LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION TOOLKIT FOR ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN INDIA 1•
Each one of us has experienced a variety of
emotions and feelings: happy, sad, angry, nervous,
confusion, worry, fear, love, shame, surprise,
disgust and many more. We all express them in our
own unique way. During adolescence, these
emotions and feelings may be accompanied by
sudden and intense mood swings. Although they
feel strong emotions, adolescents may not always
see how these emotions affect their behavior. Their
impulsive and rash behavior, guided by their
intense emotions, may even put them at risk. For
these reasons, it is important that young people,
children and adolescents, learn to express their
feelings and emotions in a safe and healthy way
that does not harm themselves or others.
Understanding our feelings is the first step in
learning how to have more control over them. All
children need to know that it is normal to have
strong feelings and that no feeling is “bad.”
Cultural norms, family upbringing and gender are
some of the factors that affect the expression of
feelings. Feelings, if viewed as “bad” or “wrong,”
can be bottled up and suppressed. The result is that
adolescents are unable to channel these emotions
appropriately. Life skills help children learn healthy,
positive and safe ways to express these feelings.
Children infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS
experience the same strong emotions of
adolescence and, just like other children, need to
understand and cope with these feelings. In
addition, they have to cope with trauma, sickness
and death. These emotions of stress, sadness and
grief need to be expressed if a life path towards
positive living is to be reached. The information
sheet on how children cope with grief discusses
some of these issues and will be of value to
caretakers and social workers who care for these
children. Research on psychological resilience in
children that has studied factors enabling children
to cope with very difficult situations will be of
interest to facilitators.
Children who have experienced grief and sorrow
also need to be supported by a loving, safe and
constant environment. The Life Skills Education
Program requires support from other program
areas if children are to learn to cope with emotions
and feelings. Sports, art and music have proven to
be therapeutic in working through feelings of
sorrow, distress and anger. Children in distress
have found comfort in simple routine activities
such as studying, playing, regular mealtimes and
daily chores as they bring a sense of order and
constancy. Some children may require individual
counseling and therapy and other services to
address these needs. Some children find comfort in
praying and rituals. Caretakers must have special
training in addressing the emotional and
psychosocial needs of these children.
This module does not attempt to explore in depth
how to provide psychological support to children
and their families before and after death. The
activities in this module are restricted to helping
children understand their feelings and suggest safe
ways of expressing them. Facilitators are advised to
be sensitive to children’s needs and feelings and seek
counseling assistance for children if required. They
should also respect a child’s decision not to
participate in the sessions. Expressions of anger,
distress, anxiety and withdrawal during the
sessions require referral and guidance from
counselors for managing them. It is recommended
that backup counseling support be available to
facilitators during the session activities as children
may experience intense emotions or disclose
sensitive information. Conducting the sessions in
the module can even be stressful for the facilitators.
It is suggested therefore that facilitators seek
mentoring support so that they can work throughMODULE SIX: Coping with Emotions