Table of Contents
Letter to Teens vii
Letter to Parents and Professionals ix
Activity 1 Letting Go of Your Problems 1
Activity 2 Defining and Understanding Stress 5
Activity 3 Life Stressors: What Is Stressing You Out? 9
Activity 4 The Physical Effects of Stress: Paying Attention to Red Flags 15
Activity 5 The Emotional Effects of Stress 20
Activity 6 When Stress Can Be Helpful 24
Activity 7 Stress the Problem, Mindfulness a Solution 27
Activity 8 Living in the Now 31
Activity 9 Mindfulness and the Five Senses 33
Activity 10 Bringing Mindfulness to Routine Tasks and interests 37
Activity 11 Dropping-In Mindfulness Practice 45
Activity 12 Mindful Eating Practice 52
Activity 13 The Body Scan Mindfulness Practice 56
Activity 14 Bringing Mindfulness to Walking and Movement 63
Activity 15 Doing Homework or Taking a Test Mindfully 67
Activity 16 Accepting Your Emotions: "The Guest House" 69
Activity 17 Don't Believe Everything You Think 74
Activity 18 Don't Jump on the Train of Thoughts: the Railroad Activity 79
Activity 19 Stress Waves: Riding the Waves of Life 82
Activity 20 Paying Attention to Your Breath 85
Activity 21 Paying Attention to Your Mind: Sitting Mindfulness Practice 89
Activity 22 Taking in the Good: Doing What You Enjoy 93
Activity 23 Focusing on the Positive: the Pleasant Moments Calendar 96
Activity 24 Focusing on the Negative: the Unpleasant Moments Calendar 100
Activity 25 Things You Can and Can't Control 105
Activity 26 Mindful Stopping: Responding instead of Reacting 108
Activity 27 Being Mindful of Harmful Judgments 111
Activity 28 Mindful Messaging and Posting 117
Activity 29 Playing Out the End of the Movie 121
Activity 30 Life Events Can Cause Stress 123
Activity 31 Coping With Painful Events 127
Activity 32 Unhelpful and Harmful Coping Behaviors 131
Activity 33 Using Self-Care to Manage Problems 138
Activity 34 Tracking Harmful Behaviors: the Self-Awareness Calendar 143
Activity 35 Next Steps 148
Acknowledgments 155