🧠 Aware360 Psychology Module

Understanding the Mind – From Survival to Strength

For Adults, Teens, and Children

🔹SECTION 1: THE MIND IN ACTION – THINKING VS REACTING

🧠 Adults:

• The conscious mind is responsible for reasoning, logic, and awareness. It’s deliberate and slow.
• The subconscious mind is emotional, fast, and automatic. It stores habits, fears, beliefs, and memories.
• Under stress, your subconscious often takes over before your conscious mind has time to think.

🧠 Teens:

• Your prefrontal cortex (the logical part) is still developing.
• Strong emotions and impulsive actions are common. It doesn’t mean you’re broken — it means your brain is still wiring itself.

🧠 Children:

• Your brain has two main parts:
  • The wise owl: helps you make good choices
  • The barking dog: helps protect you fast when scared
• When you’re calm, the owl works. When scared, the dog takes over.

🎯 Activity: Draw or describe a time when your “thinking brain” helped you vs when your “reacting brain” took over.

🧩 Quiz: Which part helps you make smart choices?

✅ The wise owl (thinking brain)

🔹SECTION 2: THE AMYGDALA & BRAIN UNDER STRESS

What is the Amygdala?

• The amygdala is the fear and emotional response centre of your brain.
• It responds to perceived danger and hijacks your ability to think clearly. This is called an “amygdala hijack.”

What Happens?

• Tunnel vision
• Increased heart rate
• Sweaty palms
• Freeze, panic, or aggression
• Later: regret or shame

🧠 Adults:

• Ongoing amygdala hijacks cause burnout, anxiety, poor memory, and poor decision-making.

🧠 Teens:

• You might cry, shout, freeze, or overthink without knowing why. That’s your amygdala acting before your logic can help.

🧠 Children:

• Outbursts, hiding, or saying “I hate you” — these are emotional responses, not “naughtiness.”

🛠️ Reset Tools:

• 4-7-8 breathing
• Cold water splash
• Name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you hear, 2 you smell, 1 you love

🧩 Quiz: What part of the brain activates fight or flight?

✅ Amygdala

🔹SECTION 3: FIGHT, FLIGHT, FREEZE, FAWN

Survival Responses:

🧠 Adults:

• Learn your default response. In trauma, many freeze or fawn — it’s not weakness, it’s instinct.

🧠 Teens:

• You may shout, storm off, or stay quiet even when you’re angry. Learn to notice and manage this.

🧠 Children:

• If you scream, run away, or say sorry too much — you’re not bad. You’re in survival mode.

🛠️ Reprogram Through Practice:

• Martial arts
• Role play
• Breathing under pressure
• Confidence-building routines

🔹SECTION 4: BRAIN BIASES & MENTAL FILTERS

What Are Biases?

• Biases are mental shortcuts. They help us make quick decisions — but often lead to false beliefs in stressful situations.

Common Biases:

• Negativity Bias – One bad thing outweighs ten good ones
• Confirmation Bias – We only notice what supports what we already believe
• Overconfidence Bias – Thinking we’re safer/smarter than we are
• Availability Heuristic – Judging risk based on vivid news or memories
• Emotional Reasoning – “I feel scared, so it must be dangerous”

🧠 Adults:

• Biases affect leadership, judgment, and safety decisions. Learn to question your assumptions.

🧠 Teens:

• Social media amplifies bias. If you always compare yourself to others, your brain starts lying to you.

🧠 Children:

• Failing once doesn’t mean you’re bad at something. That’s just a “brain trick.”

🎯 Activity: Write down a recent belief or fear. Ask: Is this fact, or feeling?

🔹SECTION 5: TRAUMA, STRESS & THE BODY-MIND CONNECTION

Trauma Isn’t Just What Happened — It’s How You Store It

🧠 Adults:

• Trauma can be emotional neglect, betrayal, violence, accidents, or criticism.
• Symptoms: sleep issues, anger, hyper-alertness, emotional shutdown, body aches.

🧠 Teens:

• Trauma shows up as:
  • Overachievement or withdrawal
  • Perfectionism or rage
  • Self-harm or numbness

🧠 Children:

• Symptoms: regression, tantrums, nightmares, clinging, “spacing out,” aggressive play.

Recovery Tools:

• Safe environments
• Creative expression
• Movement (walk, dance, Jiu-Jitsu)
• Talking or drawing feelings
• Routine and rest

🧠 Tip: Your body remembers even when your mind forgets.

🔹SECTION 6: BODY LANGUAGE, POSTURE & TONE

Non-Verbal Power

93% of your message is non-verbal: body language, voice tone, eye contact.

🧠 Adults:

• Slouching shows insecurity. Open posture shows confidence.
• Voice tone can calm or escalate a situation.

🧠 Teens:

• Be aware of your body — how you walk into a room changes how people treat you.

🧠 Children:

• Teach:
  • “Strong stance” = feet planted, chin up
  • “Safe hands” = no fists
  • “Brave eyes” = look ahead, not down

🎯 Drills:

• Mirror posture
• Try three greeting styles (friendly, shy, aggressive)
• Record your tone and analyze it

🔹SECTION 7: MENTAL CONDITIONING & EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE

The Brain is Like a Muscle — It Needs Training

Tools:

• Mental Rehearsal – Visualize successful outcomes
• Anchoring – Link a calm feeling to a physical movement
• Self-Talk – Speak to yourself like someone you love

🧠 Adults:

• “I’m not failing — I’m learning.” Reframe your internal dialogue.
• Train daily under light pressure so you’re ready when it’s real.

🧠 Teens:

• Mind gym: 5 minutes a day to reset your focus, confidence, and self-image.

🧠 Children:

• Repeat: “I’m strong. I’m brave. I can try again.”
• Use breathing colors (blue = calm, red = release)

🔹SECTION 8: DEALING WITH OTHERS – HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

Red Flag Behaviours:

• Gaslighting
• Threats or intimidation
• Blame-shifting
• Guilt-tripping
• Silent treatment

🧠 Adults:

• Set emotional boundaries. You don’t need to explain yourself to people who disrespect you.

🧠 Teens:

• Learn the difference between:
  • Assertive: calm and clear
  • Passive: scared and quiet
  • Aggressive: loud and blaming

🧠 Children:

• Practice saying:
  • “Stop.”
  • “I don’t like that.”
  • “Please leave me alone.”
  • “I need help.”

🎯 Role Play: Deal with difficult people in school, work, family, or public.

🔹SECTION 9: RESILIENCE, ROUTINE & RECOVERY

Resilience = Training + Rest + Support

Essentials:

• Sleep: 7–9 hours
• Nutrition: fuel the brain
• Movement: daily
• Support: friends, coaches, mentors
• Mindset: “Tough times don’t last. I do.”

🧠 Daily Tracker:

• Moved my body
• Ate nourishing food
• Spoke kindly to myself
• Connected with someone I trust
• Practiced one calm-down method

✅ FINAL CHECKLIST

• I understand how my brain responds to danger
• I know my default response (fight/flight/freeze/fawn)
• I can use breathing or grounding tools
• I can recognize manipulative behavior
• I train my mindset like a muscle
• I know how to support myself and others through psychology