With the end of the semester on the horizon, we want to share a treasure of a worksheet you can use in supporting your student with “decatastrophizing.” This is one of the many types of cognitive distortions adolescents can have that can create overwhelm and inertia. An example of this would be, “I’m so far behind, I’m going to fail all of my classes!” While understandable, this is not a supportive or motivating statement. This worksheet helps enlist logic, reasoning and perspective-taking so that students can move out of their emotional brain and into problem-solving mode. You can print this out, or better yet, incorporate it into a script that you use in navigating the conversation with your student. And remember that oftentimes, these types of, albeit irrational, thoughts sometimes need to be voiced. What’s not helpful is when we as parents meet these comments with our own negative emotions. We hope you find this helpful!
Don’t forget: Thursday, Nov 19 at 5:30p “Caring for Oneself & Others”
Brought to you by the Contra Costa Crisis Center, and CourAge Youth Health Coalition. Register here to attend online.
Allen Choi, Wellness Coordinator
Casey Sasner, Intake Specialist
For updates, tips and advice, follow Wellness on Social Media: Instagram @acalaneswellness
