The "Happy Classroom" Programme

Observing My Emotions

Level: Secondary Education
Objectives: Helping students to better cope with difficult emotions.

Procedure: This activity focuses on certain emotions that we find difficult to deal with in order to promote emotional self-regulation. We are returning here to the idea of des-identification with the contents of our awareness, in this casem emotions that are painful.

We start by asking the students to take up a relaxed posture, sitting in a seat or on the floor. They can close their eyes or direct their gaze towards a point on the floor at a distance od a metre. We do three deep inhalations and exhalations.

We ask students to remember a more or less recent event that produced a painful emotion. They can also choose a relatively steady experience that causes them some kind of pain.

When they have chosen the emotion, we ask them to try to identify the cause of it and to reproduce in their body and mind what happens.

Now that we have observed and re-experienced that emotion, we are going to name it: rage, fear, sadness, shame, disgust, guilt...

Then we let go of the resistance produced in us by that emotion and we try to acceot it as it is. This does not mean resignation, but an acknowledgement that it is real and that it is in us. Only then we will be able to transform it. 

At this pount, we can begin to distance ourselves from our emotions. We tell ourselves: "I am not that emotion: I am the one who observes the emotion. I am much more than an emotion".

Finally, we become aeare of our breathing, experiencing the calm that is produced by sitting and breathing pacefully. We think of the following phrase: "I live in the present, I am peaceful". We repeat this sentence several times, trying to feel intensely the joy of being alive in the present moment and the peace that this exercise has produced in us. We continue savouring this feeling during a couple of minutes. 

Time: A minimum of 10 minutes. According to the capacity of concentration of the students and the available time, we could extend it for longer.

Notes: This exercise is an adaptation of "Meditation on emotions" proposed by Vicente Simón (2011: 126). 

The Traveller from the Future

Level: The last grades of Primary Education and Secondary Education.

Objectives: Understanding better oneself. Being able of self-giving useful pieces of advice for one's own life.

Procedure: This activity is inspired by an Ben-Shahar 82007: 220) proposal adapted to work the Perspective strength. It is about asking students to imagine themselves in 40 or 50 years time: at that moment, they will very likely have treasured lots of experiences and they will count with more wisdom to undestand themselves and the world around. We will ask them to choose a problem or difficulty they are going through at that moment, and to imagine their "future selves" travelling back in time and giving them a piece of advice. Next, they have to write down their problem, and what piece of advice they would give themselves. The activity would end bringing together the writings of those students that would like to share thir contributions with the group.

Time: 30-45 minutes.

Finding the Funny Side

Level: The last grades of Primary Education and Secondary Education.

Objectives: Using humour to help us overcome a worrying situation or conflict. Seeing oneself optimistically, evaluing the positive and funny side of the negative things that happen to us.

Procedure: Usually good humour can help us overcoming adverse circumstances. Even if we cannot do anything to avoid a negative situation, a bit of good humour can help us go through it. We are going to work on two possibilities to find the funny side of things:

• Using humour to overcome a worrying situation or conflict. We ask our students to remember a time when they were involved in some difficulty or interpersonal conflict, and if they were able to use humour to help. If not, they can imagine what they could have done to find something funny in the situation, so as to take out some of its negative power on them.

• Laughing at oneself. This time we ask them to remember something that turned out bad, if they made a mistake or were involved in a ludicrous situation, and that, istead of seeing it from a negative perspective, try and find the funny side and laugh.

Time: Between 30 minutes and one hour.

Notes: We have to be careful with the use of humour in these situations, because we can make a mistake by only laughing and not facing situations seriously. Humour is a resource that eases our suffering, but we cannot stop there, we have to face difficulties using the strategies required by each situation.