Coping with Change: Understanding Feelings and Behaviors

1. BASEAL Changes - 2

2. L.O.1 I know that what we feel and think affects what we do (how we behave). L.O.2 I can tell you why I behave as I do when I am finding a change difficult. L.O.3 I can sometimes understand why other people are behaving as they are when they are finding a change difficult. L.O.4 I know some ways of dealing with the feelings that sometimes arise from changes.

3. Remember there is a link between how we FEEL, what we THINK and how we BEHAVE.

5. Sometimes when we are meeting change we may feel uncomfortable and because of this we may behave in ways that are not O.K. Remember ALL FEELINGS ARE O.K. BUT NOT ALL BEHAVIOURS ARE!

6. …….. Let’s do this ……..

7. There are many things we can do to cope with the uncomfortable feelings change may bring. Although we cannot change our outward appearance like chameleons can, when we are faced with change we can do several things:

8. Think about what will stay the same • - in a house move the family is usually the same; • in a family reorganisation school friends will • often be a stable part of life; • Think of opportunities or possible advantages that • change might offer; • If a friend moves away you will probably get more • e-mail or letters and maybe somewhere you can • go on holiday to see them;

9. Tell ourselves that all change is difficult but that you • have survived change in the past and can do it • again; • Take things one day at a time and focus on rewarding • yourself for small successes and any progress; • Use the problem-solving strategy; • Communicate with others in a similar position, • sharing feelings; • Use ways to relax and calm yourself.

10. It would be interesting if you could discover where your family has lived in the past. You might be able to make a map to show how they have moved, to find some photos, descriptions, similarities and differences about them and why they moved.

11. Work with a small group of others to design a poster “Change and How to Survive It” Your poster should include some way of showing how change feels and also some strategies for survival.

13. We can make a “Problem Box” where you may put any problems you can think of to do with change. When we have enough some of you could give answers using the problem-solving strategy. While you are doing this don’t forget the Working together self-review checklist which you could complete at the end.

15. Let’s think about….. • Why do things change? • What have you learned from thinking about changes in life and how you cope with difficult changes? • How has what you’ve learned changed the way you think about or understand things?

16. At the end of this theme you should be able to: tell how you would feel if a change that you didn’t want to happen was imposed on you. know some of the reasons that change can feel uncomfortable and scary. tell how it feels to belong to a group and know it is important for everyone. know that what we feel and think affects what we do (how we behave). tell why you behave as you do when you are finding a change difficult. sometimes understand why other people are behaving as they do when they are finding a change difficult. know some ways of dealing with the feelings that sometimes arise from changes.