My kit of coping strategies

Hey dear friends. I hope you are doing alright! I am sending you all warmth and strength. I have made a green little card together with my mentor, which states things that are good for me and might make me feel better when I struggle, distract me, soothe me, help me❤️ I thought I would share them with you. I hope they are usable. Ask me, if you need me to elaborate on the bullets, share details about the different strategies etc. The coping mechanisms are:

• Go for a walk. Even when I don't feel like it. Sometimes the desire to walk, comes after walking the first hundreds of meters. If it's uncomfortable, I can always walk back home. With my headphones listening to music or without, to mindfully be in the nature.
• Spending time in nature.
• Powerwalking
• Dancing, in the living room or dance class. Mindfully.
• Mindfulness. Focusing on The Now and Mindfulness skills from DBT. Being aware of not time traveling to the past or future.
• Meditation - both open and focused.
• Breathing techniques. I am especially fond of breathing in on 7, holding my breath for 4 and then breathing out on 8.
• Yoga.
• Having a strict routine in terms of sleep, medicine, food and exercise.
• Spending time with, chatting with or phone calls with SO, friends, family members.
• Being physically close with my boyfriend.
• Wrapping my self in a weighted blanket.
• Helping myself by helping others. Showing others compassion. In this subreddit, helping friends etc.
• A nap.
• Reaching out to my therapists.
• Writing poetry.
• Writing in my diary/journal.
• Mood tracking.
• Reading and writing down motivational and spiritual quotes, in an artistic way. With calligraphy for instance. I put these up on the walls in my office.
• Drawing.
• Singing.
• Listening to music - my playlist, meditation music, exploring new music.
• Watching a movie, series, YouTube videos, documentaries, old Eurovision Song Contests. Sometimes something really exciting, sometimes "turn my brain off"-programs like Masterchef and The Great British Bakeoff, sometimes cute and funny videos, when I am down. It can be helpful to watch funny stuff when sad.
• Listening to podcasts and audio books.
• Reading - novels, poetry, scientific literature. Especially Harry Potter.
• Working with myself and improving my skills in Mentalization Based Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Metacognitive Therapy. I have books, work sheets and literature I use.
• Using CBT and Metacognitive Therapy to calm my anxiety
• Using my kit of DBT skills
• Clicking around on Reddit, read about exciting subjects.
• Practicing the languages I learn (German and Esperanto) on Duolingo, Memrise, Lernu etc.
• Reading, writing and saying affirmations. I use Pinterest and Instagram.
• Taking a break. Turning of TV, phone etc and just be in the quiet.
• Working with gratitude. Using gratitude writing prompts or questions.
• Using different visualisation strategies to clear my head and make the racing thoughts calm down.
• Playing games on my phone - arcade games, TsumTsum, Wordfeud, Peak (a mind gym game improving your cognitive skills)
• Playing Pokemon Go.
• Using my senses to calm down, DBT and Mindfulness style. Doing exercises like "Mention three African capitals, mention three things you can see that are blue, round, heavy", touching different textures and things with different temperatures (warm water, squeeze ice cubes in my hand), eat mindfully, listen for sounds.
• Window shopping, keeps my mind distracted.
• Making things with my hands. Jewellery, Lego, PlusPlus, bead plates.
• Try to feel my body, border it, by massaging or clapping my legs, arms etc., being squeezed firmly by my SO. Sometimes he lays his entire body weight on me.
• Cleaning, doing laundry etc.
• Sorting my clothes, art supplies etc.
• Let go and cry.
• Feeling every feeling and let my self be in it, accepting that it's the way it is. Trying to contain every feeling, allowing every feeling.
• Self care - doing my nails, a hot shower, food bath, face masks, dressing nicely just because.
• Looking apon thoughts as JUST thoughts, not truths, not facts. Visualising thoughts passing by like leaves on a river, boats in a habour, clouds on a sky, not following them and being attached to them.

Submitted March 16, 2019 at 02:20AM by rock_crystal https://ift.tt/2T7z0hK