November 7, 2024 • 32 mins
What if the key to managing childhood anxiety lies in the stories we tell? Discover how storytelling can transform anxiety from a daunting monster into a friendly guide, as Dr. Anna Housley-Juster, a licensed mental health clinician and author of "How to Train Your Amygdala," joins us. With a blend of empathy and humor, Anna shares her insights on how understanding the brain's alarm system can empower children to see anxiety as a protective mechanism rather than a foe. She reveals her unique strategies for using storytelling to foster emotional resilience, making complex concepts like the amygdala accessible and engaging for young minds.
With a background as Director of Content for Sesame Street, Anna explores how fun and playful narratives can demystify challenging topics, like anxiety management, to help children connect with characters and their experiences. By integrating practice and co-regulation, adults and children together can reshape brain pathways, enhancing focus and reducing threat responses. Our conversation emphasizes the necessity of a collaborative approach, providing practical insights into building a reliable pathway to calmness and emotional understanding.
By integrating brain education into broader curriculums and fostering open conversations, parents and educators can empower children with the vocabulary and strategies to articulate and manage their feelings. This episode serves as a call to action for schools and communities to prioritize mental health education, ensuring equitable access to these vital skills. Join us in championing positive change in education and creating a supportive environment for children's growth and learning.Â
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (00:09):
Welcome to the Brighter Side of Education:
Research, Innovation andResources.
I'm your host, Dr.
Lisa Hassler, here to enlightenand brighten the classrooms in
America through focusedconversation on important topics
in education.
In each episode, I discussproblems we as teachers and
parents are facing and whatpeople are doing in their
communities to fix it.
(00:29):
What are the variables and howcan we duplicate it to maximize
student outcomes?
In this episode, we exploreways to help children manage
anxiety and build emotionalresilience through the power of
storytelling and practicalstrategies.
Before we begin ourconversation, I'd like to
highlight a growing concern ineducation the rising rates of
(00:50):
anxiety among children and itsimpact on their learning and
overall well-being.
Recent research from theCenters for Disease Control and
Prevention indicates thatanxiety disorders affect
approximately 7% of childrenbetween the ages of 3 and 17 in
the United States.
Now, this translates to about4.4 million children and
adolescents struggling withanxiety, which can significantly
(01:13):
hinder their educationalexperiences and social
development.
A study published in theJournal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry in 2021 found thatanxiety in children not only
affects their mental health, butalso their academic performance
, social relationships andlong-term life outcomes.
The research emphasizes theneed for early intervention and
practical strategies to helpchildren manage their anxiety
(01:36):
effectively.
To understand why addressinganxiety is crucial for learning,
we can turn to Abram Maslow'sHierarchy of Needs, a
foundational theory inpsychology and education.
Maslow's pyramid illustratesthat before individuals can
reach self-actualization andachieve their full potential,
including effective learning,they must first have their basic
(01:58):
needs met.
These needs includephysiological requirements of
safety, love and belonging andesteem.
Now anxiety, which often stemsfrom unmet needs for safety and
security, can significantlyimpede a child's progress up
this hierarchy.
When a child is anxious, theirfocus is on managing their
immediate feelings of distressrather than engaging in
(02:20):
higher-level cognitive tasksessential for learning.
By addressing anxiety, we'reessentially helping children
feel more secure, which allowsthem to move up Maslow's
hierarchy and become morereceptive to learning and
personal growth.
Now this is where innovativeapproaches like using
storytelling and age-appropriateexplanations of brain function
(02:40):
can play a crucial role.
By providing children withtools to understand and manage
their emotions, we canpotentially mitigate the
negative impacts of anxiety ontheir educational journey and
overall development.
These strategies align withMaslow's theory by helping
children feel safer and more incontrol, thereby creating a
stronger foundation for learningand self-actualization.
(03:01):
Today we are joined by Dr AnnaHousley-Juster, a licensed
mental health clinician,education consultant and
children's book author, whofirmly believes in the power of
play With experiences.
As a teacher, as well asdirector in children's media, Dr
.
Housley brings a wealth ofknowledge to our discussion.
Her work as director of contentfor Sesame Street has given her
(03:22):
unique insights into creatingengaging educational content for
children.
Dr Juster's work spans mentaland behavioral health,
curriculum development andinnovative practices to support
children's learning andemotional well-being.
Dr Housley Juster, welcome tothe show, thank you.
So your new children's book,how to Train your Amygdala,
(03:42):
which I have right here it'samazing, by the way.
Really love it.
It tackles the complex topic ofanxiety in children.
So could you explain whatinspired you to write this book
and why you chose to focus onthe amygdala?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (03:56):
So the idea for this book evolved from
my direct clinical practice withvery young children, and
especially during COVID when Iwas doing only telehealth.
I got to see into kids' lives alittle bit more than you do
when you're in the office.
And there was a point where Ihad a client who I was working
(04:16):
with who's about eight or so,sitting with her cat on her lap
in front of her Chromebook andshe was stroking her cat as we
were doing psychoeducation abouthow she was managing the stress
that was coming up at home andher anxiety.
And we realized together thatas she was calming her cat by
relaxing it, by calming it bysort of being there, present and
(04:39):
being kind and empathetic andsweet, she was using a strategy
that you could use also for yourbrain and specifically we were
talking about the amygdala andthe way that the amygdala it's
kind of the usual suspect forthe alarm system in the brain,
and so I wanted to take sort ofsome of the work I was doing
directly in the storytellingthat was coming up in practice
(05:01):
and try to put it into a waythat I could then use it again
with my own clients but then itcould become accessible to
others.
Typically, the books I wasreading with kids about anxiety
and worry tend to focus on therebeing a dragon in your brain, a
monster.
That's anxiety, which I thinkcan work for some kids.
It's also pretty distressingfor some kids to think that
(05:22):
there's like a bad monster inyourself that you're pushing
away against.
So the goal with how to trainyour amygdala is to take the
power of story that evolved frommy work and make it accessible,
but with humor and compassionfor the amygdala, because it is
a fun word to say and it doesget itself in a lot of trouble,
but we need to love it and weneed to align with it in order
(05:44):
to have the brain-bodyconnection that can lead to the
skills that will actually helpto calm anxiety.
So that's the backstory.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (05:50):
Yeah, and I like how in the book you talk
about its purpose to keeping usalive.
It is a survival thing, sothere's a really good reason why
we have it and why we need it.
And in the book you talkedabout the metaphor of the
amygdala being an alarm.
How does that resonate with achild?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (06:07):
to understand anxiety a little bit
better yeah, I mean, I think thefirst thing that we think about
when we think about an alarm isan emergency, and that is what
the amygdala perceives.
So, just like you said, theexample in the book is imagine
you are about to cross thestreet and suddenly a car takes
the car.
It bypasses cortex, it bypassesthought, because it would be
(06:49):
really bad in that minute if westopped and thought, like hmm, I
think there's a car comingtowards me and I see that the
perspective of that driver isthat they are not slowing down.
Therefore, what I need to do isstop.
They are not slowing down.
Therefore, what I need to do isstop.
And so I help kids understandthat sometimes we need alarm, we
need urgent, we need thatmechanism in the brain, and the
(07:13):
world is not actually as scaryas our amygdala thinks it is.
The world is a very scary placeright now and I have a lot of
kids managing a lot of fear,which is understandable, and a
lot of the time the amygdala isthis lovable, overzealous piece
of us that so desperately wantsto protect us and just sometimes
gets it wrong.
And what I help kids understandis, with the alarm, it's
(07:35):
actually something you'reprobably going to feel first
before you register it.
So you'll notice the effect ofalarm as rapid heart rate,
nauseousness, breathing up inthe top of the lungs, because
now your body's trying to get asmuch oxygen as possible,
because it's getting ready torun away, to flee or to fight.
So we tune into the alarm inthe body what that feels like.
(07:57):
And now then we're layering onthe psychoeducation.
This doesn't just have tohappen to you, as if it's out of
your control, as if you neverwill be able to contain that
alarm.
It's an alarm you could slowdown, quiet train basically.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (08:13):
Yeah, yeah, and you go through a lot of
those responses, the variouscoping strategies for anxiety in
your book.
Do you want to share a coupleof them, maybe that parents or
educators can use?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (08:25):
Yes, there's three main strategies
that come up in this book andthey're really deeply tied to
evidence-based practice.
Like, we know that thesestrategies work and every child
is different and every adult isdifferent in some ways.
So the most important thing isthat you would use the book as a
catalyst for a conversationabout what works for you to
(08:46):
train your amygdala.
So for some kids, it might belistening to music, it could be
taking a walk away from whateverwas distressing, it could be a
hug, it could be having yourhair brushed or braided.
So it really needs to bespecific to a context and a
person.
That said, because I had thespace of one book to talk about
(09:09):
it, the strategies that theamygdala asks the reader to do
in order to help the amygdala tobe calm are controlled
breathing, progressive musclerelaxation and visual imagery.
So controlled breathing meansexactly what it sounds like.
Breathing is the only autonomicfunction that we have that is
(09:32):
both autonomic.
We don't have to wake up in themorning and decide to breathe,
although it's a good idea,because a lot of times we're
holding our breath and we cancontrol it, and that's
neurofeedback basically.
So when you control your breath, you're sending a message back
to your amygdala and the othersort of threat response
components of the brain and thebody to say, listen, if we were
(09:55):
being traced by a lion, we wouldnot be pausing to take these
long, deep breaths.
We'd be rushing as fast as wecould to get away from the
actual danger that would becausing actual fear.
And in the content of the storythe amygdala teaches the reader
elevator breath specifically,so you're down in, like your
(10:17):
diaphragmatic breathing to start, so you're breathing down into
the lower part of your lungs.
We can try it together.
Yeah, yeah, I was like, as I'mlike straightening up and
holding my hand there, like, putyour hand on your upper abdomen
, under your ribs, and you'rebreathing into there first and
you imagine an elevator that'sgoing up floors as you breathe.
So you're breathing in like one, two, three four five, six.
(10:42):
You could have six floors andthen your elevators coming down
and you're breathing six, five,four, three, two, one.
The other visual is like wavescoming in.
So on that page the amygdala islying on a beach blanket.
The illustrator, cynthia Cliff,is fantastic.
(11:02):
My editor, cassie, is amazingat thinking about, well, how are
we going to work with the arton this?
And I think it really works,because then the cat who shows
up is laying on a towel andrelaxing at the beach and you're
picturing as you're breathing,the waves are coming in two,
three, four, out, four, three,two, one.
(11:25):
If you want to count, yeah, sothere's controlled breath and
there's a section at the backthat's for parents and educators
and a section for kids that'slike the amygdala training
manual that teach otherstrategies like figure eight
breathing or lazy eightbreathing, square breathing and
dragon breath.
Because sometimes, if there'sany parents or teachers out
(11:46):
there that have offered childrena breathing strategy when
they're already in threatresponse mode nope, not for some
kids that's actually activating, because it's like you don't
see the threat that my brain isexperiencing right now.
So if you're slowing down andasking me to take deep breath,
that means we're both going toget eaten by the lion and that's
scary.
So you kind of have to time itwell, and dragon breath is when
(12:07):
you just get it all out.
So it's like you take a giantdeep breath in and blow out like
you're blowing out flames.
You can either think of it likeyou want to blow out the fire
or you're breathing fire right,because now you are in big
threat response modes.
Someone just threw a toy atyour head in your preschool
classroom or something, and youare now going into fight
(12:28):
response mode.
So there's various ways to docontrolled breathing and then
progressive muscle relaxation isintentionally tightening and
releasing muscles in a way thatagain teaches the brain.
We wouldn't be doing thisintentionally if what we were
doing was pumping blood into themajor muscle groups in order to
(12:48):
sprint away as quickly aspossible right.
So if you picture atwo-year-old tantrum, I know you
know, like.
What does it look like in thebody?
It's like as tight as possible.
It's like Frankenstein, tightLike you're, just like.
That's because that body isgetting ready to fight and maybe
that child does.
You know, throw a punch, kick,try to bite.
When you teach that child tointentionally tighten and
(13:12):
release muscles, the child isusing other areas of the brain
and then the body to control theresponse and that's calming.
The third is visual imagery,which is especially a fancy way
to say imagination, which isusing your thoughts.
The other two are body-based,back to the brain sort of input,
(13:33):
and this is to use thoughtswhich activates other areas of
the brain to picture a placewhere you feel safe, and that
can be very calming to theamygdala.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (13:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
I was just thinking about thelittle girl who was petting a
cat.
And they actually sell a toy tohelp with anxiety.
That's this little cat, you petit to help with anxiety.
That's this little cat, you petit.
And as you're petting it, thenthe purring calms down.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (14:04):
So by helping the cat relax, by
petting, you're actually thenhelping yourself yes, most
definitely I have to get that.
And people have written to meand said they want a plush
amygdala, they want something tosqueeze, because when the
amygdala practices the squeezingand releasing, it squeezes a
teddy bear.
And then the kitten who is sortof as the plot unfolds, it's the
(14:25):
kitten that's at the doordelivering a large cheese pizza
and the amygdala thinks it'sthis dangerous, scary dragon or
creature or something that'scoming in to attack.
And then that kitten shows upon the other pages and you can
see how the kitten relaxesthroughout the book, along with
the two kids that are featuredin the book, the characters that
are kind of helping theamygdala team train your
(14:48):
amygdala.
So there's this kitten is kindof throughout and it kind of
makes sense because you can seein animals.
You know what it looks likewhen your dog or your cat is in
threat response mode.
Right, right, yeah, you do.
And of course they are so proneto their amygdala sending them
down a path of danger when thereactually isn't any threat, like
it's just the male.
But my dog, for example, is infull panic mode when they all
(15:14):
laugh every time.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (15:17):
Somebody is here?
Oh, protect us.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (15:20):
Exactly .
Dr. Lisa Hassler (15:23):
So your approach combines then
storytelling and factualinformation about brain function
.
So how do you think thecombination enhances children's
understanding and engagementwith the topic of anxiety
management?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (15:37):
I mean, I think that if you ever want a
child to tune into anything atall, you know I'm a previous
teacher and my years at SesameStreet taught me you have to
make it fun and playful and thatserious things can be taught
with comedy Right, taught withcomedy right.
So we're talking aboutsomething that's really
important and it's a story abouthow your brain functions.
(15:57):
And some people have said to mecan kids really learn how to
say the word amygdala?
Absolutely, it's not thatdifferent from the word
rectangle, it's not really anymore difficult.
It's just that adults don'tknow it yet, right, because
we're playing catch up withscience and we're playing catch
up with brain development overmillions and thousands of years.
But so I think to have acompelling story is the primary
(16:22):
objective.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:23):
Yes.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (16:23):
And then you're thinking what am I
teaching?
They have to develop in tandemwith one another, yeah, so I did
not want it to be didactic.
I was looking for how tobalance that idea of good story
with what the hope is thatchildren would take away from an
educational messagingstandpoint.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:44):
Right, it's the hook of an interesting story
and then you're giving them theinformation.
That's actually very satisfyingand it is kind of a Sesame
Street thing when you thinkabout it, because they are
drawing the kids in thecharacters, the lovable fun, yet
the situations and the storiesthat go along with threading
into the skill and so you know,and so then that is like they
(17:07):
have fun learning.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (17:09):
Yeah, and you have to care about your
character.
I mean the child has to connectin some way and care about the
outcome, right?
Because if you don't care, ifthere isn't an intrinsic
motivation towards it, you'regoing to literally walk away
from the book, right?
Or the TV screen or the iPad.
I mean you have to care in someway and I hope that that comes
(17:32):
across, because what I'm reallyhoping is that kids identify
with this process, that thealarm can sometimes go off, even
if it's not an actual emergency, and think about the amygdala
as part of themselves andtherefore not blame themselves
for anxiety and whatever showsup in their behavior when they
(17:55):
are feeling anxious Because Idon't believe there are any bad
parts of a child, but kids whohave a lot of anxiety,
especially if it comes out aswhat we see as anger, with
behaviors that get them in a lotof trouble at school and at
home Right, then they can startto internalize like there's a
bad, there's something wrongwith me, something bad about me,
(18:16):
and so I'm hoping that, by thecaring about the story and the
character, they align with thisidea that it's teamwork.
You know we're working on thistogether and it's not that
there's something wrong with you.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (18:28):
Also, I've seen children have anxiety and
what it does is it occupiestheir thoughts.
And so, instead of focusing onthe engagement in the classroom,
they're distracted becausethey're focusing on this feeling
and this emotion that'soverwhelming them, and then what
(18:49):
ends up happening is then theydon't know what's going on in
the class and there are maybelittle gaps in their knowledge
or knowing, so then I could seewhere then there's this feeling
of I'm not doing well, and soyou talk about the importance of
practice, and so why is it soimportant for them to be
practicing these skills?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (19:09):
It's so important to practice because
it's like anything else.
It's so important to practicebecause it's like anything else
when something becomes apractice and a habit and in this
case it actually changes thearchitecture of the brain you
can create new neural pathwaysand new circuitry, so that you
may not get so escalated in thefuture.
(19:29):
But, also, if you do, you knowhow to come back to your tools,
and it's really important foradults to do the same thing.
Sometimes we have to tune intoour own threat response and have
our own practice of how toregulate before we can engage
with a child.
Because if both a child and anadult are in threat response
mode and one amygdala is justraging at the other or one is
(19:50):
running away because they'regoing into freeze or flight,
then the child's out of the room, down the hall, maybe out of
the school building, and anadult is just sitting with the
fight response of like this isthreatening to me.
I can't handle this behavioranymore.
So if you've practiced overtime, especially with
co-regulation, where an adultand a child are practicing the
(20:11):
strategies together, you're lesslikely to fall back on old
habits and habits that maybe arenot going to be in the best
interest of yourself or of thepeople around you.
You can't ask a child to take adeep breath in the middle of a
threat response when the threatresponse is elevated, and expect
that that's the first Ifthey've never practiced that
(20:33):
before and you say, oh, justtake a deep breath, it's
probably not going to work.
You have to have trust and youhave to have practiced and then
you're more likely to havesuccess with calming down the
threat response in the moment.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (20:45):
It reminds me of when you were talking about
these pathways.
I'm imagining, all right,you're in this scary house, it's
dark, and then around you istall grass and you're trying to
get back to this safety zone,this nice little patch of
happiness, maybe your room oryour home, but you don't know
(21:06):
the path.
So when you get in, it's likeyou're in the weeds and you
don't know what direction to goto.
And so the more I go back andforth.
Now I'm wearing this path andnow I know my way back.
I remember how to get out ofthis.
I know exactly where to go.
I'll be okay.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (21:20):
Yes, and the natural consequence of
that is that you feel betterwhen you take that path right.
Yeah, like it doesn't feel goodto go into threat response mode
.
No parent feels great afteryelling and screaming at a child
.
So when you go and take thatpathway through the dark, it's
like muscle memory, but it'salso your brain creating a new
(21:41):
pathway.
Our brains like to create easypathways, because we need that
to survive too.
So what you'd need to do ismake this the easier pathway and
over time, it feels better inthe body we have.
The emotions that are attachedto that pathway are better for
us right In the long run, withrelationships and reducing the
stress that might come up inourselves.
(22:02):
If we're always taking thepathway that's the threat
response fear pathway and thenyou feel better and then you're
more likely to take that pathwayagain.
That's a great visual.
I think that could be helpfulin explaining it to a child.
I think that's a really goodidea, yeah.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (22:18):
Awesome.
The book is meant to be both astory and a teaching tool, so
how do you envision parents andeducators using it to start to
open up conversations aboutanxiety in their homes or in
their classrooms?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (22:30):
So my hope is that this book is not
just a book for kids who havealready been identified as being
anxious, because the reality isthis is a system that's present
in all of us all the time,right, like, even if you don't
have a diagnosable anxietydisorder, even if you don't have
a ton of worry, it is good toknow how your brain works, right
.
So my hope is that this is justa book that anybody could pick
(22:52):
up and read with a child, and itcould also be an intervention.
My other hope is that it's justread as a storybook, so it's
not like, hey, you need thisbook because I saw how you were
behaving the other day.
I mean, that might happen.
We're going to enjoy this booktogether like we would enjoy any
(23:15):
picture book, and what's justembedded are some strategies
you're going to do not becauseyou're trying to manage your own
anxiety, but because you'retrying to help this amygdala
character manage its anxiety.
And then you're doing thestrategies anyway, and then
you're doing the practice wejust talked about and over time
you're creating that pathwaythat you were just talking about
.
So my hope is it just starts aslike, let's share a story
(23:36):
together.
I have clients that then go onto read it by themselves.
Six, seven, eight year olds ifthey're reading it's.
It's written for the four toeight year old age group, and
the four year olds are likelygoing to be reading it with
someone you know.
Five it depends on theirreading level, but I have a
client I work with who reads itto her stuffed animals in her
(23:58):
bedroom, and it's like she's nowteaching the stuffed animals
about how to manage theiramygdala in their own brains,
and so I think it can take offin a lot of different ways, and
again, it's meant to be aconversation starter.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (24:12):
Yeah, and I think it also shows some empathy
from the adult in that child'slife to say I understand that
these things that you mayexperience are natural and that
they're okay and let'sunderstand it.
Any child can feel anxious atany time for various reasons,
(24:33):
and so having more tools to beable to help them at any point
is always a wonderful thing.
So I could see where it'd bebeneficial for the entire class
Even, let's say, like you know,I taught second and first grade
and you go through the body.
So when you're talking aboutyour heart and the nervous
system, you could also talkabout you know the amygdala.
When you're talking about thebrain and the nervous system,
(24:53):
you could also talk about theamygdala when you're talking
about the brain, and I could seewhere that could even fit in,
and then the children would beable to identify with that
instead of something that'smaybe a little bit more abstract
where they can't touch it.
This is a great character and itgoes along with that storyline,
but it also is talking aboutthemselves and in that way they
could identify with.
(25:14):
Oh, this is something that I dofeel and this is why I feel
this way, and maybe this couldhelp me so I could see where
that would even be good in ascience to be able to hook them
into.
How do they identify with thisphysiological part of themselves
?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (25:29):
That's absolutely right.
I often wondered why do we stopteaching kids about their body
function from the collarbone up?
I mean, young kids know thatthey have a heart, they know it
beats, they know it pumps bloodaround their body.
They know they have bones, theyknow they have lungs.
They have that their stomach iswhere their food goes.
They know they need to eatnutritious food.
I mean we hope that they'relearning that they need to eat
(25:51):
and sleep and take care of theirbody.
It's all good.
Why are we not teaching kidsabout brain function?
And what I realized, whichmakes sense, is that
neuroscientists have only beencatching up with brain function
for the past three decades or so.
The advent of the fMRI in themid-1990s let scientists see the
function of the brain right,not just the structure but the
(26:13):
function.
So the reason that kids don'thave the language yet is because
the everyday adult doesn't havethe language yet.
So how would the kids have thelanguage?
100% agree with you that if wecan move towards a time I
envision a time when kids cantalk about their brains at very
(26:34):
young ages from a functionalstandpoint and learn these
skills before behavior patternsget set in that similar pathway
you talked about where theyautomatically go towards
fighting or running away.
They can understand the function, have the language to attach to
(26:56):
it and therefore communicateabout it with an adult who might
also have that knowledge.
And it's important that it'sequitable, because a lot of this
language gets kept right forthe people who already have
resources.
So my strong hope is that kidscould equitably have access to
this type of language and waysto explain their behaviors and
(27:20):
understand, like you said, theirbehaviors, so that they develop
a practice in life of notreacting to how they're already
behaving and feeling, butactually recognizing that a
certain amount of that is intheir control.
I hope that's the conversationthat's happening in circle times
all over the country or theworld, right?
I hope that we're helping thesekids understand what's
(27:43):
happening earlier.
I wish I knew that when I was10, 14, et cetera, you know, or
younger.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (27:49):
Looking ahead, what impact do you hope the
book will have on children'smental health education and how
do you see it contributing toanxiety management in
educational settings?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (27:59):
I hope that both adults and children
and teens can be less inreactive mode and more in
protective factor mode becauseof building trust and aligning
in what's happening in the brain.
When we connect brain and body,we really set kids up on a path
(28:22):
for greater success.
And the feedback I've gottenabout the book are things like I
bought it for my child or mystudent or my grandchild, but
then I read it and things madesense to me and I didn't know, I
didn't understand that that waswhat was happening in me.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (28:39):
So you're not only educating the child,
exactly yeah, you're educatingthe adults as well.
Dr. Anna Housley Juste (28:44):
Together and in that shared
understanding there's trustthat's built, and we know that
trust between a child and anadult is a protective factor for
life.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (28:55):
So it sets up also the parent and the child
for a little bit of bonding,because they're understanding
each other's emotions and whyit's happening, a little bit
better maybe.
So then, if the child iswitnessing the parent, maybe
even be upset, maybe they'regoing to understand with a
little more empathy as well.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (29:12):
Yeah, there's language attached to it.
Then right, I've had kids sayto an adult my amygdala is doing
pushups, it's really energized.
And then the parent says you'rewhat?
And then there's a conversation.
And then a child has also cometo me and said my parents
(29:34):
amygdala was really in threatresponse mode, so it's.
They're attaching thatunderstanding, that language to
it and using the vocabulary totry to explain.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (29:43):
Yeah, giving children that vocabulary and
that language is empowering tothem.
Yes, because they understand it.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (29:50):
That's right, and so much about the
fear response and anxietyoverall is about control.
It gives you agency a sense ofcontrol that you might not have
had before and so absolutely Ithink that that broadly helps to
reduce the threat response overtime.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (30:08):
Yeah, Wonderful Well.
Thank you so much, anna, forsharing your insights and
expertise with us today.
It's been an enlighteningconversation.
What's the best way for someoneto connect with you or learn
more about your work?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (30:21):
So people can go to
annahousleyjuster.
com where there is a way toemail me.
If you'd like to reach out, I'dlove to hear from you.
The book is available atindependent bookstores in
various areas and also on Amazonor from the publisher, Teacher
Created Materials.
So I hope that if you check itout, that you like it, and I
(30:41):
hope it's helpful.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (30:44):
Yeah, and I'll put all that information in the
show notes as well.
Great, thank you so much.
As educators and parents, weeach have a role to play in
supporting children's emotionalwell-being.
I hope today's discussion hasinspired you to explore new ways
of helping children understandand manage their anxiety,
whether it's throughstorytelling, open conversations
(31:04):
or practicing coping strategies.
Together, every action countsin building our children's
emotional resilience andcreating a solid foundation for
their learning and growth.
Emotional resilience andcreating a solid foundation for
their learning and growth.
If you have a story about what'sworking in your schools that
you'd like to share, you canemail me at lisa@ drlisahassler.
(31:26):
com, or visit my website at www.
drlisahassler.
com and send me a message.
If you like this podcast,subscribe and tell a friend.
The more people that know, thebigger impact it will have.
And if you find value to thecontent in this podcast,
consider becoming a supporter byclicking on the supporter link
in the show notes.
It is the mission of thispodcast to shine light on the
good in education so that itspreads, affecting positive
change.
(31:46):
So let's keep working togetherto find solutions that focus on
our children's success.
Welcome to the Brighter Side of Education:
Research, Innovation andResources.
I'm your host, Dr.
Lisa Hassler, here to enlightenand brighten the classrooms in
America through focusedconversation on important topics
in education.
In each episode, I discussproblems we as teachers and
parents are facing and whatpeople are doing in their
communities to fix it.
(00:29):
What are the variables and howcan we duplicate it to maximize
student outcomes?
In this episode, we exploreways to help children manage
anxiety and build emotionalresilience through the power of
storytelling and practicalstrategies.
Before we begin ourconversation, I'd like to
highlight a growing concern ineducation the rising rates of
(00:50):
anxiety among children and itsimpact on their learning and
overall well-being.
Recent research from theCenters for Disease Control and
Prevention indicates thatanxiety disorders affect
approximately 7% of childrenbetween the ages of 3 and 17 in
the United States.
Now, this translates to about4.4 million children and
adolescents struggling withanxiety, which can significantly
(01:13):
hinder their educationalexperiences and social
development.
A study published in theJournal of Child Psychology and
Psychiatry in 2021 found thatanxiety in children not only
affects their mental health, butalso their academic performance
, social relationships andlong-term life outcomes.
The research emphasizes theneed for early intervention and
practical strategies to helpchildren manage their anxiety
(01:36):
effectively.
To understand why addressinganxiety is crucial for learning,
we can turn to Abram Maslow'sHierarchy of Needs, a
foundational theory inpsychology and education.
Maslow's pyramid illustratesthat before individuals can
reach self-actualization andachieve their full potential,
including effective learning,they must first have their basic
(01:58):
needs met.
These needs includephysiological requirements of
safety, love and belonging andesteem.
Now anxiety, which often stemsfrom unmet needs for safety and
security, can significantlyimpede a child's progress up
this hierarchy.
When a child is anxious, theirfocus is on managing their
immediate feelings of distressrather than engaging in
(02:20):
higher-level cognitive tasksessential for learning.
By addressing anxiety, we'reessentially helping children
feel more secure, which allowsthem to move up Maslow's
hierarchy and become morereceptive to learning and
personal growth.
Now this is where innovativeapproaches like using
storytelling and age-appropriateexplanations of brain function
(02:40):
can play a crucial role.
By providing children withtools to understand and manage
their emotions, we canpotentially mitigate the
negative impacts of anxiety ontheir educational journey and
overall development.
These strategies align withMaslow's theory by helping
children feel safer and more incontrol, thereby creating a
stronger foundation for learningand self-actualization.
(03:01):
Today we are joined by Dr AnnaHousley-Juster, a licensed
mental health clinician,education consultant and
children's book author, whofirmly believes in the power of
play With experiences.
As a teacher, as well asdirector in children's media, Dr
.
Housley brings a wealth ofknowledge to our discussion.
Her work as director of contentfor Sesame Street has given her
(03:22):
unique insights into creatingengaging educational content for
children.
Dr Juster's work spans mentaland behavioral health,
curriculum development andinnovative practices to support
children's learning andemotional well-being.
Dr Housley Juster, welcome tothe show, thank you.
So your new children's book,how to Train your Amygdala,
(03:42):
which I have right here it'samazing, by the way.
Really love it.
It tackles the complex topic ofanxiety in children.
So could you explain whatinspired you to write this book
and why you chose to focus onthe amygdala?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (03:56):
So the idea for this book evolved from
my direct clinical practice withvery young children, and
especially during COVID when Iwas doing only telehealth.
I got to see into kids' lives alittle bit more than you do
when you're in the office.
And there was a point where Ihad a client who I was working
(04:16):
with who's about eight or so,sitting with her cat on her lap
in front of her Chromebook andshe was stroking her cat as we
were doing psychoeducation abouthow she was managing the stress
that was coming up at home andher anxiety.
And we realized together thatas she was calming her cat by
relaxing it, by calming it bysort of being there, present and
(04:39):
being kind and empathetic andsweet, she was using a strategy
that you could use also for yourbrain and specifically we were
talking about the amygdala andthe way that the amygdala it's
kind of the usual suspect forthe alarm system in the brain,
and so I wanted to take sort ofsome of the work I was doing
directly in the storytellingthat was coming up in practice
(05:01):
and try to put it into a waythat I could then use it again
with my own clients but then itcould become accessible to
others.
Typically, the books I wasreading with kids about anxiety
and worry tend to focus on therebeing a dragon in your brain, a
monster.
That's anxiety, which I thinkcan work for some kids.
It's also pretty distressingfor some kids to think that
(05:22):
there's like a bad monster inyourself that you're pushing
away against.
So the goal with how to trainyour amygdala is to take the
power of story that evolved frommy work and make it accessible,
but with humor and compassionfor the amygdala, because it is
a fun word to say and it doesget itself in a lot of trouble,
but we need to love it and weneed to align with it in order
(05:44):
to have the brain-bodyconnection that can lead to the
skills that will actually helpto calm anxiety.
So that's the backstory.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (05:50):
Yeah, and I like how in the book you talk
about its purpose to keeping usalive.
It is a survival thing, sothere's a really good reason why
we have it and why we need it.
And in the book you talkedabout the metaphor of the
amygdala being an alarm.
How does that resonate with achild?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (06:07):
to understand anxiety a little bit
better yeah, I mean, I think thefirst thing that we think about
when we think about an alarm isan emergency, and that is what
the amygdala perceives.
So, just like you said, theexample in the book is imagine
you are about to cross thestreet and suddenly a car takes
the car.
It bypasses cortex, it bypassesthought, because it would be
(06:49):
really bad in that minute if westopped and thought, like hmm, I
think there's a car comingtowards me and I see that the
perspective of that driver isthat they are not slowing down.
Therefore, what I need to do isstop.
They are not slowing down.
Therefore, what I need to do isstop.
And so I help kids understandthat sometimes we need alarm, we
need urgent, we need thatmechanism in the brain, and the
(07:13):
world is not actually as scaryas our amygdala thinks it is.
The world is a very scary placeright now and I have a lot of
kids managing a lot of fear,which is understandable, and a
lot of the time the amygdala isthis lovable, overzealous piece
of us that so desperately wantsto protect us and just sometimes
gets it wrong.
And what I help kids understandis, with the alarm, it's
(07:35):
actually something you'reprobably going to feel first
before you register it.
So you'll notice the effect ofalarm as rapid heart rate,
nauseousness, breathing up inthe top of the lungs, because
now your body's trying to get asmuch oxygen as possible,
because it's getting ready torun away, to flee or to fight.
So we tune into the alarm inthe body what that feels like.
(07:57):
And now then we're layering onthe psychoeducation.
This doesn't just have tohappen to you, as if it's out of
your control, as if you neverwill be able to contain that
alarm.
It's an alarm you could slowdown, quiet train basically.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (08:13):
Yeah, yeah, and you go through a lot of
those responses, the variouscoping strategies for anxiety in
your book.
Do you want to share a coupleof them, maybe that parents or
educators can use?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (08:25):
Yes, there's three main strategies
that come up in this book andthey're really deeply tied to
evidence-based practice.
Like, we know that thesestrategies work and every child
is different and every adult isdifferent in some ways.
So the most important thing isthat you would use the book as a
catalyst for a conversationabout what works for you to
(08:46):
train your amygdala.
So for some kids, it might belistening to music, it could be
taking a walk away from whateverwas distressing, it could be a
hug, it could be having yourhair brushed or braided.
So it really needs to bespecific to a context and a
person.
That said, because I had thespace of one book to talk about
(09:09):
it, the strategies that theamygdala asks the reader to do
in order to help the amygdala tobe calm are controlled
breathing, progressive musclerelaxation and visual imagery.
So controlled breathing meansexactly what it sounds like.
Breathing is the only autonomicfunction that we have that is
(09:32):
both autonomic.
We don't have to wake up in themorning and decide to breathe,
although it's a good idea,because a lot of times we're
holding our breath and we cancontrol it, and that's
neurofeedback basically.
So when you control your breath, you're sending a message back
to your amygdala and the othersort of threat response
components of the brain and thebody to say, listen, if we were
(09:55):
being traced by a lion, we wouldnot be pausing to take these
long, deep breaths.
We'd be rushing as fast as wecould to get away from the
actual danger that would becausing actual fear.
And in the content of the storythe amygdala teaches the reader
elevator breath specifically,so you're down in, like your
(10:17):
diaphragmatic breathing to start, so you're breathing down into
the lower part of your lungs.
We can try it together.
Yeah, yeah, I was like, as I'mlike straightening up and
holding my hand there, like, putyour hand on your upper abdomen
, under your ribs, and you'rebreathing into there first and
you imagine an elevator that'sgoing up floors as you breathe.
So you're breathing in like one, two, three four five, six.
(10:42):
You could have six floors andthen your elevators coming down
and you're breathing six, five,four, three, two, one.
The other visual is like wavescoming in.
So on that page the amygdala islying on a beach blanket.
The illustrator, cynthia Cliff,is fantastic.
(11:02):
My editor, cassie, is amazingat thinking about, well, how are
we going to work with the arton this?
And I think it really works,because then the cat who shows
up is laying on a towel andrelaxing at the beach and you're
picturing as you're breathing,the waves are coming in two,
three, four, out, four, three,two, one.
(11:25):
If you want to count, yeah, sothere's controlled breath and
there's a section at the backthat's for parents and educators
and a section for kids that'slike the amygdala training
manual that teach otherstrategies like figure eight
breathing or lazy eightbreathing, square breathing and
dragon breath.
Because sometimes, if there'sany parents or teachers out
(11:46):
there that have offered childrena breathing strategy when
they're already in threatresponse mode nope, not for some
kids that's actually activating, because it's like you don't
see the threat that my brain isexperiencing right now.
So if you're slowing down andasking me to take deep breath,
that means we're both going toget eaten by the lion and that's
scary.
So you kind of have to time itwell, and dragon breath is when
(12:07):
you just get it all out.
So it's like you take a giantdeep breath in and blow out like
you're blowing out flames.
You can either think of it likeyou want to blow out the fire
or you're breathing fire right,because now you are in big
threat response modes.
Someone just threw a toy atyour head in your preschool
classroom or something, and youare now going into fight
(12:28):
response mode.
So there's various ways to docontrolled breathing and then
progressive muscle relaxation isintentionally tightening and
releasing muscles in a way thatagain teaches the brain.
We wouldn't be doing thisintentionally if what we were
doing was pumping blood into themajor muscle groups in order to
(12:48):
sprint away as quickly aspossible right.
So if you picture atwo-year-old tantrum, I know you
know, like.
What does it look like in thebody?
It's like as tight as possible.
It's like Frankenstein, tightLike you're, just like.
That's because that body isgetting ready to fight and maybe
that child does.
You know, throw a punch, kick,try to bite.
When you teach that child tointentionally tighten and
(13:12):
release muscles, the child isusing other areas of the brain
and then the body to control theresponse and that's calming.
The third is visual imagery,which is especially a fancy way
to say imagination, which isusing your thoughts.
The other two are body-based,back to the brain sort of input,
(13:33):
and this is to use thoughtswhich activates other areas of
the brain to picture a placewhere you feel safe, and that
can be very calming to theamygdala.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (13:42):
Yeah, absolutely.
I was just thinking about thelittle girl who was petting a
cat.
And they actually sell a toy tohelp with anxiety.
That's this little cat, you petit to help with anxiety.
That's this little cat, you petit.
And as you're petting it, thenthe purring calms down.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (14:04):
So by helping the cat relax, by
petting, you're actually thenhelping yourself yes, most
definitely I have to get that.
And people have written to meand said they want a plush
amygdala, they want something tosqueeze, because when the
amygdala practices the squeezingand releasing, it squeezes a
teddy bear.
And then the kitten who is sortof as the plot unfolds, it's the
(14:25):
kitten that's at the doordelivering a large cheese pizza
and the amygdala thinks it'sthis dangerous, scary dragon or
creature or something that'scoming in to attack.
And then that kitten shows upon the other pages and you can
see how the kitten relaxesthroughout the book, along with
the two kids that are featuredin the book, the characters that
are kind of helping theamygdala team train your
(14:48):
amygdala.
So there's this kitten is kindof throughout and it kind of
makes sense because you can seein animals.
You know what it looks likewhen your dog or your cat is in
threat response mode.
Right, right, yeah, you do.
And of course they are so proneto their amygdala sending them
down a path of danger when thereactually isn't any threat, like
it's just the male.
But my dog, for example, is infull panic mode when they all
(15:14):
laugh every time.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (15:17):
Somebody is here?
Oh, protect us.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (15:20):
Exactly .
Dr. Lisa Hassler (15:23):
So your approach combines then
storytelling and factualinformation about brain function
.
So how do you think thecombination enhances children's
understanding and engagementwith the topic of anxiety
management?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (15:37):
I mean, I think that if you ever want a
child to tune into anything atall, you know I'm a previous
teacher and my years at SesameStreet taught me you have to
make it fun and playful and thatserious things can be taught
with comedy Right, taught withcomedy right.
So we're talking aboutsomething that's really
important and it's a story abouthow your brain functions.
(15:57):
And some people have said to mecan kids really learn how to
say the word amygdala?
Absolutely, it's not thatdifferent from the word
rectangle, it's not really anymore difficult.
It's just that adults don'tknow it yet, right, because
we're playing catch up withscience and we're playing catch
up with brain development overmillions and thousands of years.
But so I think to have acompelling story is the primary
(16:22):
objective.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:23):
Yes.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (16:23):
And then you're thinking what am I
teaching?
They have to develop in tandemwith one another, yeah, so I did
not want it to be didactic.
I was looking for how tobalance that idea of good story
with what the hope is thatchildren would take away from an
educational messagingstandpoint.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (16:44):
Right, it's the hook of an interesting story
and then you're giving them theinformation.
That's actually very satisfyingand it is kind of a Sesame
Street thing when you thinkabout it, because they are
drawing the kids in thecharacters, the lovable fun, yet
the situations and the storiesthat go along with threading
into the skill and so you know,and so then that is like they
(17:07):
have fun learning.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (17:09):
Yeah, and you have to care about your
character.
I mean the child has to connectin some way and care about the
outcome, right?
Because if you don't care, ifthere isn't an intrinsic
motivation towards it, you'regoing to literally walk away
from the book, right?
Or the TV screen or the iPad.
I mean you have to care in someway and I hope that that comes
(17:32):
across, because what I'm reallyhoping is that kids identify
with this process, that thealarm can sometimes go off, even
if it's not an actual emergency, and think about the amygdala
as part of themselves andtherefore not blame themselves
for anxiety and whatever showsup in their behavior when they
(17:55):
are feeling anxious Because Idon't believe there are any bad
parts of a child, but kids whohave a lot of anxiety,
especially if it comes out aswhat we see as anger, with
behaviors that get them in a lotof trouble at school and at
home Right, then they can startto internalize like there's a
bad, there's something wrongwith me, something bad about me,
(18:16):
and so I'm hoping that, by thecaring about the story and the
character, they align with thisidea that it's teamwork.
You know we're working on thistogether and it's not that
there's something wrong with you.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (18:28):
Also, I've seen children have anxiety and
what it does is it occupiestheir thoughts.
And so, instead of focusing onthe engagement in the classroom,
they're distracted becausethey're focusing on this feeling
and this emotion that'soverwhelming them, and then what
(18:49):
ends up happening is then theydon't know what's going on in
the class and there are maybelittle gaps in their knowledge
or knowing, so then I could seewhere then there's this feeling
of I'm not doing well, and soyou talk about the importance of
practice, and so why is it soimportant for them to be
practicing these skills?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (19:09):
It's so important to practice because
it's like anything else.
It's so important to practicebecause it's like anything else
when something becomes apractice and a habit and in this
case it actually changes thearchitecture of the brain you
can create new neural pathwaysand new circuitry, so that you
may not get so escalated in thefuture.
(19:29):
But, also, if you do, you knowhow to come back to your tools,
and it's really important foradults to do the same thing.
Sometimes we have to tune intoour own threat response and have
our own practice of how toregulate before we can engage
with a child.
Because if both a child and anadult are in threat response
mode and one amygdala is justraging at the other or one is
(19:50):
running away because they'regoing into freeze or flight,
then the child's out of the room, down the hall, maybe out of
the school building, and anadult is just sitting with the
fight response of like this isthreatening to me.
I can't handle this behavioranymore.
So if you've practiced overtime, especially with
co-regulation, where an adultand a child are practicing the
(20:11):
strategies together, you're lesslikely to fall back on old
habits and habits that maybe arenot going to be in the best
interest of yourself or of thepeople around you.
You can't ask a child to take adeep breath in the middle of a
threat response when the threatresponse is elevated, and expect
that that's the first Ifthey've never practiced that
(20:33):
before and you say, oh, justtake a deep breath, it's
probably not going to work.
You have to have trust and youhave to have practiced and then
you're more likely to havesuccess with calming down the
threat response in the moment.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (20:45):
It reminds me of when you were talking about
these pathways.
I'm imagining, all right,you're in this scary house, it's
dark, and then around you istall grass and you're trying to
get back to this safety zone,this nice little patch of
happiness, maybe your room oryour home, but you don't know
(21:06):
the path.
So when you get in, it's likeyou're in the weeds and you
don't know what direction to goto.
And so the more I go back andforth.
Now I'm wearing this path andnow I know my way back.
I remember how to get out ofthis.
I know exactly where to go.
I'll be okay.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (21:20):
Yes, and the natural consequence of
that is that you feel betterwhen you take that path right.
Yeah, like it doesn't feel goodto go into threat response mode
.
No parent feels great afteryelling and screaming at a child
.
So when you go and take thatpathway through the dark, it's
like muscle memory, but it'salso your brain creating a new
(21:41):
pathway.
Our brains like to create easypathways, because we need that
to survive too.
So what you'd need to do ismake this the easier pathway and
over time, it feels better inthe body we have.
The emotions that are attachedto that pathway are better for
us right In the long run, withrelationships and reducing the
stress that might come up inourselves.
(22:02):
If we're always taking thepathway that's the threat
response fear pathway and thenyou feel better and then you're
more likely to take that pathwayagain.
That's a great visual.
I think that could be helpfulin explaining it to a child.
I think that's a really goodidea, yeah.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (22:18):
Awesome.
The book is meant to be both astory and a teaching tool, so
how do you envision parents andeducators using it to start to
open up conversations aboutanxiety in their homes or in
their classrooms?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (22:30):
So my hope is that this book is not
just a book for kids who havealready been identified as being
anxious, because the reality isthis is a system that's present
in all of us all the time,right, like, even if you don't
have a diagnosable anxietydisorder, even if you don't have
a ton of worry, it is good toknow how your brain works, right
.
So my hope is that this is justa book that anybody could pick
(22:52):
up and read with a child, and itcould also be an intervention.
My other hope is that it's justread as a storybook, so it's
not like, hey, you need thisbook because I saw how you were
behaving the other day.
I mean, that might happen.
We're going to enjoy this booktogether like we would enjoy any
(23:15):
picture book, and what's justembedded are some strategies
you're going to do not becauseyou're trying to manage your own
anxiety, but because you'retrying to help this amygdala
character manage its anxiety.
And then you're doing thestrategies anyway, and then
you're doing the practice wejust talked about and over time
you're creating that pathwaythat you were just talking about
.
So my hope is it just starts aslike, let's share a story
(23:36):
together.
I have clients that then go onto read it by themselves.
Six, seven, eight year olds ifthey're reading it's.
It's written for the four toeight year old age group, and
the four year olds are likelygoing to be reading it with
someone you know.
Five it depends on theirreading level, but I have a
client I work with who reads itto her stuffed animals in her
(23:58):
bedroom, and it's like she's nowteaching the stuffed animals
about how to manage theiramygdala in their own brains,
and so I think it can take offin a lot of different ways, and
again, it's meant to be aconversation starter.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (24:12):
Yeah, and I think it also shows some empathy
from the adult in that child'slife to say I understand that
these things that you mayexperience are natural and that
they're okay and let'sunderstand it.
Any child can feel anxious atany time for various reasons,
(24:33):
and so having more tools to beable to help them at any point
is always a wonderful thing.
So I could see where it'd bebeneficial for the entire class
Even, let's say, like you know,I taught second and first grade
and you go through the body.
So when you're talking aboutyour heart and the nervous
system, you could also talkabout you know the amygdala.
When you're talking about thebrain and the nervous system,
(24:53):
you could also talk about theamygdala when you're talking
about the brain, and I could seewhere that could even fit in,
and then the children would beable to identify with that
instead of something that'smaybe a little bit more abstract
where they can't touch it.
This is a great character and itgoes along with that storyline,
but it also is talking aboutthemselves and in that way they
could identify with.
(25:14):
Oh, this is something that I dofeel and this is why I feel
this way, and maybe this couldhelp me so I could see where
that would even be good in ascience to be able to hook them
into.
How do they identify with thisphysiological part of themselves
?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (25:29):
That's absolutely right.
I often wondered why do we stopteaching kids about their body
function from the collarbone up?
I mean, young kids know thatthey have a heart, they know it
beats, they know it pumps bloodaround their body.
They know they have bones, theyknow they have lungs.
They have that their stomach iswhere their food goes.
They know they need to eatnutritious food.
I mean we hope that they'relearning that they need to eat
(25:51):
and sleep and take care of theirbody.
It's all good.
Why are we not teaching kidsabout brain function?
And what I realized, whichmakes sense, is that
neuroscientists have only beencatching up with brain function
for the past three decades or so.
The advent of the fMRI in themid-1990s let scientists see the
function of the brain right,not just the structure but the
(26:13):
function.
So the reason that kids don'thave the language yet is because
the everyday adult doesn't havethe language yet.
So how would the kids have thelanguage?
100% agree with you that if wecan move towards a time I
envision a time when kids cantalk about their brains at very
(26:34):
young ages from a functionalstandpoint and learn these
skills before behavior patternsget set in that similar pathway
you talked about where theyautomatically go towards
fighting or running away.
They can understand the function, have the language to attach to
(26:56):
it and therefore communicateabout it with an adult who might
also have that knowledge.
And it's important that it'sequitable, because a lot of this
language gets kept right forthe people who already have
resources.
So my strong hope is that kidscould equitably have access to
this type of language and waysto explain their behaviors and
(27:20):
understand, like you said, theirbehaviors, so that they develop
a practice in life of notreacting to how they're already
behaving and feeling, butactually recognizing that a
certain amount of that is intheir control.
I hope that's the conversationthat's happening in circle times
all over the country or theworld, right?
I hope that we're helping thesekids understand what's
(27:43):
happening earlier.
I wish I knew that when I was10, 14, et cetera, you know, or
younger.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (27:49):
Looking ahead, what impact do you hope the
book will have on children'smental health education and how
do you see it contributing toanxiety management in
educational settings?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (27:59):
I hope that both adults and children
and teens can be less inreactive mode and more in
protective factor mode becauseof building trust and aligning
in what's happening in the brain.
When we connect brain and body,we really set kids up on a path
(28:22):
for greater success.
And the feedback I've gottenabout the book are things like I
bought it for my child or mystudent or my grandchild, but
then I read it and things madesense to me and I didn't know, I
didn't understand that that waswhat was happening in me.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (28:39):
So you're not only educating the child,
exactly yeah, you're educatingthe adults as well.
Dr. Anna Housley Juste (28:44):
Together and in that shared
understanding there's trustthat's built, and we know that
trust between a child and anadult is a protective factor for
life.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (28:55):
So it sets up also the parent and the child
for a little bit of bonding,because they're understanding
each other's emotions and whyit's happening, a little bit
better maybe.
So then, if the child iswitnessing the parent, maybe
even be upset, maybe they'regoing to understand with a
little more empathy as well.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (29:12):
Yeah, there's language attached to it.
Then right, I've had kids sayto an adult my amygdala is doing
pushups, it's really energized.
And then the parent says you'rewhat?
And then there's a conversation.
And then a child has also cometo me and said my parents
(29:34):
amygdala was really in threatresponse mode, so it's.
They're attaching thatunderstanding, that language to
it and using the vocabulary totry to explain.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (29:43):
Yeah, giving children that vocabulary and
that language is empowering tothem.
Yes, because they understand it.
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (29:50):
That's right, and so much about the
fear response and anxietyoverall is about control.
It gives you agency a sense ofcontrol that you might not have
had before and so absolutely Ithink that that broadly helps to
reduce the threat response overtime.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (30:08):
Yeah, Wonderful Well.
Thank you so much, anna, forsharing your insights and
expertise with us today.
It's been an enlighteningconversation.
What's the best way for someoneto connect with you or learn
more about your work?
Dr. Anna Housley Juster (30:21):
So people can go to
annahousleyjuster.
com where there is a way toemail me.
If you'd like to reach out, I'dlove to hear from you.
The book is available atindependent bookstores in
various areas and also on Amazonor from the publisher, Teacher
Created Materials.
So I hope that if you check itout, that you like it, and I
(30:41):
hope it's helpful.
Dr. Lisa Hassler (30:44):
Yeah, and I'll put all that information in the
show notes as well.
Great, thank you so much.
As educators and parents, weeach have a role to play in
supporting children's emotionalwell-being.
I hope today's discussion hasinspired you to explore new ways
of helping children understandand manage their anxiety,
whether it's throughstorytelling, open conversations
(31:04):
or practicing coping strategies.
Together, every action countsin building our children's
emotional resilience andcreating a solid foundation for
their learning and growth.
Emotional resilience andcreating a solid foundation for
their learning and growth.
If you have a story about what'sworking in your schools that
you'd like to share, you canemail me at lisa@ drlisahassler.
(31:26):
com, or visit my website at www.
drlisahassler.
com and send me a message.
If you like this podcast,subscribe and tell a friend.
The more people that know, thebigger impact it will have.
And if you find value to thecontent in this podcast,
consider becoming a supporter byclicking on the supporter link
in the show notes.
It is the mission of thispodcast to shine light on the
good in education so that itspreads, affecting positive
change.
(31:46):
So let's keep working togetherto find solutions that focus on
our children's success.
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