Anxiety & Depression: StrategiesLearners may suffer from anxiety and/or depression for a variety of different reasons. Strategies that address the "symptoms" of anxiety and depression can be helpful to students. However, mental health issues may also be linked to how learners perceive themselves and their ability to be successful in school and social relationships due to other special needs. Identifying underlying triggers and helping students to manage them will be even more effective. Consequently, it is important to work closely with parents, students, and school support teams (counselors, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and special education teachers).
Here are a few basic strategies to try. Scroll to see specific strategies related to the infographic.
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Calm downBreathing StrategiesTake 5 Breathing Exercise For Kids - A blog post that includes this free printable (as a PDF) and a video showing how to use it with adaptations for children who have sensory issues
Creating a Calm-Down Kit for Kids - A 1:49 min. video that shows how to inexpensively create things to include in a "calm down kit" from regular household items.
Deep Breathing Exercises for Self-Regulation - A lengthy blog post that includes both videos and colorful printables for teaching students to breathe (some free, some not).
Calm Down StrategiesThis phone app includes breathing exercises, calming music, daily check-ins, emergency calm exercises, guided meditations, and sleep stories
50 Coping Skills for Kids (Infographic and handouts from Wasatch Peds)
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Adopt a growth mindsetLanguage Learning with a Growth Mindset - This 22-slide Slideshare presentation in English from Joshua Cabral compares and contrasts the thinking patterns of students who have growth mindsets with those who have fixed mindsets
Activites to Jumpstaart a Growth Mindset - Free activity download from Teachers Pay Teachers that contains printables and cards for identifying fixed v. growth mindset thinking from Mandy Neal
Change Your Language - Free sorting activity download from Teachers Pay Teachers
Growth Mindset Posters (French and English) - Free posters available for download from Teachers Pay Teachers that include a list of expressions in French that could be printed, cut up, and used for sorting activities
Growth Mindset Self-Reflection Chart (English & Spanish) - Free worksheet download from Teachers Pay Teachers
What is worry? - A helpful worksheet that helps students to identify their worries and decatastrophize them
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Let little things go!How Not to Let Things Bother You - A short blog post
Let It Go: How to Not Let Things Bother You - A blog post
Things Outside My Control - A graphic organizer
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Manage energy, not timeCoping Skills - A helpful worksheet created by a therapist that identifies key skills and strategies for coping with depression
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AffirmationsChange Your Language - Free sorting activity download from Teachers Pay Teachers
Meditación afirmaciones positivas para iniciar el día con Pablo Gómez - A 6:21 min. video of a male native speaker saying positive affirmations in slow, simple Spanish that use a lot of "Yo soy" statements.
Positive Journal - A worksheet for encouraging students to notice what is positive during their day
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