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It's important to remember that emotions like fear and anxiety help us to recognize when things are unsafe or when there are threats we need to pay attention to. Our goal is not to get rid of fear or anxiety. Our goal is to use these emotions' energy to help us find safety, advocate for change, and connect with safe people. Where we get stuck is when fear and anxiety shut us down to where we feel helpless and hopeless. Here are some steps to help us use fear and anxiety for their intended purpose.
Step 1: Help Your Brain Calm Down By Trying Some of These Activities
Step 2: Write Down or Draw The Things You Are Worried About
Set a timer for ten minutes and write or draw all the things you are worried about. Sometimes we don't want to think about what scares us. But when we are overwhelmed, getting our worries out of our heads and onto a piece of paper is an important step.
Step 3: Educate Yourself About the Facts...BUT In Moderation
Limit your research time to 20 minutes per day.
Limit your research time to 20 minutes per day.
Find reputable sources of news or information to educate yourself about what you are nervous about. It can be helpful to use multiple sources of information and it is important that we fact check the information we are seeing on social media platforms.
Some Common Things Students Are Concerned About And What Your School Has In Place About Those Concerns
Step 4: Identify What's In Your Control
Elementary Circles of Control.pdfCircles of Control (1).pdfWe want to focus our time and energy on the things that are fully in our control and in our circle of influence. However, the things outside our circles of control and influence still affect us.
Step 5: Use Anxiety For It's Purpose.
Like all emotions, anxiety has a purpose. It helps us to have the energy to prepare for and do hard things. It also helps us to notice if there are dangerous things in our environment we may need to pay attention to. Anxiety can help us do three things:
Grieve
Grieve
Sometimes there are situations that we can't fix or change. Grief is so important to help us communicate that we are sad, scared, and unsure. But grief also allows us to connect with people so we can know we aren't alone in the fear and sadness and unknown. Find people you can trust and talk about the things you are feeling.
Advocate
Advocate
Anxiety helps to propel people into action. Think through some ways you can use your voice and your actions to make a difference. It could be partnering with a local organization that is doing advocacy work, it could be a small act of kindness or love. These are the things that help us push back against pain and suffering.
Ask For Support
Ask For Support
Find people who have experienced similar things that you are experiencing. Learn from their stories. How did they cope with the feelings you are experiencing? What did they learn from what they experienced? Also, sometimes, talking to a counselor, faith leader, or mentor can be helpful.
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