What could happen in 90 seconds?

One of the biggest messages in our workshops is this.

Feelings last only 90 seconds.  About the same amount of time that it takes to clean your teeth. When we feel anxious, the science tells us that this feeling only lasts 90 seconds in our bodies, until we attach a story to it or it kicks off our body's innate stress response and then, well, feelings can last much longer. Feelings become moods. We might say, ‘ he’s been anxious all day.’ Persistent moods can become personality traits, ‘ he’s an anxious child.’

Our tools for schools aim to help children understand that all feelings are welcome and that they can shift feelings if they want to. Once we know that feelings live in our bodies, last only 90 seconds and can be shifted we start to be able to emotionally regulate.

We had a wonderful example of this recently.  A teacher who had attended our training told us about a child who had admitted to feeling jealous. With the teachers understanding of feelings, she was able to help the child move through her feelings of jealousy quickly. The child ran off saying she felt happy, something the teacher admitted would have taken much longer without this understanding.

Processing feelings is essential for us to feel good in our lives and for us to be able to access greater health outcomes. It sounds complicated but it can be, with the right knowledge and practice, as quick as cleaning your teeth!