Pages

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Ways to cope

Focusing
Select a small personal object that you like a great deal. It might be a jeweled pin or a simple flower from your garden. Focus all your attention on this object as you inhale and exhale slowly and deeply for one to two minutes. While you are doing this exercise, try not to let any other thoughts or feelings enter your mind. If they do, just return your attention to the object. At the end of this exercise you will probably feel more peaceful and calmer. Any tension or nervousness that you were feeling upon starting the exercise should be diminished.

Positive Mind/Body Affirmations
• I handle stress and tension appropriately and effectively.
• My mood is calm and relaxed.
• I can cope well and get on with my life during times of stress.
• I think thoughts that uplift and nurture me.
• I enjoy thinking positive thoughts that make me feel good about myself and my life.
• I deserve to feel good right now.
• I feel peaceful and calm.
• My breathing is slow and calm.
• My muscles are relaxed and comfortable.
• I feel grounded and fully present.
• I can effectively handle any situation that comes my way.
• I think through the solutions to my emotional issues slowly and peacefully.
• I am thankful for all the positive things in my life.
I am filled with energy, vitality, and self-confidence.
• I am pleased with how I handle my emotional needs.
• I know exactly how to manage my daily schedule to promote my emotional and physical well-being.
• I listen to my body's needs and regulate my activity level to take care of those needs.
• I love and honor my body.
• I fill my mind with positive and self-nourishing thoughts.
• I am a wonderful and worthy person.
• I deserve health, vitality, and peace of mind.
• I have total confidence in my ability to heal myself.
• I feel radiant with abundant energy and vitality.
• The world around me is full of radiant beauty and abundance.
• I am attracted only to those people and situations that support and nurture me.
• I appreciate the positive people and situations that are currently in my life.
• I love and honor myself.
• I enjoy my positive thoughts and feelings.

Gratitude Journal
Write down at least three things everyday that you are grateful. Draw pictures, put in photographs, things that made you laugh, smile, or blessings you noticed in your life. Keep this journal positive, so when you are feeling this way, you can go back and find comfort.

Smash it!
i suggest getting a cheap plate at a thrift store and decorating? markers stickers cut outs from magazines, words images, what ever that expresses your pain and sadness. take your time. try to really let it out. and when you're done, SMASH IT it feels really good


Create a sacred space. often we don’t have the money or the time to make our room a sacred space, so it can be a sacred box. I keep little things people have given me that make me happy, some greeting cards,photographs, sea shells, etc. I also keep in it letters from people I love. I asked them to write letters telling me they love me, I can heal, blah blah and then I can always look at my box when I need a pick me up.

Create a playlist of upbeat songs and crank up the music

positive affirmation cards, make at least 15 cards with positive statements on them
see http://www.aftersilence.org/forum/index.ph...ding+techniques
for a list of examples

talk to someone - this is REALLY ok!
do yoga, pilates or stretch
do art
play with a pet
sacred box
play with clay
think about someone I care about and what they would say to me
self affirmations
write letters to what is upsetting me
listen to music
Pray
Use washable red markers to "cut" on your skin
Place your hands in freezing cold water
Repetitive reality checking (It's January, 2009, and I'm going to be ok)
Recognize and acknowledge the choices you have NOW
Carry tokens to remind you of peaceful comforting things/people
Get out on your own, get away from the stress
Help someone around you (reach out on a bb, newsgroup, phone list etc.)
Pay attention to the changes needed to make you feel safe
Take a different perspective (different vantage point)
"I'm aware" Repeat 5 things you see, smell, touch, taste in your present surroundings to help ground you in the present
Go for a walk - Pay attention to the rhythmic motions of your body
Move to music
ASK FOR HELP
Ask yourself inside, what YOU need
Journal
Touch Something familiar/safe
Draw
Put your feet firmly on the floor
Tear up paper (old phonebooks, newspapers, etc.)
Throw ice cubes at the bathtub wall, at a tree, etc.
Notice black and white thinking
Notice "choices" versus "dilemmas"
Keep in touch with others who are fighting the same fight
Make yourself as comfortable as possible
Color in coloring books
Hold a stuffed animal
Write a poem
Leave the room
Play a musical instrument
Listen to a comedy tape or video
Pull weeds in a garden

Ride a horse

Watch a movie
Play a game
Read past journals
Notice the progress
Ties or jewelry (mindless work)
chores: laundry, dishes, iron Dann's shirts, scrub the floor, etc.
write Thank you notes to those that have helped me
drink an ice cold drink
scream, cry, yell, just get it out!

2 comments:

  1. There are lots of good ideas here. There are some that I use myself.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this! One of my favorites is the punching bag. (that you gave me)

    My favorite one you listed is the sacred space. For me, that's the mountains, no particular place in them. Just up there where I can be alone.

    ReplyDelete