Make a worry monster who will eat all your stress

Feelings of worry, anxiety and nervousness can be hard to talk about, no matter how old you are.

When those feelings won’t leave you alone, try feeding them to a “worry monster” who loves gobbling up your uncomfortable feelings. This craft, adapted from the blog Sun Hats and Wellie Boots, will teach you how to make one.

Drawing your own worry monster can make it easier to express what’s stressing you out alone, according to Formative Psychological Services, but this worry monster is hungry, too. You can feed it all your other worries — try writing them down or drawing them and putting them into your worry monster’s belly.

To learn more about worry monsters and coping with anxiety, check out The Very Hungry Worry Monsters by Rosie Greening.

What you need:

An empty canister (we used a coffee canister, but a Pringles can, mason jar or other canister would work just as well)
Scissors
Paper
Markers
Tape

What you do:

1. If your canister has a soft top, fold it in half and cut a small notch. This will create an opening for you to put all your written-down worries later.

2. Draw your monster’s face on a piece of construction paper. (The paper will wrap around your canister, so make sure you put the face somewhere that makes sense. Ours is in the middle of our paper.)

2. Draw your monster’s face on a piece of construction paper. (The paper will wrap around your canister, so make sure you put the face somewhere that makes sense. Ours is in the middle of our paper.)

3. Wrap the paper around the canister and secure the ends with tape.

4. Add any other features you want to your worry monster, then put the lid back on. Write down or draw a worry and feed it to your new worry monster!

4. Add any other features you want to your worry monster, then put the lid back on. Write down a worry and feed it to your new worry monster! (Molly Duffy/For The Gazette)

4. Add any other features you want to your worry monster, then put the lid back on. Write down or draw a worry and feed it to your new worry monster! (Molly Duffy/For The Gazette)