Emotional Agility as a Tool to Help Teens Manage Their Feelings

This article from KQED's Mindshift page addresses the "prevalence of depression in adolescents has increased in the last decade." We observe this trend on our campus and across the district, seeking research-based strategies to ensure students are equipped to handle the school and home environment with "emotional agility. "Emotional agility is defined as “being aware and accepting of all your emotions, even learning from the most difficult ones,” and being able to “live in the moment with a clear reading of present circumstances, respond appropriately, and then act in alignment with your deepest values.”

According to the article, "Two strategies parents and teachers can draw on are: values affirmation and autonomy. Research out of Stanford University found that asking middle school students to reflect and write about the things that truly mattered to them during stressful points in the school year resulted in significant academic gains, particularly for at-risk students."

This quote summed up the best approach if/when we encounter a child (or adult) in duress: 'When children and adolescents are very upset, literally just the presence of a loving person helps to de-escalate and creates the space where calm is invited in.”

Parents and teachers can support teens by providing them with scaffolded autonomy, giving them opportunities to try (and fail) to solve problems, talking through their choices and potential outcomes, offering them authentic choices and resisting the impulse to rush in to save the day.