Name It To Tame It

Next time you feel anxiety building, give the anxious voice in your head a name. As you name your anxiety, remember your anxiety isn’t you. Your anxiety isn’t kind.
Think of a character from film, books, or TV, or of archetypes that embody your anxiety. (e.g. Dolores Umbridge from Harry Potter)
Name your anxiety (e.g. Dolores). If you are the creative type, you might want to draw it as a cartoon or pick an image. This visual representation is the face of your unhelpful anxiety and worry.
When your anxiety rears its head, talk to it by saying things like “Dolores, you are so boring. You always say the same thing” or “Dolores, I am not listening today. You are not in charge. Expelliarmus!”

adapted from Lynn Lyons LISCW

Be the Boss - Worry and stress like to be in charge. They make a narrative that plays on repeat in your head like a nasty earworm, and this hijacks the rational thinking part of your brain. Worriers have great imaginations and this can be harnessed to help you respond to worry in a different way.

Make Space - By using imagination to visualize the worry voice, you distance it from yourself. When you have that space you can put it in its place.

Listen to Lynn Lyons, teen anxiety expert here.

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Name It To Tame It

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
- John F. Kennedy
(U.S. President, 1917-1963)

Why it Works

Name It To Tame It

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”- John F. Kennedy (U.S. President, 1917-1963)

Why it Works

“Forgive your enemies, but never forget their names.”
- John F. Kennedy
(U.S. President, 1917-1963)