Originally answered by Paul Macaraeg. File Downloaded on September 15, 2020 | Grade 11

1. The 2020 O/SG PFA Modules Supplemental to the SEES Manual 1
Module II on PFA: Calming Down and Managing one’s Emotions and Thoughts
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Identify positive ways to manage one’s emotions
 Practice calming down using a diaphragmatic breathing and the 3C’s of
Feelings and Thoughts
 Be able to practice reframing one’s thoughts
Introduction
So far, we have discussed your routines/feelings during the past few months of
pandemic. Today, we shall focus on how to manage your feelings.
Remember when I asked you to identify your feelings and reactions to
Covid-19/disaster? Can you recall what those feelings were? Now. I want you to
consider some ways to help you manage your feelings of stress and anxiety
I want you to stay outdoors and play, “Catch the Ball” with your sibling or friend. If
it is not possible for you to do this with someone, you can also just throw the ball
towards a wall then catch it. After throwing and catching the ball for a while, think,
“what am I catching”?
Imagine that what you are catching are feelings. Those were some of the feelings you
caught during the lockdown/pandemic/disaster. They are feelings of fear, boredom,
anxiety, etc. Stop playing for a moment. You accepted the ball. Hold it. Look at it.
Accept the feeling. Say to yourself, “Yes, I was feeling afraid.” Or “Yes, I was feeling
anxious.”
Catching your Feelings It is always good to catch what you are feeling. It is a normal
and valid feeling. It’s okay to Not feel okay. But they are real and true only as the
not-so-normal situation that triggers it.
It is ok to not feel okay, in a not-so-ok-situation like the pandemic or any disaster.
Now, I want to invite you to do some diaphragmatic breathing. Breathe in (Inhalation
of Air). A very slight pause before you exhale. Breathe out (exhalation of air).
Breathe in (inhalation of Air). A very slight pause before you inhale. Breathe out
(exhalation of air). Release all the feelings.
Check your Feelings Were those feelings helpful to me? You will probably answer
with both a yes and a no. That means that some of your feelings were helpful but
others were not. For instance, if you keep feeling fearful, do you need to stay in fear
for long? How helpful is fear to you? How accurate or appropriate is the feeling of
anxiety, now? How helpful is it to always be worrying about things? While thinking
about this, Breathe in and Breathe out (5x).
Change that Feeling In this part, I want you to think of something else to help you
feel better. This means that you can replace that feeling. Some feelings are productive
and useful while some may be unproductive and useless. It is because they are no
longer appropriate to the situation. You have the power to change your feelings by
actually changing your thoughts about the feeling. This process is called
REFRAMING.. Where is the feeling coming from? Or, you can ask, “Where is the

2. The 2020 O/SG PFA Modules Supplemental to the SEES Manual 2
ball coming from?” Why did it hit you? How do you manage your feelings? You can
manage it by changing the name of the ball into feelings of gratefulness,
understanding, happiness, and contentment. Breathe in. Breathe out (5x)
Alternative Activities
You can also do other breathing exercises, yoga poses, tai-chi with humor injected
into it, engaging in sports but in a non-competitive manner, or dance moves using
both slow and fast beats.
ANALYSIS
What do you feel? What do you think was the point of Catching, Checking and
Changing your feelings?
I feel a little bit relieved with a little nuisance. I can feel that I’m not the only one
having this kind of brain activity that is telling myself to be nervous and to
not-be-okay in this kind of situation but is still fighting and having conventional
solutions for every problem we encounter right now.
I think, the point of this whole Catching, Checking and Changing your feelings lesson
is to somewhat manage one’s emotions whilst the pandemic is active. This 3’Cs
conveys us that even the simple way of activities like breathing exercises can help us
to somewhat relieve our lives, to not have anxieties and to cope up with this
pandemic.
What was the reason why you had to reframe your thoughts?
To help us feel better and relaxed and to fight our negative side and to avoid
pessimistic thinking amidst the pandemic.
ABSTRACTION
Can you compare how you feel right now with how you felt before we started with the
activity? Do you see some changes? Are the feelings positive? What are these new
changes in the way you feel at the moment? Use the columns below labeled with the
words “Before” on one side and “After” on the other side. Under the word Before,
write your feelings during the pandemic/disaster. Under the word After, write your
feelings at this very moment, after going through the Catch, Check and Change
Exercise.
BEFORE (my feelings during the
pandemic/disaster)
AFTER (my feelings right now)
Pessimistic Optimistic
Stressful A little bit relaxed

3. The 2020 O/SG PFA Modules Supplemental to the SEES Manual 3
Bored
Able to explore new entertainments to
be productive
Anxious Calm
APPLICATION
How can you apply your newfound knowledge to your daily life? After going through
the activity, I learned that the feelings that I CAUGHT could be…
reframed.
After a while, I CHECKED the feelings and realized that I could…
turn the negative (feelings) to positive ones.
And so I CHANGED my feelings into the following:
a) My pessimistic mind in this situation lead me to become an optimistic thinker,
believing that vaccines will come and we can flatten the curve.
b) Stressful to a little bit relaxed, I found out that we are all in the same
situation and so we need to be calm, find entertainments and be equipped
with the knowledge on health protocols during this quarantine.
c) Turning my boredom to a more productive life such as playing the piano and
learning pieces like Canon in D, watching some educational videos via
Youtube, Skillshare and Lynda, and playing mobile games like ML and
many more entertainments and learnings.
d) Being calm partnered with ASMR videos to feel relaxed and to fight my
anxious mind – telling to myself that it’s okay to not be okay and this
pandemic will not be forever.
Tell yourself: The next time when I experience intense feelings, I would take a deep
breath 5X to calm down, and then check, change the feelings by reframing my
thoughts.

4. The 2020 O/SG PFA Modules Supplemental to the SEES Manual 4
CLOSURE
As a way to close the session, repeat this line to yourself: “Emotions can be caught
(like in a ball), checked (on helpfulness or usefulness and accuracy) and changed.”