Do you ever have big feelings? Let's talk about how that is okay and what you can do next time to help yourself through that. Here are my zones of Regulation all of these colors show how we are feeling. Feelings are expected and respected. We just have to learn how to work through them in a way that is safe for others and yourself yelling and throwing are unexpected but can happen when we are in the Red Zone. All we can do is learn how to work through those big feelings in a more expected and trusting way. let's talk about green zone. first green zone is when we are feeling calm and flexible. in this Zone we are ready to learn problem solve and able to work through those big feeling moments in an expected way. sometimes something happens and we either feel sad or maybe frustrated if we feel sad we might be going into the Blue Zone that is okay but we have to use our strategies to get back into the green zone in Blue Zone our engines and brain are running a little slower in this Zone we could feel sad tired bored or even sick if we feel any of these here are some tools to help you get yourself back into the green zone if you're bored or tired try taking deep breaths to get oxygen to your brain and wake it up. another way to wake it up would be to drink some water if it is an unpreferred activity maybe this is time just to practice persevering through those boring slow and unmotivating moments in life there are a lot of them and you're only stronger for getting through them if something or someone made you feel sad maybe try taking some deep breaths in a safe and calming space drink some water find an activity you enjoy and work through it with an adult if someone has a toy you want maybe try turn taking and set a timer for when it's your time next if you feel sick it might take a little bit to get back into the green zone but take care of your brain and body with rest sleep and fluids if you're finding yourself a little frustrated amping up or even super silly you might be going into the yellow zone yellow zone usually happens when we are learning a new skill and it's frustrating or maybe we didn't get enough sleep so our brain becomes a little too tired or even too silly we can start to become unsafe in this Zone there is a time and place for this Zone like when we are outside playing with friends or somewhere where there is a lot of fun energy it can be unexpected at home when everyone is tired or it can be unexpected in a quiet place it can also mean our brain is getting a workout and it sends frustrated signals to our emotional side of the brain it's okay take a deep breath work out it for another 10 seconds or even a minute and if it's still frustrating then maybe take a break to come back in 20 minutes or so or even the next day or week it's okay you got this is where mindfulness comes in when we recognize that we are amping up to yellow zone we can use our strategies and tools to bring ourselves back to green zone otherwise the next level is Red Zone and this is not where anyone wants to be. this is when people become unsafe and we might feel like we are out of control it's still okay we all get here we have to learn that this feeling is okay and that it will pass to help my body calm down I will recognize what is happening within my heart might be beating I might be sweating tension is all through my body maybe mean words in my brain are wanting to come out this is the most important time to sit down get grounded say to yourself or your safety person I feel in the red zone I will ground Myself by signaling my heart first to calm down to do this I will take a deep breath in
and out
you might need to repeat that
breath in
and out
when you are calm in the green zone I am sure someone would love to talk this out with you and problem solve the more we are aware and identify our big big feelings the more we can become aware and identify how we can still have our behaviors be kind and safe good job growing your brain today see you next episode where we learn about superflex and the unthinkables.
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