What is alexithymia Alexithymia is a psychological condition by which an individual is unable to identify and describe their own emotions and recognise them in others. This means that the individual finds it difficult to understand and express how they are feeling which can influence their social and emotional development, as well as their connections …
Exploring our identities can feel tricky when working with children. Asking questions such as ‘who am I?’ can feel challenging, after all, how many of us understood ourselves when we were younger? So, this week we are sharing a board of 12 activity prompts you can use to learn more about children and encourage some …
In surveys completed by Brene Brown and her team, they found that of 7,000 people over a period of five years, on average people can identify only three emotions as they are actually feeling them: happiness, sadness and anger. If you have followed Dandelion for any length of time, you will know that we are …
Are you someone who sees the challenges that others are getting into and finds yourself involved in their worlds, trying to stop them? Are you someone who, when you see someone struggling, you feel an overwhelming need to relieve their struggles? Who shortly afterwards finds yourself exhausted and the other person feeling irritated with you? …
Feelings A step of emotional literacy development is being able to recognise what our emotions are. Many children can find it challenging to be able to recognise, identify and respond to their emotions, particularly the more subtle feelings. A great first step, is to encourage children to reflect on their feelings, so that they can …
Sometimes, we can all get caught in spirals of thoughts surrounding things that are not in our control. So, how do we support children to begin conversations about what they are in control of, versus what they are not? Anxiety frequently exists where we attempt to control things that are uncontrollable. Ever noticed that we …
Since the 2020 pandemic, there has been an increasing gap in the emotional literacy of children. One of my greatest observations from the last three years in my therapy and coaching work, is that whilst children are catching up academically: Behaviour issues are increasing Dysregulation is happening more frequently Expressing feelings is less comfortable There …
Sometimes, we just need an activity that allows us to switch off and zone out, to process our thoughts, feelings and experiences. Colouring has many benefits: Develops fine motor skills Supports concentration skills Develops colour recognition Strengthens handwriting skills Encourages relaxation Develops focus Creates a focus on the present Calms a restless mind Develops inner …
Identifying that our feelings are fluid, and ever moving supports children to understand that they do not need to always feel ‘happy’. For so many children and adults, there is a pressure to always be ‘happy’, when in reality our feelings move continually throughout the day. So, in this article, we share a feelings diary …
How can we talk about feelings with children? Being creative about feelings exploration with children can support them to create visual ideas about how to work through those sensations. My Feelings Lighthouse Download here Next steps Download the worksheet here Collect pens and pencils On the starfish – write the feeling you want to …
