Be less of a 'worrywart' - Information for kids

Do you spend most of your day worrying about things like school and your parents, your siblings, the work you have to do, will you be good enough in sport, will your friends like you etc, etc??

                                           

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Being worried the whole day can be very tiring and you can spend so much time being worried that you will totally forget to have fun and enjoy your life.

Lets look at a few ways in which you can worry less.

The first thing you have to do is figure out exactly what worries you.  Sometimes it is easy and you will know what is troubling you like you are afraid you will get in trouble because you did not do your homework, but sometimes it is a bit more difficult 'to put your finger on'.  You will have to think about it.

If you feel worried and stressed in class, is it because you do not understand the work, or is it because you are scared of the teacher?

Figuring out what the reason for your worries are, can help you find a solution.

Some things you worry about, is not only one thing.  You may be worried about your family.  Are they happy, are they safe, why do they fight so much, why does your mom and dad want to get a divorce etc. If there is more than one thing that bothers you, you will have to break it up in smaller parts.  If you can focus on one part at a time you will be able to fix a lot of problems, but if the problem is too big and you know you cannot fix it by yourself, always remember that you can ask an adult to help.

The more you worry, the less you will be able to solve a problem.  If you keep on worrying and telling yourself the whole time all the things that can go wrong, your brain will 'get stuck' and you will not be able to find a solution to a problem.

Almost every single problem has a solution, so instead of using all your energy to focus on the problem, rather use it to try and find a way you can make it better.

Ask yourself a few questions like what can I do, how can I make it better, what does it help if I worry the whole time, who can I share my problem with or ask for help?

Just sitting in a corner, sulking about your worries or problems is not going to help at all.

Lets say you are worried about a test - Ask yourself.... Am I prepared?  Do I understand the work?  Did I do my best?  Will it help me if I worry the whole time?

Sometimes we need to just accept that things do not always work out the way we thought it would and if we did our best, we need to accept the outcome.  Sitting and worrying about it, is not going to help.  Rather learn from it and next time you try your best again.

Your best is always good enough and no amount of worrying is going to make you do better than your best.  In fact, worrying can rob you from focusing and doing your best.

 If your worry is about a fight you had with a friend, you might write down all the actions you could take — from writing the friend a note to inviting him or her over for a game of basketball. Should you apologize for whatever happened between the two of you? Once you have a list of possible actions, you can select the one you think is most likely to get your friendship back on track. 

If you are worried, it can also make you feel sad and lonely.  Do not try and handle it all on your own.  Find an adult or a friend you can share your worries with.  You will feel better and who knows, they may even be able to help you.

A little bit of worry is fine, because if we never worry about anything, we are not going to try our best, but worrying so much that you cannot enjoy your life is also not right.

Relax and stop being a 'warrywart' - it is not going to help you, it may just end up making you feel really bad...

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