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Lesson 05 of 05
A child holding a slice of watermelon over their face in a bright kitchen

Lesson 05 · 8 min

Your Plan Going Forward

Put the map, the clues, the menu and the fix-ups together into one plan that fits in your pocket.

Listen first

Listen first: you already did the hard part

Spoken introduction · read aloud in your browser

You know more about your feelings now than most grown-ups know about theirs.

This last lesson turns everything into one simple plan — because in the middle of a wave, nobody remembers five lessons. Everybody can remember three steps.

Putting it together

Spot it. Help the body. Fix it up.

That's the whole system: spot the clue, help your body come down, fix things up after.

Some days it will work. Some days the wave will win. That's not failure — even grown-up experts get caught by their own alarms. The win is that it happens less, ends sooner, and nobody thinks you're bad anymore. Including you.

Keep your kit somewhere visible. Plans that hide in drawers don't help anyone.

Reframe

Why am I like this?

I know exactly how I work.

Course tool · Lesson 05

My Big Feelings Kit

Everything you learned, on one page — the plan that fits in your pocket.

My triggers
Not filled in yet
My body clue
Not filled in yet
My calm-down menu
Not filled in yet
My fix-it sentence
Not filled in yet

You know more about your feelings now than most grown-ups know about theirs. Really.

Try this

Teach it back

The best way to keep something is to teach it.

  1. 01Explain 'fast alarm, slow brake' to a grown-up, a pet, or a stuffy.
  2. 02Show them your calm-down menu and your favourite tool on it.
  3. 03Tell them what helps AFTER a storm — so they know too.

When your grown-ups know the plan, they can be part of it instead of surprised by it.

Quick win · 3 min

Put the kit where it lives

Stick your Big Feelings Kit on the fridge, your wall, or inside your school folder. Visible beats perfect.

Go deeper

Growing Up ADHD

For when you're a bit older: what big feelings, fast alarms and ADHD brains mean for friendships, confidence and figuring out who you are.

See the course library

Keep this

Three things to take.

  1. 01Spot it. Help the body. Fix it up. That's the plan.
  2. 02Waves will still happen — shorter and less scary is the win.
  3. 03A visible plan beats a perfect one in a drawer.

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After the Storm

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  • Shaw et al., 2014

    Emotional ups and downs are part of ADHD for many people.

  • Zaccaro et al., 2018

    Slow breathing acts directly on the body's alarm system.