Building Our Toolboxes

Tools for coping, managing emotions, and finding your way through difficult moments

The idea: You don't need every tool. You need to find the tools that work for you.

The tools below reflect commonly recommended strategies for managing emotions, stress, and difficult moments. 

The resources at the bottom of this page provide additional information and explanations.

When everything feels like too much, start by slowing down.

• Take slow breaths

• Give yourself a moment before reacting

• Find a quiet or comfortable place

Try: “I don't have to solve everything right now.”

Sometimes strong emotions make us want to act immediately.

Creating a little space between what you feel and what you do may help.

• Stop for a moment

• Delay the decision if you can

• Change your surroundings

• Do something else briefly

• Talk to someone before acting

Try: “I can feel this without deciding what to do about it or how to react to it.”

Bring your attention back to the present moment.

5–4–3–2–1

👀 5 things you can see

✋ 4 things you can touch

👂 3 things you can hear

👃 2 things you can smell

👅 1 thing you can taste

Try: I am here. I can focus on what is happening around me right now.

Your breathing can give you something simple to focus on.

Breathe in slowly.

Pause. 

Breathe out slowly.

Repeat several times while paying attention to the sensation of breathing.

Try: “Slow in for five counts. Hold for five counts. Slow out for five counts. Just focus on this breath.”

Sometimes your mind needs a change of activity.

• Stretch

• Stand up

• Take a short walk

• Spend a few minutes outside

• Notice how your body feels as you move

Small movements count.

Try: “What is one small way I can move right now?”

You don't have to judge every feeling you experience.

Pause and ask:

What am I feeling?

What might have brought this feeling on?

What do I need right now?

Give the feeling a name:

worried • frustrated • overwhelmed • sad • angry • nervous

Try: Ask yourself, “What am I feeling right now?”

Thoughts can feel powerful, but having a thought doesn't mean you have to respond to it right away.

Notice the thought, give yourself some space, and decide what you want to do next.

A thought is something you are experiencing—not something you automatically have to act on.

Try: “This is a thought. What else could I think about it?”

Sometimes the world gives us more information than our minds can handle.

It may help to:

• Put your phone down

• Take a break from social media

• Step away from the news

• Find a quieter environment

• Spend time outdoors

Give your mind some room.

Try: Put something down or step away from something for a few minutes.

You don't always have to work through difficult moments by yourself.

Consider reaching out to someone you trust:

A parent • family member • teacher • counselor • coach • friend • trusted adult

Sometimes the most important tool in the toolbox is another person.

Try: Think of one person you could reach out to right now.

Try it.

Keep what helps.

Leave what doesn't.

Come back and try something else.

Everything will not work for everyone.  Keep looking until you find the tools that work for you.

For more information about these tools and strategies, explore the resources below:

CDC — Managing Difficult Emotions

https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-well-being/managing-difficult-emotions/index.html

Harvard Health — Self-Regulation for Adults

https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/self-regulation-for-adults-strategies-for-getting-a-handle-on-emotions-and-behavior

CDC — Improve Your Emotional Well-Being

https://www.cdc.gov/emotional-well-being/improve-your-emotional-well-being/index.html

Psychology Today — Overcoming Emotional Inertia: How to Let Go of a Feeling

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/overcoming-destructive-anger/202608/overcoming-emotional-inertia-how-to-let-go-of-a-feeling

Mental Health Foundation

https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health

If you have a tool, resource, activity, or idea that you think should be included, Team KYvO wants to hear from you.

Suggestions will be reviewed for inclusion, and appropriate credit will be given when material is shared with permission.