COPING STRATEGIES

[startingnew]

hi everyone

so ive only been on these forums for about 2 months now and have come to realise alot of people are after coping strategies.

i have quite alot of coping strategies- not all of them work on me but i thought id share what i have and what i think of as it goes along and maybe itll help others.

please feel free to add your own coping strategies too 🙂 the more the better 🙂

[startingnew]

make sure you eat well balanced meals, stay hydrated, get enough sleep and exercise to maintain general wellbeing

talk to a helpline or someone you trust

join a local interest or support group

set aside time for yourself even just half an hour to relax and take a breather

reduce your load of things your dealing with where you can

[startingnew]

DEEP BREATHING AND MEDITATION

use the 3-3-3 method. so you breathe in for 3
seconds hold for 3 seconds and breathe our for 3 seconds. continuedoing that for a few time until you feel yourself relax and calm down

there are heaps of you tube videos and phone apps that can help you throught this, i found 1 GIANT MIND particuarly helpful for MEDITATION do you could try that

this one is pretty much MEDITATION/DEEP BREATHING put together- which is breathe in notice how it fills your belly, hold for 3 breathe out and release that tension that you feel and keep continuing on until you feel calmer

[startingnew]

MINDFULLNESS

there are so many ways to do mindfulness such as these examples

A) listen to your favourite song and concentrate
on one specific thing such as the words and what they mean, or the
beat- what instruments can you hear in the song?

B) take a look at your surroundings, what
can you hear, what can you see, what can you smell, what can you
taste.

C) pick up an object like a pencil. really notice
how the texture feels, is it cold , warm, does it have a smell?

D)Go for a walk and take in the sights of nature,
feel the breeze on you, notice how it feels

[startingnew]

TIME OUT

This simply means removing yourself from the
situation for a period of time, to give yourself a chance to cool down and think things through before you act.
For example, when you notice yourself becoming
angry during an argument with your partner, say “I need to take time out, let’s talk about this calmly when I get back” and then go for a walk.

SILLY HUMOUR

While it is not always possible to just ‘laugh
your problems away’, you can often use humour to help you to take a step back from your anger.

For example, if you are angry with a colleague and
refer to them as a stupid clown, think about what this means literally. Imagine or draw them dressed in a clown suit, with big shoes and a red nose. If you picture this image every time they do something which bothers you, it will be much easier to keep things in
perspective. you can pick whatever image you like though

[startingnew]

SELF TALK AND GOOD THINKING


How you are thinking affects how you are feeling,
so focussing on negative thoughts such as ‘this is so unfair’ will maintain the angry feeling.

Make a list of more balanced statements you can
say to yourself before, during and after difficult situations. Forexample:

Before: I know I can handle this;
I have strategies to keep my anger under control and can take time out if I need to.

During: Remember to keep
breathing and stay relaxed. There is no need to take this personally.
I can manage this.

After: I handled that well. Even
though I felt angry I didn’t raise my voice too much and I think I got a better result.

[startingnew]

PROGRESSIVE MUSCULAR RELAXATION (PMR)

.A person can practice this
technique by either sitting or lying down in a comfortable spot. The key to the relaxation process is taking some deep breaths and then proceeding to tense, then relax a group of muscles in a systematic order. One can start with the head and move down to the neck,
shoulders, etc or can start with the feet and legs and proceedaccordingly. The goal of the process is to cause deeper relaxation to the body than by simply attempting to relax


Sit in a comfortable position, with eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths, expanding your belly as you breathe air in and contracting it as you exhale.

Begin
at the top of your body, and go down. Start with your head, tensing
your facial muscles, squeezing your eyes shut, puckering your mought
and clenching your jaw. Hold, then release and breathe.

Tense
as you lift your shoulders to your ears, hold, then release and
breathe.

Make
a fist with your right hand, tighten the muscles in your lower and
upper arm, hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left
hand.

Concentrate
on your back, squeezing shoulder blades together. Hold, then
release. Breathe in and out.

Suck
in your stomach, hold, then release. Breath in and out.

Clench
your buttocks, hold, then release. Breathe in and out.

Tighten
your right haamstring, hold then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat
with left hamstring.

Flex your right calf, hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left calf.

Tighten toes on your right foot, hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left foot.

[startingnew]

DISTRACTIONS

this can pretty much be anything you enjoy doing that takes your mind off things such as:

count backwards from 100

play a musical instrument

scribble on a piece of paper

have a nice bubble bath or shower

print and colour a mandela

makea dream catcher

make a scrapbook

go on a cleaning ramage

dance around to your favoutite music

go for a drive

do some origami

cook your favourite recipes

[quirkywords]

Starting new

Hi, I just wanted to thank you for your helpful posts. Everyone is different so it is useful to have a variety of ideas.

Also some strategies will work better in some situations.

I have never had much luck with mindfulness, but I can relax by deep breathing and I find walking in the bush works for me.

Thanks again

Quirkywords

[CMF]

Hi startingnew and welcome,

Thanks for the tips, i really like how you have explained then in detail and I am sure many will find these tips useful.

I agree with all of them, i really notice how not having a good night's sleep affects me the next day and eating unhealthy food contributes to this. Last night we had fish and chips, then i was woken by my little one too early. I am very tired and sluggish today,not to mention grumpy, and just want to go back to bed.

I have been taking fish oil and i find keeping busy help as does exercise. I think writing things down clears the mind also.

cmf