Going back to school is not easy!

It can trigger all kinds of thoughts like 'will the bullying start again?' 'will I make friends?' 'why do I have to go?'.  When we start to get thoughts like these it can feel like someone is hijacking our brain, this is when the Amygdala (feeling brain) is cut off from the Frontal Cortex (thinking brain).  

When this happens we can lose control of our thoughts, this effects our emotions, and our behaviour. 

The different effects these unhelpful thoughts have on our system are:  fight response; this can come across in hurtful ways like bullying, lashing out at people, shouting Flight response; get anxious and find it hard to sit still, breath faster, feel sick.  Or freeze response; we become un-responsive to people around us, some people can see this as an opportunity to pick on some one.

When the above happens it can be hard to get back in control of our thoughts, emotions, and behaviour.  I am going to share a resource that staff and volunteers use at Spiral, to support young people to get back online with their thinking brain. 

Try and have ago at these before school, after school, when you start to notice those unhelpful thoughts, to stop them from ruminating, it is also helpful to practice these on a daily basis, starting with less than a minute a day can help regulate your emotions.

Three that I find work well for me are:

1. Short burst of exercise 

2. Get in nature 

3. box breathing 

Let me know which 3 work for you in the comments below or if you have any other ideas let me know.