mouth by visualizing blowing out birthday candles.