
S3 EP15: SEL Summer Camp Week5 - Deep Dive into Anger, Reactivity & Rage | Why Tweens Explode (And What to Do Instead)
From The Middle School Mary Poppins Podcast by Suzanne M. Swain, EDS LMSW
July 21, 2026 · 1h 10m
About this episode
Suzanne and therapist Jessica Ragnio discuss the underlying causes of explosive behavior in tweens.
🍎Apple Listeners: The show’s ratings were hacked & dropped to 3.1 rating from 4.9. It is under investigation currently. If you could help out & provide a positive star rating, it would mean everything! So grateful! Best, Suz & Steve🐶 —————————————————-In this special Deep Dive episode , Suzanne is joined once again by therapist Jessica Ragnio, MSW, LICSW , for one of the most important conversations of the Summer Camp series. Together, they explore what is really happening beneath explosive behavior—and why anger is so often protecting something much more vulnerable. 💜 Using Hawaiian volcanoes 🌋, ocean currents 🌊, and stories from Suzanne’s years in the middle school classroom, this episode unpacks the science and psychology behind emotional regulation in a way that is practical, compassionate, and surprisingly hopeful. 🧠 In this episode, you’ll discover: • Why anger is often a secondary emotion • What happens inside the brain during emotional reactivity • How the amygdala can hijack logical thinking • The power of co-regulation—and why connection comes before correction • How to recognize the body’s warning signs before an emotional eruption • Why regulation is…
People in this episode
Host: Suzanne M. Swain
Guest: Jessica Ragnio
Topics covered
- anger management
- tweens
- emotional reactivity
- meltdowns
- SEL
- parenting
Keywords
- anger volcanoes
- reactivity
- rage
- tweens
- emotional behavior
- SEL summer camp
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- S3 EP14 - SEL Summer Camp Week 4: Garden of Weedy Thoughts: Helping Middle Schoolers Bust Cognitive Distortions & Calm Anxiety · July 8, 2026 · 30 min
- S3 EP13 - SEL Summer Camp Week 3: Oceans of Emotion: Why Middle Schoolers Feel Everything All at Once · June 24, 2026 · 36 min
- S3 EP12 - SEL Summer Camp Week 2: Are Screens Evil or Not? Chocolate Cake, Dopamine & the Middle School Brain · June 16, 2026 · 27 min
- S3 EP11 - SEL Summer Camp Week 1: Adolescent Brains: A Powerful Engine, Sensitive Alarm, & Driver Still in Training · June 9, 2026 · 29 min
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