Dr Hazel:
Hello, my name is Dr Hazel, welcome to the Brain Lab. Where we can explore the power of our brains.
Today I want to talk about what our brains are doing when we experience different emotions.
Sometimes our brains can become overwhelmed with emotions such as sadness, anger, excitement or fear.
Have you ever felt like that? I know I have. But what’s happening inside our brains when we feel these strong emotions?
Well, we can think of our brain as being like a house, with an upstairs and a downstairs, and people living on both floors.
Shall we take a closer look in the Brain House and see what’s going on?
So, here we are in the downstairs part of the Brain House. The feeling people live down here.
They help to signal what emotions we’re experiencing and they also keep us safe by being on the lookout for danger.
If you like, you can name these people… Mine are called Alerting Allie, Frightened Fliss, Funloving Freda, and Big Boss Betty.
Let’s take a look upstairs. The upstairs floor of the Brain House is the Thinking Floor.
This is where the thinking people live, they help us understand our emotions, to decide how to behave and to solve problems.
Here we’ve got calming Carla, taking some deep breaths on her yoga mat. And Problem Solving Paula, helping us to understand our feelings.
The Brain House works in harmony when the people on both floors talk to one another and work together.
We can help our brains to do this when we connect with other people, learn new things, help others, take notice of what’s happening around us, and when we’re active.
But the downstairs floor sometimes takes over. This could be because it senses danger, or gets overwhelmed with a feeling,such as fear or excitement, and makes it hard for us to think. This is called ‘flipping the lid’.
You might notice some changes in your body when this happens, perhaps your heart beats faster or you feel a bit hot.
Although our brains are trying to keep us safe, it’s not always very helpful when we flip our lids.
That’s because the thinking people on the upstairs floor and the feeling people on the downstairs can’t talk to each other -and everything in the Brain House feels a bit chaotic. Everyone flips their lid sometimes.
Can you think of a time when you’ve flipped yours? so our thinking and feeling floors can work together again.
Here are some things we can try to help get our lids back on - Focus on taking 5 deep breaths. Move your body, try doing some star jumps or jogging on the spot. Find a grown-up you trust to talk to.
Have you tried these? Of course, we don’t really have people living inside our brains.
But imagining that we do can be a fun and helpful way to make sense of what’s happening in our brains.
Remember everyone flips their lid sometimes. The trick is to find out what helps you to put it back on.
Video summary
In this short film for primary schools, Dr Hazel Harrison talks about what happens in our brains when we feel different emotions.
Clinical psychologist Dr Hazel Harrison uses an analogy of the brain being like a house, with different types of people living on each floor, to explain what is happening in our brains when we feel strong emotions.
Through animation, we see what happens in our brains when these emotions take over and we ‘flip our lids’.
She talks us through how we can carry out some practical exercises to help 'get our lids back on' so that we can connect with our thinking brain and make sensible decisions.
‘Flipping the lid’ is a concept based on the work of Dr Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson.
Teacher Notes
Before watching the film:
Watch the Teacher's guide with Dr Hazel Harrison and Natalie Costa for further support on wellbeing and growth mindset, as well as tips for using these resources.
This explains why the films were made and how they can be used, as well as offering guidance on growth mindset language and ways to integrate this into your daily teaching.
This film is produced with 7-12-year-olds in mind.
However, always make yourself familiar with the content and consider carefully whether it will be appropriate and of use for your class.
Once you are confident it is the right resource for your pupils, watch it through alone and consider how it would work best for you all.
Using the film:
This is one of five films about wellbeing and developing a growth mindset.
They can be shown in any order and are designed to encourage children to think about their own wellbeing, and how they can learn to build good habits to support their mental health and develop a positive attitude.
Classroom Ideas:
Pupils could have a go at building their own brain house (using junk modelling, construction blocks, or drawing) and then have a go at creating their own thinking and feeling characters to put inside.
Teachers can use the clip to start discussion in the classroom about the different emotions that we can feel. Being open and talking about their own emotions can help pupils to open up and discuss their thoughts and feelings.
Pupils could talk about times when they’ve experienced strong emotions and ‘flipped their lid’. It can be helpful for the teacher to normalise this, reminding pupils that we all flip our lids sometimes.
Pupils could have a discussion about what helps them to calm down and get their thinking brain working again.
Pupils could write stories about the characters in the brain house and the adventures they go on. It could be helpful for them to think about the different strengths and weaknesses of these characters.
How the film links to PSHE Curriculum:
The film covers the core theme of Health & Wellbeing for KS1 and KS2, delivering learning to pupils on the following points:
what keeping healthy means; different ways to keep healthy
the different ways to rest and relax
how to recognise that habits can have both positive and negative effects on a healthy lifestyle
that mental health, just like physical health, is part of daily life; the importance of taking care of mental health
strategies and behaviours that support mental health - including how good quality sleep, physical exercise/time outdoors, being involved in community groups, doing things for others, clubs, and activities, hobbies and spending time with family and friends can support mental health and wellbeing
to recognise that feelings can change over time and range in intensity
everyday things that affect feelings and the importance of expressing feelings
developing a varied vocabulary to use when talking about feelings; about how to express feelings in different ways
how feelings can affect people’s bodies and how they behave
to recognise that anyone can experience mental ill health; that most difficulties can be resolved with help and support; and that it is important to discuss feelings with a trusted adult
problem-solving strategies for dealing with emotions, challenges and change, including the transition to new schools
different things they can do to manage big feelings, to help calm themselves down and/or change their mood when they don’t feel good.
This short film will be relevant for teaching PSHE at KS2 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 2nd Level in Scotland.
Dan - Connect with others. video
Dr Hazel Harrison and a young magician called Dan find out why it’s important to connect with other people. Dan has Asperger Syndrome, also known as Asperger's, and sometimes finds it difficult to connect with people. In this short film he shares his experiences of learning magic, using his growth mindset, and using magic tricks to help him connect with other people.
Kristana - Be active. video
Dr Hazel Harrison and a young weight-lifter called Kristana find out why it’s good for us to keep active. In this short film Kristana explains how weightlifting has helped her to feel better about herself, develop confidence in school and overcome challenges.
Mjd - Give to others. video
Dr Hazel Harrison and a student called Mjd explain why it’s important for us to give to others. In this short film Mjd explains how he used a growth mindset to learn English, and how he 'gives to others’ by translating for his classmates and helping them learn.
Rachel - Take notice. video
Dr Hazel Harrison and Rachel, a member of the Youth Parliament Committee, explore the concept of ‘taking notice’. In this short film Rachel shares how she takes notice of the issues that are happening around her and how she tries to make a positive change.
Ethan - Keep learning. video
Dr Hazel Harrison and adaptive surfer, Ethan, explore why it’s important to keep learning new things. Ethan has cerebral palsy, a medical condition that affects his movement and coordination. He's also an adaptive surfer and is training to go to the world adaptive championships in California. In this short film Ethan shares his experiences of using a growth mindset to learn new things.
Introducing 'The Brain Lab' - A guide for teachers. video
An introduction to the resources for teachers with tips on how the films could be used in the classroom.
