As we come to the end of term, we are wrapping up our “Mental Fitness” topic at our assemblies.

This week, I spoke about a simple strategy to regulate negative emotions like fear and anxiety.

The strategy, coined by Dr. Daniel Siegel, is “Name it to Tame it”, and it is based on brain science. When we experience strong emotions, our brain’s emotional control center takes over, making it harder to think rationally. However, when we name what we’re feeling, such as “I’m feeling overwhelmed because of the test that is coming up”, or “I’m really frustrated right now”, we activate the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for reasoning and decision-making. This helps us calm down and respond more effectively. The opposite of doing this is to ignore the feelings and hope they go away, which is an ineffective way to deal with emotion.

Learning to recognise and name emotions builds self-awareness, which is a key skill for managing stress and building resilience. Instead of letting emotions control you, you will be able to take charge of them and make better decisions.

This week is Autism Awareness Week and at assembly Rachel in Yr 12 was able to share her own story of having Autism, including the challenges and advantages she experiences. This is the second year Rachel has done this and I am thankful for her initiative and courage. She has begun a great legacy of awareness that we will maintain when she graduates at the end of the year.