20 • MODULE SIX: COPING WITH EMOTIONS
- Analyze the others in the same way and add your own statements:
- Some girls are making fun of me and calling me names;
- Our cricket team has lost the match. We cannot play in the finals; and
- My mother is sick, and the health worker says she needs a lot of care.
Negative Feelings: I feel very angry. I know only bad things happen to me, and they happen only to
me. Why me?
Thoughts: There is nothing that can be done. I do not know how to cook, so what will we eat?
I cannot go to school;
Behavior: Refusing to talk to the health worker; sitting in one corner and sulking; not watching
over the mother;
Positive Feelings: I feel scared but I love her;
Thoughts: What can I do in the house for her to make her feel comfortable? I can ask the health
worker for advice;
Behavior: A visit to the Health Center; working in the house; giving food to the mother;
Adaptation
For Younger Children:
Describe a problem situation appropriate to their age level such as
“A toy you liked has been lost.” State that this happened to two children. Use a picture or a face
that depicts a sad emotion. Place it in the middle of the circle of children. Ask the children to think
of what the child is thinking and feeling. What do the children think? What will be the resultant
behavior? Next show a happy or a matter of fact face and repeat the same question. Help the
children see the relation between a feeling, a thought and an action. Use symbols and drawings
and illustrate on a flipchart.
Work through at least three problem situations.Review
Ask the children to discuss what they have learned from this. What was more difficult? Why?Linking Learning With Life
Observe your friends and family. Who is able to feel positive and react in a manner where they
have more control? Who seem to have negative feelings, and what do they do? How do you feel
when you have good feelings about yourself, and how do you feel when you have bad feelings? Do
you behave differently? Which do you prefer?
For Older Children:
Do you know anyone with HIV who is leading a happy and full life? What do you think they feel?
What can you do to help a friend who has HIV? Why do some people in the society stigmatize
PLHA? What can you do about it?