Treat Yo-Self Healthy

  February 6 - 12  ♡   John 2 - 4 " Y e   M u s t B e   B o r n   A g a i n " Heavenly Father loves me, so He gave me a Savior Help each child repeat John 3:16 , replacing the words “the world” with his or her own written name. I made this PDF to help the children visualize the scripture (as well as assist them with some of the words, even if they can't read yet) on the board. I made a laminated, rectangle insert for each of the kids to write their own names in dry-erase marker. Each kid took a turn putting their name up in the spot where it says "the world", and we repeated saying the scripture out loud together as a class. The Savior image is from The Red Crystal blog , and some of the other images are clipart! Jesus Christ is my "living water" Explain "living water" after telling the story of Jesus and the woman at the well. The Gospel of Jesus Christ. And if we live it, Jesus promises that we will never be thirsty again (meaning that we

  February 13 - 19  ♡   Matthew 5 & Luke 6 " B l e s s e d   A r e  Y e " I can be a peacemaker What is a peacemaker?  "Peacemakers make any place peaceful, no matter where they are" How can I be a peacemaker ? Use a kind voice and kind words Listen to others even when I don't agree Try to understand how others are feeling Suggest ways to solve a problem Say "sorry" when I make a mistake Pray to Heavenly Father for help getting along Play a peacemaker game:   Give each kid a happy / sad face to use for the game. I printed one for each kid to use in our primary class, and then I laminated them.  For the game, I read out loud some peacemaker scenarios that I found searching churchofjesuschrist.org (as well as some stories I made up on my own). While reading each scenario, have the kids decide whether to use the happy face (peacemaker face), or sad face. If a sad face was a result, ask the kids what they could have done to make the situation better an

February 20 - 26 ♡   Matthew 6 - 7 " H e T a u g h t   T h e m a s O n e H a v i n g A u t h o r i t y " I can pray to my Heavenly Father as Jesus did Teach the children how to pray by having the kids take turns spinning the spinner  from the Come Follow Me activity page. Discuss each part that the arrow lands on. I colored mine and laminated it. .  Just like there are different parts that make up a hamburger, there are different parts that make up a prayer (you can also use examples like an ice cream sundae, a taco, etc.):  Have the children help put together the pieces of hamburger (prayer) in order. First, we start to talk to Heavenly Father by saying something like: "Dear Heavenly Father"  Next, we thank Him for our blessings - What are some things we can thank Him for? Next, we can ask Him for things - What are things we can ask Him for? Forgiveness, help, answers to questions, comfort, etc. To finish talking to Heavenly Father, we end our prayer by saying

"Do you think you'll get postpartum depression?", a lot of friends and family would ask me when I was pregnant. If you've read some of my other blog posts, you would see that I have struggled with severe anxiety in the past.  "I don't know, probably", was often my reply. Given my history with mood disorders, I assumed it could be likely I would experience some struggles postpartum. Little did I know at the time how hard and fast it would hit me.  Beginning in the first trimester, I experienced depression. Despite being quite open about my mental health, I remained mostly quiet about depression throughout my pregnancy. Since anxiety was more dominant for me in the past, lingering depression was a newer learning curve for me. I believe I kept quiet for a few different reasons: Depression caused a lack of motivation and energy, making it so I didn't want to do anything I normally enjoyed doing. I also didn't feel like talking to anyone. This was com

  There is nothing more frustrating than someone telling you:  "You have anxiety", when it doesn't feel like it. While it may be true, a person who is truly struggling with anxiety may instead hear: I don't believe you You are making this up You are crazy and acting irrationally All your tests have come back normal, you are fine You are not sick, you are anxious You need to calm down, just relax The things you are experiencing are not real It's embarrassing that you have come back again for help A lot of these thoughts stem from not only an ill mindset, but also from poor stigma against mental health.  Acceptance The first, and hardest, part about anxiety is acceptance.  The rough truth about mental health is that you must discover what came first... the chicken or the egg.  Did anxiety come first, causing a lot of physical turmoil? Or did a physical illness occur first, causing a lot of anxiety?  There is a long road ahead of trial & error as both the patien

  Are You Feeling Anxious For the Holidays? Are You Feeling Some Holiday Blues? Whatever Your Current Emotional State, Stress Reduction is Right For You! Excessive or frequent amounts of stress  is unhealthy for overall health and wellness. It is well documented that stress, if not addressed, can lead to feelings of depression, severe anxiety, and disease. Stress Symptoms: There is a vast amount of symptoms for stress, but here are some common ones to name a few: Fatigue Insomnia Frequent illness Panic attacks Emotional distress or moodiness i.e. irritability Worry Acne Digestive issues Nausea High blood pressure Nervous system dysregulation Headaches Restlessness Dizziness Muscle tension Aches or pains Decreased libido Depression Anxiety Feeling overwhelmed or burnt out Memory problems Racing thoughts Eating more or less Stress occurs when our bodies and / or minds are consistently overwhelmed. This can put us in a state of "sympathetic nervous system dominance".  The Nervou