Thoughts, Emotions, & Decisions

Your emotions are in charge of your emotions?

• True(Yes)

• False (No)

You can choose whether to listen to your emotions?

• True (Yes)

• False(No)

Thoughts are always useful?

• True (Yes)

• False (No)

How do emotions protect you when you feel threatened?

• They make you cry, which makes you feel better.

• They help you understand the danger you’re in.

• They calm you down so you can make good decisions.

• They appear fast and strong and tell you to fight or run away.

Which of the following are effective calming-down strategies? Choose all that apply.

• Breathe slowly

• Count slowly

• Punch a wall

• Walk away

When you’re angry, what can help you make a good decision? Choose all that apply.

• Remembering my values and making a decision that reflects what’s most important to me

• Following my emotions, because they’re always in charge of my decisions

• Pausing and calming down before deciding what to do

• Writing an IF–THEN PLAN

Abdul just found out that he didn’t get invited to Ivan’s party, and he feels rejected. What are some

unhelpful thoughts he might be having? Choose all that apply.

• I bet everyone else got invited except me

• Ivan and I aren’t good friends. Maybe he didn’t invite everyone.

• I’m such a loser.

• I knew it—Ivan hates me.

Ananti just got a bad grade on her test. Which of the following is a helpful thought she could have?

• I should ask for help and study harder for the next test.

• School is a waste of time.

• I’m such an idiot.

• I always do badly on tests, so there’s no point in trying.

Which of the following is an example of an unhelpful thought leading to a bad decision?

• Jolene thinks she’ll do really badly on her presentation. She says she’s sick so she won’t have to

  go to school.

• Aidan thinks he doesn’t really understand the math assignment, so he asks for help.

• Nguyen thinks it’s strange that he hasn’t heard from Alex in a few days, so he texts her to find out

  what’s up.

• Ratna thinks she could make the basketball team, so she practices every day before the tryouts.

Must answer this on a piece of paper......

What’s one strategy you use to calm down when you’re nervous? How does it help?

• on paper

• Not on paper