How to Manage Big Feelings When Things Change

Learn simple strategies to help you stay calm and navigate your emotions when your daily routine or environment shifts.

1. Notice the feeling. When something changes, pause and check in with your body. Do your shoulders feel tight? Is your tummy doing flips? Give the feeling a name, like 'nervous,' 'annoyed,' or 'unsure.' Saying it out loud or writing it down helps you own the feeling instead of letting it own you.
2. Try a reset breath. Take a deep breath in through your nose for four seconds, hold it for two, and breathe out through your mouth for six seconds. Repeat this three times. This tells your brain that you are safe, even when things are changing around you.
3. Focus on what you can control. Ask a grown-up for a piece of paper and draw a circle. Inside the circle, write or draw things you can control, like how you spend the next five minutes or what book you want to read. Outside the circle, write the things you cannot control, like the schedule change or the weather.
4. Choose a comfort anchor. Pick one small thing that stays the same no matter what. It could be your favorite stuffed animal, a smooth stone in your pocket, or a song you like to hum. When you feel wobbly, hold that object or hum that song to remind yourself of what is steady.