Teens Release Anxiety with OH MY WORD

By Cheryl Wilson-Stewart | December 2, 2019 | Comments 8 comments

Teens release anxiety by doodling their intentions in OH MY WORD journal.

Today’s teenagers suffer from anxiety more than young people ever have. Social media creates expectation and social norms that are not real or grounded. Families are busy and stressed to the max. Human interaction is down and digital connection is up.

Teens need strategies more than ever before to thrive, release anxiety and positively shape their developing sense of self.

STRATEGY TO RELEASE ANXIETY

OH, MY WORD is a science based method of journaling that can release negative, anxious thoughts and replace them with positive ones. It’s a simple process that takes 5 minutes. The user chooses an intention word contained in the journal that reflects the person they want to be. They draw and colour it on the daily page. That’s it. In 5 minutes a new neural pathway has been created and the brain has begun to rewire itself with the positive intention.

OH, MY WORD allows journal-ers to replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

METACOGNITION

The thought interruption used in OH, MY WORD is part of a skill category called metacognition. Which is the act of thinking about thinking. It’s how we talk ourselves out of negative thought patterns and create positive ones. Metacognitive ability increases significantly during the teenage years, so it’s important to provide ways for teens to both choose and manage their thoughts in healthy ways.

OH, MY WORD HELPS TEENS THRIVE:

Reduces stress and anxiety
Increases feelings of relaxation and calmness
Increases self-acceptance
Helps create a strong sense of self

Teens need positive strategies to develop a strong sense of self

INTRODUCING OH, MY WORD TO TEENS

MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND ‘WHY’

When we know ‘why’ we are motivated. Encourage teens to read the Four Pillars and The Intentions. This will help them connect to an understanding of how of OH, MY WORD works (which is pretty cool) and why it’s important. It will help them see they are not alone in dealing with anxiety and that we are all in the process of becoming the best version of ourselves.

PROVIDE THEM WITH A GAME PLAN

We all need game plans. OH, MY WORD provides your teen with an easy one. Simply choose an intentional word that describes the person they want to be. For example, if your teen gets nervous every time they write a test suggest words like one of these…

Today I choose to …. Believe (I know the material and it will come to me as I need it)

Today I choose to …. Trust (everything I need to know will come to me)

Today I choose to …. Relax (with a relaxed mind I can recall everything I need)

Today I choose to …… Excel (I am smart…I am more than capable of acing this test)

MAKE IT A CHALLENGE

Teens these days are into the various 30-day challenges that float around on social media. Challenge your teen to spend 5 minutes working in their OH, MY WORD journal every day and see how differently they feel at the end of 30 days.

SO EASY. 5 MINUTES A DAY. ONE WORD.

Teens like the rest of us are extremely busy so strategies have to be not only effective but fit into modern life. Five minutes a day one word. Doesn’t get easier than that.

HELPING TEENS RELEASE ANXIETY AND THRIVE

Its tough being a teen. Modern family life is full of distractions, activities and outside demands resulting in many families feeling disconnected and teenagers left to figure things out on their own. For answers to life problems they often look to friends or turn to the internet. While on one hand teens ‘look’ very sophisticated these days they are still….teens. We can’t expect them to have their own coping strategies in place nor can we solve all their problem for them. It is however our responsibly to acknowledge the difficulties they face and teach them skills that will help them cope and thrive. Establishing practices that support, uplift and strengthen them in daily life and give them life skills that they can benefit from for the rest of their lives.

The teen years are challenging ones.

Please share this with friends and loved ones and visit OH, MY WORD

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How Busy Families Can Connect and Instill Positivity in Kids

By Cheryl Wilson-Stewart | December 2, 2019 | Comments 16 comments

OH MY WORD provides a way for busy families to connect and instill positivity in kids.

Has life become so busy that you’re not connecting as deeply with your kids as you’d like to?

THE OH, MY WORD FAMILY VERSION

OH, MY WORD is a great way for parents to connect and prompt meaningful discussion with kids. It can be a fun and engaging conduit for discussing values, building a strong sense of self and navigating social situations. Ideal age is 8 – 12 years as teenagers may prefer to keep their OH, MY WORD journal personal. Suggested time is after dinner when the family can carve out 10 – 15 minutes of ‘connection’ time.

What you ‘ll need:

copy of OH, MY WORD for each family member
pencil crayons, wax crayons or gel pens

TO GET STARTED

READ – THE FOUR PILLARS. Focus on one per night. Parents can use examples from their own or family life to support the FOUR Pillars. Encourage discussion…ask kids for their thoughts and ideas. There are some pretty cool facts in the ‘thought’ section like how we can rewire our brain with the thoughts we think.

READ – THE INTENTIONS. Choose ones that are age appropriate. To help kids think about intentions ask-What kind of person do you want to be? OR How would you like people to describe you? Encourage kids to brainstorm some of their own intentions (i.e. nice, friendly, strong, helpful, kind, fun, happy) and add to the lists in the book. When drawing in the journal intentions are most effective as a verb or made active so if necessary add a ‘be’ before the word (ie be nice).

READ – CHOOSING AN INTENTION. Parents can share experiences from their own lives (think ‘do-over’) where a having an ‘intention’ would have brought out their best self and likely a different outcome. What would the intention have been? Help the kids think of experiences in their lives where an intention might have changed an outcome.

THE FUN BEGINS

Starting the daily ritual.

OH, MY WORD with kids is best done after dinner when connection time is possible. Suggest starting with the Reflections question – this will provide a look back at the day and frame it in a positive way before moving on. Each family member then chooses an intention WORD that reflects the person they want to be and draws and colours their WORD. *Remember there is no right or wrong way to ‘draw’ the ‘daily page’ everything is totally A-OK, and it is totally fine to repeat the same word day after day until the author feels it’s time to move on.

PLAY “WHAT’S YOUR WORD?”

‘What’s your word?” Everyone shares the intention WORD they chose and explains why. While it’s ok to ask questions the most important thing to remember is that this is a judgment free zone. Everyone must feel accepted for who they are, knowing we are all in a process of becoming our best selves.

What a fun way to build a positive sense of self

THE FAMILY VERSION

Because the OH, MY WORD family version is suggested at night instead of the morning the choosing of the intention is often a ‘look forward’ reflecting the person I choose to be now and tomorrow. For that reason, it’s a great idea to leave the journals open to the current page so that in the morning everyone is reminded of their WORD.

The thing for parents to remember is that everyone draws their page in their own unique way

BECOMING YOUR BEST SELF

OH, MY WORD is a fun, engaging way to help kids become the very best person they can be. It instills the understanding that we are each choosing in every moment of every day who we will be, that we are responsible for the thoughts we think AND (most importantly) with those thoughts we are creating our reality

This empowers kids and adult alike to think thoughts that reflects their biggest dreams and highest intentions.

Please share our family’s experiences with OH, MY WORD I’d love to hear!

If you ever have any questions or just want to say hi email me at:

[email protected]

I look forward to hearing from you.

Warmly,

Cheryl

PS I wanted to share this with you it’s an email I received from a Dad of 2 girls….

“People who do this together will learn not only about themselves, but about each other… which will lead to better team building and family support and accountability. I think it is an achievable goal to set in modern busy family life. It offers an important and accessible meeting place for families who have had difficulty finding time and facility to be together and present for even just a few minutes a day. AND in doing so, we are all gradually manifesting our best selves…. a win on all levels! Thanks Cheryl”

Peter-Parksville, BC Canada

Claire (illustrator of OH, MY WORD) has offered a few recommendations for artist quality art supplies (they’re just fun to work with) check them out at – www.ohmywordjournal.com

BUY OH, MY WORD in Canada at Chapters

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