Coping Skills For Kids Managing Feelings Emotions For Elementary Middle School Self Regulation

foreign do you ever experience big emotions that are difficult to control do you ever feel angry sad anxious worried frustrated depressed or any combination of these stressful emotions today you will learn how to manage big emotions in three simple steps number one notice and identify your feelings number two think about coping skills you can use to feel better number three take action by practicing one or more coping skills being kid is fun but sometimes there are stressful things that cause your emotions to run wild we call these stressful things triggers some triggers might include when you lose at game or activity when something embarrassing or unexpected happens to you in front of your friends when you want to go out to play but you have to stay in and do your chores or even when you are hungry or tired what are some of the things that trigger your big emotions the first step to managing big emotions is to notice and identify the emotions you are feeling sometimes taking moment to stop and think about how you are feeling is enough to identify your emotions other times you might have hard time knowing what you're feeling if you're having trouble identifying your emotions you can use visual tools such as feelings chart feelings wheel or feelings thermometer to help you better understand the emotion you are feeling it can be helpful to ask yourself three important questions number one what am thinking maybe you're thinking about how you're going to fail your big test tomorrow or about how much you hate doing your chores your negative thoughts often cause negative emotions so noticing your thoughts can be the first step to managing your emotions number two what do feel in my body do you feel your face getting hot your heart beating faster or butterflies in your stomach if you notice the feelings and Sensations in your body this can be helpful signal that you need to do something to calm down number three how do act when feel this way am arguing and yelling am shutting down and refusing to talk am avoiding an important task your actions can be another key signal letting you know that your emotions are rising and it's time to use coping skill after identifying and naming your emotions next you want to think of coping skills you can use to feel better it can be helpful to break down coping skills into four categories number one relaxation skills these are things you can do to relax your brain and body number two distraction skills these are things you can do to get your mind off of your stressful emotion the key to distraction skills is to not just escape the stressful situation but instead to take some time to get your mind off of the big emotion and then return feeling calm and under control number three movement skills these are things you can do to move your body to physically release the stressful emotion number four thinking skills these can be encouraging statements you say to yourself or questions you ask yourself to challenge your negative thoughts if you use feelings thermometer to help you identify how you are feeling this can help you select the best coping skills to manage your emotions for example if you're feeling sad or disappointed you might use different coping skills than if you're feeling frustrated or angry if you're sad you might do something to lift your mood up but if you're angry you might do something to calm yourself down sometimes you can use the same coping skills to manage different emotions for example you might be feeling nervous for test so you take some deep breaths to calm down or you might be feeling angry that you don't get to play the game you want at recess and you might also take some deep breaths to calm down if you are having trouble thinking of coping skills ask an adult for help the final step to manage your big emotions is to take action by practicing one or more coping skills be prepared to practice different coping skills for different situations imagine having an invisible tool belt of coping skills if you are building house and you needed screwdriver you wouldn't want to get stuck with only hammer this is why we need different tools for different situations it can take lot of courage to take action but the more you practice the easier it will get if one coping skill does not work then move on to another until you find the right combination of coping skills to help you feel better it's important to remember that all feelings are okay it's what you do with them that matters so the next time you feel stressful emotions big or small remember to number one identify your feelings number two think about coping skills you can use to feel better number three take action by practicing one or more coping skills and remember the more you practice the easier it will get if you found this video helpful don't forget to share like And subscribe for more social emotional and Mental Health Resources for kids and teens including visually appealing worksheets handouts posters and infographics please visit www.mentalhealthcenterkids.com thanks for watching