It takes mental energy to suppress our thoughts, sometimes you might be aware that you are trying to do it. A thought might enter your mind ‘I can’t do this’, ‘last time I did something like this I was rubbish’ and so you try and push these thoughts from your mind to concentrate on the task.

It may not even feel like a thought, it could be a blankness in your mind or even a physical pain.

These thoughts are normal and they are stimulated by anything new, different or from an historical event.

It is what we do next that you can control……

Research has shown that writing thoughts down helps to free up space in your mind so that you can concentrate on the task or activity you are being asked to try.

So give it a try……

You could write your thoughts down at the beginning of the day or the end of a school day, it’s a bit like a blog or a diary. These are personal and private to you and you are in control of who you choose to share or not share them with. You should choose a time when you know you will be alone and without interruption.

It will get easier the more often you do it….

You can write whatever you like, what is important is that you recognise what is going on in your mind and how you react….

Here’s some examples:

I found music really hard today as the teacher asked me to play the keyboard and I hate playing in front of people, i could feel my heart beating really fast and my hands started sweating….

I felt so happy today when the teacher gave me a reward for all my effort, I felt like smiling and telling my friends…

I’ve got an end of topic test in chemistry next week, I need to revise because my head really hurt last time and I couldn’t concentrate….