Keep the steps from feeling triggered to feeling settled in one clear visual sequence with this emotional regulation poster. It gives children, teenagers and adults a simple way to name what is happening in their body and mind, choose a calming strategy, and reflect on what may help again.
The six-stage regulation process provides a practical framework: Trigger, Reaction, Notice, Regulate, Recover, and Reflect & Learn. Each stage includes short, accessible explanations, helping a person trace the path from a stressful event, thought, memory, sensation or perceived threat towards a steadier state.
Trigger and Reaction identify the beginning of a stress response and the feelings that can follow, including tension, anxiety, anger, restlessness, overwhelm and shutting down. The Notice stage then prompts awareness of thoughts, feelings, body sensations and urges, making it useful as an emotional awareness or self-regulation check-in.
Regulate offers concrete coping options: breathe, move, ground yourself, take some space, or connect with someone. Recover reinforces that settling takes time, while the final reflection prompts ask what triggered the response, what helped, and what could help next time. These prompts can support a calm-down plan, debrief or therapeutic conversation.
School pastoral staff, social workers, counsellors and parents could print the poster for a classroom, counselling room, home calm corner or one-to-one session. It is particularly suited to older children, teens and adults who benefit from a visual explanation of emotional regulation, stress responses and coping skills. The reminder that people may move between stages helps avoid treating regulation as a fixed linear process.
