Finding time to chill out and relax can be hard Let's not waste that precious time on things that don't work for you!
I'm going to share some simple coping skills that you can access pretty readily.
To really understand what to do for coping, it’s important to know why these work.
Any time we are in need of a coping skill, we are likely being activated in the trauma response part of our brain.
We are struggling with telling the difference between here right now, and back then. So we use coping skills to pull us back to the present, and essentially distract us from the feeling for just a few minutes so we can reorient.
Cut to that moment in mean girls when Cady Herring realizes that she’s not actually in the animal kingdom, she’s just in the lunch room. She's not actually being chased by a bear or watching two big cats fight, but she's remembering exactly how it looked and sounded and it feels so similar it's hard to tell if she's here or there.
So we reach for things that utilizes our senses - touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing.
If you ask my super smart OT and PT friends, they’ll tell you there’s more but for now we’ll stick with the 5.
One of my favorite skills is drinking hot beverages.I loooove a good coffee, tea, or apple cider. It’s generally a good idea to stay away from caffeine when we’re triggered, so maybe enjoy some decaf coffee.Here’s a short list of things that always pull me back to the present:
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music that feels good to hear, not stuff that will make it worse.
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hot beverages
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dancing - any movement really
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stretching
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putting my hands together in a prayer pose and pushing my hands together till I get a small amount of tension in my palms (this goes to bilateral stimulation, check out this site for more info from Janina Fischer, a genius Working with Neurobiological Feedback)
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putting a sweater on or taking an article of clothing off, just get a temperature change.
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BREATHING DEEPLY
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using a worry stone or something I can rub my fingers against. My favorites are chakra colored, and you can find them easily on etsy.
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eating sour candy - I prefer sour patch watermelons, but a lot of my clients carry war heads in their purses or pockets.
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taking my shoes off and walking in the grass, or if you're near water, put them in there. That gives you temp change and texture change.
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putting a strong essential oil on my skin with a strong scent - peppermint, ecalyptus, bergamot, citrus
hope these help! let me know what your favorites are and I’ll add it to the list!
