3 Minute Worries – A Science-Backed Resource for Helping Children and Teens Manage Anxiety

Just 3 minutes to lighten your mental load.

The 3 Minute Worries resource is a calming, evidence-based tool to help children process and manage anxious thoughts. By setting a timer for three minutes and writing down their worries, children externalize their thoughts, gain perspective and develop self-regulation skills. With roots in cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) and neuroscience, this simple activity empowers children to tackle worries in a structured, manageable way.

Why It Works: The Science Behind the Strategy

• Externalising Thoughts: Writing down worries transforms abstract, overwhelming thoughts into tangible words. This process creates psychological distance, reducing the intensity of anxious feelings and freeing up mental space for other tasks.
• Time-Limited Focus: Borrowed from CBT, setting a timer creates a designated "worry window." This technique helps prevent concerns from spiralling into unproductive rumination, teaching children to compartmentalise their worries.
• Engaging the Prefrontal Cortex: Writing activates the brain’s rational "thinking centre," helping to soothe the amygdala (the brain’s "fear centre") and reduce stress responses.
• Perspective and Regulation: Seeing their worries on paper helps children evaluate them objectively, making problems seem smaller and more manageable. This builds emotional resilience over time.
• Mindfulness in Action: Focussing on the act of writing brings children into the present moment, disrupting cycles of worry and promoting calm.
• Empowerment Through Awareness: Children often run out of worries before the timer ends, which reduces the perceived size of their problems and increases feelings of control and confidence.

How to Use 3 Minute Worries

1. Set Up a Calm Space: Encourage children to find a quiet spot where they can focus for three minutes.
2. Start the Timer: Provide the 3 Minute Worries worksheet and set a timer. Reassure children that this is their time to write freely—there are no wrong answers.
3. Encourage Expression: Let children write down as many worries as they can. They can also draw their worries if writing feels difficult.
4. Reflect Together: After the timer ends, encourage children to read through their worries if they’re comfortable and discuss how they feel. This step can help uncover solutions or simply validate their emotions.

Benefits of 3 Minute Worries

• Calms the Brain: Helps reduce stress and over-activation in the amygdala by engaging the logical part of the brain.
• Builds Emotional Skills: Teaches children a healthy strategy for processing anxious thoughts and managing emotions.
• Promotes Self-Awareness: Encourages children to recognise and articulate their feelings, helping them understand themselves better.
• Reduces Worry Size: The act of running out of worries reinforces the idea that their fears are not as overwhelming as they may seem.
• Encourages Independence: Provides children with a tool they can use on their own to manage anxiety in various settings.

3 Minute Worries is an accessible, science-backed resource that helps children navigate and process anxious thoughts in just three minutes. By combining CBT techniques with mindfulness principles, this activity reduces mental clutter, promotes emotional regulation, and builds confidence. Download it today and provide children with a tool to tackle worry in a manageable, effective way.