Feelings can be really BIG or really small. Some feelings we may feel are: mad, sad, scared, or glad. Sometimes, you can feel one by itself, or you can feel them all. At times we only feel sunshine, but other times we feel like it's disappeared. It's like we're left in a big thunderstorm of feelings that we can't get through. But I'm here to help you find your sun again! 

There are times we get mad. We get so mad that we stomp, stomp, stomp and shake the whole house. It can feel like a storm inside of us that we can't control. It's like there's a tornado in our heart and it turns the clouds dark. I'm here to help you break up those clouds and help you feel the sunshine again. But how can I do that, you ask?

We could start by taking a snake breath! These are my favorite and I will show you what to do. Breathe in through your mouth 1...2...3... and then out 1...2...3... while you "SSSSSSS" like a snake!

1...2...3...

Snake breaths aren't always right for everyone. We could be too mad to focus on breathing right now, and that's OK. Maybe we could try taking a break away from people and take a nap.

Maybe we're still feeling a little frustrated after our nap. It's okay if one or more skills don't work; we have a few more ideas. We could try taking a walk and using our stress ball. 

We can squeeze, bounce, and squish our stress ball! And we do this until we feel all of the mad leaving our body. Then, we start to feel the warmth of the sun through the storm clouds.

What if the storm leaves our heart, but the sunshine is still stuck behind those clouds? Well, we could be feeling sad. So sad that one of those clouds starts to send raindrops down our cheeks. Thankfully, for us, we have a few skills to stop that rain.

We could cuddle with our pets! My dog's name is Duke. He loves to cuddle and play. His favorite toys are his ball and his bone. 

If you don't have a pet, we could look at this picture I made, just for you!

Or maybe we could try looking at this great, big ice cream cone. It sure does look yummy!

I did save the best one for last. My favorite way to stop the rain from falling when I'm sad is...a GIANT hug! And to listen to these words:

I LOVE YOU sooo much!

But what if it's not the storm clouds or the rain that's keeping us from the sun? Maybe it's not something we can see, only hear. It started as a low rumbling sound, but now that the rain has stopped, it's gotten louder. Thunder is keeping us from the sunshine as it rumbles through the clouds.  It could have us feeling afraid, or overwhelmed, or even anxious. But luckily, for us, I have a few more skills meant just for these feelings!

I'm feeling afraid

because..

So what can we do when we're feeling afraid? I'm so glad you asked. One of my favorite things to do when I'm feeling afraid is to cuddle with my family. They make me feel protected. We can also talk about what it is that has me feeling afraid.

There may be times that we're unsure of why we feel this way, or we don't know how to explain it. We sometimes call that "anxiety". Anxiety can be like a big, dark cloud appearing in the middle of a sunny sky. It can leave us with an upset feeling in our tummy and feeling scared. But there are ways to stop these feelings.