The Good Bad Movie: When it feels like THE WORST THING EVER

The Good Bad Movie is a simple practice I use to help young people take the scary thought out of their head and put it somewhere they can actually look at it.

For teens and tweens, some experiences can feel enormous. A friendship changes, someone leaves you out, school feels unbearable, you embarrass yourself, you don't make the team, someone doesn't like you or something happens that makes you think:

“My life is OVER.”

And in that moment, it can genuinely feel that way.

Imagine the situation as a movie. Give your movie a dramatic title. Make it as terrible as your brain thinks it is:

When the brain sees something as “all bad,” our instinct is to avoid it. We don't want it to happen, we don't want to think about it and we definitely don't want to experience it. But when we can't guarantee that the thing won't happen, fear and anxiety can build.

Put it on the big screen

The Good Bad Movie is a simple practice I use to help young people take the scary thought out of their head and put it somewhere they can actually look at it.

Imagine the situation as a movie. Give your movie a dramatic title. Make it as terrible as your brain thinks it is:

“My Life is Over.”

“The Year 8 Weirdo.”

“School Sucks!”

Now that the fear is up on the screen instead of running around inside your head, we can get curious about it.

What is actually happening in this movie? What are you most afraid will happen? Is it definitely going to happen? Is it 100% true? What else could happen?

And then comes the uncomfortable question:

What could actually be GOOD about this “bad” thing happening?

We're not pretending it doesn't suck

This isn't about telling yourself that being rejected, embarrassed, disappointed or unhappy is secretly wonderful.

Something can suck and have another side.

Maybe not making the team leads you towards something you're surprisingly good at. A friendship ending might create space for different friendships. Changing schools could be terrifying and eventually give you a completely fresh start.

We're simply showing the brain that “all bad” might not actually be ALL bad.

That creates new evidence.

Instead of having only one terrifying ending available, the brain begins recognising other possibilities - including neutral, unexpected and even positive ones. The prediction becomes less absolute, the instinct to avoid can soften, and the nervous system has an opportunity to settle.

Make your own Good Bad Movie

I've created a simple Good Bad Movie practice for teens and tweens, including real-life examples to show you how it works.

You'll meet “My Life is Over,” “The Year 8 Weirdo” and “School Sucks!” and then you can put one of your own worst-case scenarios onto the big screen.

Because sometimes you don't need someone telling you:

“Don't worry. That will never happen.”

You need to discover something much more useful:

Even if it did happen, it might not mean what my brain currently thinks it means.

🎬 Download the Good Bad Movie practice below and give your worst-case scenario a starring role.

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