Ask for help

Sometimes our worries are so big, they can be too scary for just you alone.

Talk to an adult you trust about what you are feeling. This could be your teacher, an older friend at school, your parents, or any other safe adult.

They should listen to you and can reach out to a professional who can offer more support.

A professional could be a school counsellor, a therapist, or doctor who work with children just like you.

They can help you understand what you are feeling and help you to cope with the worry.

Journalling

When we are worried or anxious, our thoughts can be scary and overwhelming. Getting them out of our head can help us to see our worries as smaller.

Write in a journal or draw pictures of what is worrying you. If you are not sure of what is worrying you, write or draw about what is going on in your life, your thoughts and physical feelings.

Be mindful

When we worry, we are often thinking about something that happened in the past. This can be five years ago, last week, this morning or five minutes ago. We might also worry about what might happen in the future. This can be later on today, tomorrow, next week or next year, for example.

When the worry is too big, it helps to just think about right now, like this actual minute!

Try one of the next few mindful activities

Mindful Senses

Stop and take 3 deep breaths; then look around you and name:

Mindful sitting

Sit in a chair and put your feet flat on the floor.

Think about your feet on the floor, feel your bottom in the chair, then your back against the cushion.

Breathe in deeply, roll your shoulders back and down and breath out.

Repeat three times.

Mindful walking

Go for a barefoot walk outside.

Put one foot forward when you breath in, and the next foot forward when you breath out.

Just focus on your breathing and what your feet are feeling underneath them.

Breathe

Deep breathing helps us calm our brain and body. You can do this breathing when you are sitting at your desk, lying in bed or even walking during the day.

Distract yourself

Make or use a fidget toy to distract yourself. A spinning top, popper, pen fidget, colouring in or even reciting your times tables can be helpful to shift your focus from the worry.

Visualisation

Imagine a happy and calm place, like a beach and think about what it looks like. Now spend some time there in your imagination. What can you see, hear and smell.

The more details you add in, the better the calm place becomes.

Affirmation

Write on a card, I am strong and brave (or something else positive about yourself). Read it out loud to yourself three times (three is the magic number!).

You can even keep the card with you, if you want, so that you can read it when you need some encouragement.