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When we are scared, we can feel it in our whole body. What does fear “feel” like (i.e. hot face, jittery body, tense hands, clenched muscles) Our amygdala, the part of our brain in charge of telling us to fight back or flee, gets overwhelmed and sends down a gate that makes it difficult to think clearly and make good choices. So what can we do to calm ourselves and our amygdala down? (1) The first way we can calm our nervous or scared bodies and brains down is by taking deep breaths. This is actual science! When we take deep breaths, it can change our brains and keep us calm. We can do this 3 times. Let’s try it now. (2) Instead of saying “thought mistakes” to ourselves like “the worst will definitely happen” or “I won’t be able to handle it,” we can say calming, courageous words to ourselves. What can we say (i.e. I can do this, go away fear!, I am prepared!). How can saying these words help? We hear everything that is said in our heads! We can be a courage coach to ourselves!

If you have time: We can also use “visioning” to think of positive outcomes!