St Mary's Roman Catholic Primary School Calm Zone Ideas from Childline
Try one of these activities to help you feel better when you're feeling anxious, scared or sad.
Stress Sock
Fill an old sock with something soft.
You could use bubble wrap, foam packaging, a washing up or shower sponge, rolled up socks or scrunched up wrapping paper.
Tie a knot in the top of the sock or use a hair bobble or elastic band to keep the contents in.
Squeeze and release the sock in a rhythm that feels right for you.
The Question
Pause and notice what you are saying, doing or thinking.
Write it down.
Ask yourself if that thought or activity is helping you or not right now.
If it's not helping, choose to think or do something different.
You could try getting out of bed and doing 10 star jumps, thinking about a happy memory instead of a sad one or chatting to a friend online instead of feeling alone.
Find Freedom
When you're not able to see friends or go out you can feel trapped. It's can help to notice the freedom you do have, even if it's much smaller than you're used to.
It might be that you can choose to go to a different room, look out of the window, connect with friends online or set up a video call with relatives.
Think of someone else who has less freedom than you and call or message them so they feel less alone.
Nature
Spend 5 or 10 minutes every day to connect with nature.
Look out of the window and watch the clouds. Look at holiday photos on the beach or in the countryside. Watch a video of the sea or a walk through a forest. Listen to birds singing or dogs barking nearby. Imagine being outdoors somewhere calm and peaceful by a waterfall or on a mountain path.
You could also change your homescreen on your phone or computer to a nature picture or your favourite animal.
Let it go
Find a box, something small like a shoe box or a chocolate box.
Write down what's worrying you on a piece of paper and place it in the box.
Tell yourself that you don't need to think about the worry at the moment and you can let it go and leave it in the box for now.
You can do this as many times as you like.
Remember to keep the box somewhere private.
Calm Aid Kit
Find 4 or more items to hold or feel.
You can choose things like a blanket to wrap around yourself, a smooth stone to hold, something that was given to you by someone important to you, the lyrics of a happy song or a poem that makes you feel positive .
Put them in a bag or a box in your room. When you feel under pressure, worried or upset choose 1 item out of the box to hold while you remember a time that you felt safe and calm . After 2 or 3 minutes replace it and choose another.
You can do this as many times as you like.
Sense Drawer
Make a space in a cupboard or drawer for things that will help you when you're feeling anxious or panicked.
Choose things with a noticeable smell, taste, feel, colour or that make a noise.
You could include shampoo or soap to smell, a mint to taste, a fluffy sock to touch, a brightly coloured drawing or wrapping paper to look at or a plastic container with beads or dried pasta in to shake.
Letter to yourself
Choose a day that you're feeling happy and write a letter to yourself, either on paper or on your phone, to read when things are more difficult or you're struggling to cope.
Remember to include advice about things that have helped you to cope in the past.
Read your letter to remind yourself that you have days when you feel less anxious and your mood improves.
