Stress Discovery Channel: Animalogy News

This game is part of the Trauma-Informed Youth Work toolkit, which is designed to create a safe, supportive environment for all participants by acknowledging the impact of trauma on young people and fostering trust and empowerment. By incorporating activities that use indirect methods to explore emotions and behaviours, the toolkit makes sensitive topics more accessible and less intimidating, especially for younger audiences. The teamwork aspects of these activities foster collaboration and support, aligning with trauma-informed principles. This approach promotes healing, resilience, and positive development in every youth engaged, while emphasizing emotional awareness and understanding.

The centre of the poster depicts different animals with different stress reactions. The animals depicted and their stress responses are:

• Fight (chipmunk, eagle, lions, kangaroos, chimpanzee, chickens)
• Flight (turtle, hedgehog, sloth, cheetah)
• Freeze (bear, ducks, gorilla, rhino, flamingo)
• Fawn (dog, camels, peacocks, deer, otters, donkey)
• Other (bison, wolf, snake, polar bear, pigeon, shark, meerkat, giraffe, bunny, toucans, owl, cat, black panther, koala, llama, panda, red panda, lemur, ostrich, penguin, horse, argali, elephant, fox, skunk, cuttlefish)
• No stress reaction (bat, red crab, ladybug, mouse, killer whale, seal, eagle ray, chameleon, red frog, purple frog, purple hermit crab, parrot, scarlet ibis, crocodile, sea star)

• Let the players create their own fantasy animal. All players choose one characteristic from each category and make their own fantasy animal. Encourage a discussion about why they chose which feature and have them explain their fantasy animal. Have them draw this animal in its ‘natural’ environment.
• Use the info board on the poster with the 4 stress reactions to explore trauma-related themes such as triggers, coping strategies, and post-traumatic growth.

• Develop an understanding of your own emotions, behaviours, and responses by exploring the emotional and behavioural states of animals depicted on the poster.
• Enhance your ability to empathise with