I want to improve my mental health by getting help with my negative thoughts or feelings because:

 

 

***If you are feeling like you want to harm yourself or others, tell a trusted adult right away, or call 988

To help me be successful at overcoming negative thoughts and feelings, I will:

____ Think of someone I trust and ask them TODAY if I can go to them the next time I feel bad 

____ Talk to someone I trust right now and set up a time to talk again and / or find a counselor

____ See if it is helpful to journal my thoughts and feelings 

____ I will NOT isolate myself - I will reach out to someone EVERY time I feel alone or lonely 

____ Pay attention to my thoughts and find a phrase and / or action to help me shake the negative

thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts

Phrase ideas: “shake it off”, “I will not listen to bad thoughts”, “Look for something good”, 

“Is this thought really true?”, “What do I actually know is true?” (I like apples - apples grow on

 trees - apples make good pie and cobbler.)

Other phrase and positive thought ideas: ______________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____ Make a list of positive distractions to try when my thoughts or feelings are negative

Ideas for Positive Distractions: 

• Imagine how to make my favorite flavor of ice cream (or other food) - think of every ingredient and where it comes from - stir the cream (milk from a cow) and sugar (sugar beets?)  together, pick the raspberries, grind up chocolate, add melted caramel, etc.

• Imagine how to build or fix something that I can see or imagine right now

• Do a really complicated long division or other math problem

• Listen to music that helps me get rid of negative thoughts

• Force myself to do an activity for 20 minutes (paint, color, play a musical instrument, build a tower with blocks or legos - even if I’m too old for playing with blocks)

• Get up and move - do physical activity, get some fresh air, take a walk, play with my pet

• Talk out loud to myself or to someone - it can take away the power of the thoughts

• More ideas: _______________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________

____ Tell someone my plan, and have them help me stay accountable

Other things I will do:

 

Congratulations on deciding you want to make a change! You are EPIC!

If you need help, be sure to reach out to a trusted adult or a friend who is a positive influence