Throw away thoughts and Replacement Thoughts

I use this video with children who find themselves having overwhelming negative thoughts through out their day. These negative thoughts lead people to be more depressed, more self-critical and less successful.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) outlines 3 basic steps for rethinking negative thinking:

1. Be aware of the negative thought and record it.

2. Rationalize the negative thoughts into categories. (Assuming & Mind Reading, Shoulds/Musts & Oughts, Fairy Tale Fantasy, Over Generalizing, Catastrophizing...)

3. Replace the negative thought with a more plausible and positive thought.

Drawing attention to negative thinking, naming it and replacing it is something children and adults alike can do to retrain their brains and hearts in an attempt to be happier and more successful.

What is the single most important thing you can do for stress?

Dr. Mike Evans has a number of engaging and enlightening videos on how to get and keep healthy. Here's another on stress. Take 11 minutes and consider his sage advice. I use this with my students to inspire a research project on rethinking stress.



My favourite parts:

• How we cope with stress is affected by how much control we have over our lives, our social network, openness to change and self care skills.
• Change your thinking style. Change your thinking, change your life.
• We manufacture stress inside our brains with how we think. It's our thinking that brings the stress.
• Stress management is a skill that can be learned.
• Cognitive Behavioural Theory is where we learn practical strategies for changing our thinking.
• "The greatest weapon against stress is in our ability to choose one thought over another." Dr.William James.
• Mindfulness is really about choosing where to place your attention.
• Writing out a stress story can be very therapeutic. 
• When things are stress, it can be helpful to keep things simple such as keeping a regular sleep routine, avoid eating crap, walk, socialize. 
• "When I do good, I feel good, when I do bad, I feel bad, and that is my religion." Abraham Lincoln
• 90-10 rule: 10% of life is what happens to us and 90% is how we respond.
• Our thoughts and attitudes are the key to how we manage the challenges and stressors in life. 

Depression

Here is a collection of media that can be used to work with and engage students around depression. This is a part of a project focused on working with and engaging students in ways that help them make positive changes and/or informed choices in their lives.

I hope to add more content to this page. Please consider leaving a comment with your suggestions for more video, poetry, short stories, still images, quotes, music videos and lyrics, art and books.