Activity goal: Help young people create emotional distance from their difficulties by separating their identity from the problem. The key idea is: “You are not the problem; the problem is the problem.” Seeing the issue as something external makes it easier to analyse and face with new strategies.

Preparation & start of the activity: Start by explaining the concept in simple words. You can say something like: “Sometimes we say things like ‘I’m a mess’ or ‘I’m no good at this,’ and that makes us believe we are the problem. But a lot of the time, we’re just dealing with something difficult. Today we’re going to try a different way of looking at our problems: we’re going to take them out of our heads and give them a name, so we can observe them better and figure out how to respond.”

Ask everyone to think of a problem they’ve been facing lately. Some examples:

• “I can’t concentrate.”
• “It’s hard for me to talk to others.”
• “I always feel like I’m going to fail.”

Make it clear that they don’t have to share their problem with the group if they don’t want to.

Ask them to write it down, or make a drawing that represents the problem.

Implementation: Externalise the problem Now invite them to give the problem a creative name, like it’s a character, a monster, a shadow, or a figure. Examples:

• “The Chattering Fear”
• “The Screaming Doubt”
• “Mr. You-Can’t”

Ask questions like:

• If your problem were a character, what would its name be?
• What kinds of things does it say to you or make you feel?
• When does it usually show up?

They can write the name in big letters on their paper and, if they want, draw or visually represent it (drawing is optional).

Encourage them to describe the “problem-character” on their sheet:

• What does this problem want?
• When does it show up the most?
• How does it try to bother or block you?
• What does it try to stop you from doing?
• What gives it strength?
• What weakens it?

This helps the problem feel less like part of them, and more like something they can interact with.

Implementation: Find strategies: Once they’ve described the problem clearly, it’s time to think about how to respond. Use guiding questions such as:

• What can you do when this problem shows up?
• Who could help you face it?
• What could you say or do to this character to take away its power?
• What are you already doing that makes it weaker?

Wrap up/ Debrief: You can share in a group reflection or on individual level. In a group reflection, invite anyone who feels comfortable to share their problem-character with the group, explain how it acts, and what they plan to do to face it. This often creates strong group empathy and a sense of community.

If you do the reflection on individual level, you should ask each participant to write in a corner of their page: “One thing I can do this week to take power away from this problem is…” Encourage them to commit to trying that action in the coming days.

Materials:

• Poster board or large sheets of paper,
• Markers, crayons or pens