24 cards across four suits. Name · Shrink · Move · Help. Print, cut, keep near your bed.
Out loud or in your head. The smallest fear you have right now. Not the biggest. The smallest.
Where does the fear live? Chest, stomach, throat, shoulders? Notice. Same fear usually lives in the same place.
Is this about something that's actually happening? Or is my brain making it up? Both feel the same; only one is real.
Did this fear come from me, or did I get it from someone else? You don't have to keep what you didn't choose.
Get paper. Draw the fear. Big, small, with a face. Looking at it on paper makes it smaller.
Write the fear in one sentence on a sticky note. Done. Now it's outside your head. Outside is easier to deal with than inside.
Breathe in for 4. Hold for 4. Breathe out for 6. Three rounds. Free. Always works. Fear can't stay loud with this breath.
Will I remember this in 1 day? 1 week? 1 year? Most fears shrink under this question. The few that don't are worth taking seriously.
Write the fear at night, then read it again in the morning. Most night-fears look smaller in daylight. Real.
"I'm scared of the test... and yet I studied for a week." Finish your fear sentence with "and yet." The "and yet" gives you something to hold.
Pull out your brave-list. You did harder things. This one is the same kind.
Picture your fear wearing a clown wig. Silly voice. Doing the chicken dance. Some fears can't survive being made ridiculous.
Pick something brave that takes 2 minutes. Set a timer. Go. 2 minutes is the unit. Not 2 hours.
If your feet feel frozen, take one literal step. Direction doesn't matter. The step breaks the freeze.
If a fear is about sending a message, send it. Now. Done. The "should I send this?" loop is its own fear; the send ends the loop.
If a fear is about being seen, be seen once today. Raise a hand. Answer a question. The body learns "I survived being seen" through practice.
A 10-minute walk. Even around the room. Fear lives in the body. Moving the body changes the fear.
When you do anything brave today, write it on the brave-list. The list is proof for next time.
Saying a fear out loud to one safe person makes it half the size. Pick the person. Say the sentence.
On the Fear planet vortex, pick one fear pulsing red. Write a kind message. Anonymous. They'll never know it was you. Most help in the world happens this way.
"What's a fear you have right now?" Listen to their answer. Help if you can. Your own gets quieter when you're helping someone else's.
If you're with a friend who's scared, you can be the brave one this round. Tomorrow it might be the other way around. Trade off across years.
If a friend's fear is too big (someone hurting them, hurting themselves), tell an adult. Friends keep most secrets. Not safety-secrets.
If a fear is really hurting you — if you feel unsafe, or someone is hurting you, or you're thinking about hurting yourself — call. 988 (free, 24/7). Childhelp 1-800-422-4453. The phone is for the real ones. Use it.