'The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm' - Read and Rise May 2021

This will be our last week focusing on big feelings and this time I want to stress the importance of turning to others for support. Having a list of coping strategies or a big feelings kit is definitely a great help, but sometimes you just need a little more help. 

It has been a struggle for me - and a lot of others adults I know - to be able to accept that what I'm feeling or dealing with is too much for me to handle on my own and it's NOT weakness to turn to someone else for support or help. I'm not entirely sure how we ended up in this individualistic perfectionist culture where it's not ok to fail or ask for help. But I do know that we weren't put here on this earth to go through life alone and so I'm here to tell you it's ok to fail and turn to others for support. We can't possibly know how to get through every challenge or fix every problem on our own, but together we can do just about anything!

Activity: I love the activity included in the above video. However, I would make one change to it - rather than just drawing/writing coping methods to help you let go of the big feelings, I would also draw people I can turn to for help and support when trying to cope with those feelings. You can either draw people on some circles and coping methods on others, or draw people on one side of the circle and draw your coping methods on the other side. 

Here are the instructions and activity page for the Transform the Storm with Touchstones activity from Children's Grief Awareness Day.

One last thought - as parents we are our children's first line of support and so our reactions to their requests for help can have life-long consequences (also important to remember is that children don't always ask for help by verbally requesting help - losing control and having meltdowns is how young children let us know they need help!). If we scold them every time they make a mistake or make them feel bad for asking for help, it could destroy their self-confidence and foster negative opinions of themselves. But if we encourage them to ask for help and are kind and supportive when they do, I believe they will grow and learn from mistakes and feel comfortable reaching out for help when necessary as they grow into adulthood.