You control how happy you are! Happy Chemicals You control how happy you are!

Your Brain has powerful chemicals you control Dopamine & Serotonin are some of these chemicals. They help control: How happy you are Your mood Your self confidence Your social skills How you handle hard things

How do we boost our Chemical Power? Dark chocolate Spicy Peppers Fruits and Veggies Exercise Music Love MENTAL STRENGTH

What do mentally strong people look like? Happy (laugh often) Social (fun to be around) Confident (able to problem solve) Willing to try new things Not afraid to fail Gets involved Have lots of friends Chooses to be positive

What do you look like when you are not mentally strong? Procrastinate Bored and unwilling to get involved. Afraid to try new things Not Happy, Depressed Low Confidence, does not enjoy very many things Self Doubt, High Anxiety Unsocial, SHY, & struggles with friends Not happy with who they are Negative

What skills can you develop to be mentally strong? Avoid Black and White Thinking. (If things do not turn out the way you want, then your life sucks!) Life is full of shades of Grey. Be creative and find a new solution.

Don’t take people’s words to heart! Avoid Personalizing!!!! Personalizing is when you think everything someone does or says is negatively aimed at you. (The teachers did not call on me when my hand was up…..because they don’t like me. My friend passed by with out talking to me …..they are mad at me.)

Avoid Filter thinking This is when you choose to pay attention to only the message you are looking for (When you think something is not your fault you point out everything you did right and ignore all the rest of your actions OR….When you think someone does not like you, you notice every negative interaction they have with you and ignore all the positive ones).

Avoid Catastrophizing This is when you are nervous and unsure of how things are going to turn out and you choose to spend your time thinking about the worst possible outcomes ever!

Avoid Fortune-Telling thinking This is when you predict the future based on what has happened in the past. I will fail my test because I failed the last one. I can’t trust my new friend because they will stab me in the back just like my last one. Your subconscious will do it’s best to make sure you are right!!!!

The skills you practice are the skills you hold on to in hard times. Be aware of your thoughts YOU GET TO CHOOSE!!!