Tag Archives: Private Expression

No. 54: Paint

July 21, 2011 5:00 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete

I will practice painting something on a piece of paper, wood, cloth or canvas to shift the moment. It doesn’ t matter what I paint, I will focus my attention on the sound of the brush on the surface and allow myself to get lost in the brush-strokes. I could simply colour in the surface, paint how I feel or try to copy something that is around me. Painting is great because I can start it and then come back to it later. When things get stressful or distressing, I can return to the artwork and add to it or I can start a new one if I am feeling completely different. This will give me some brief valuable ‘ me’ time in my day where I can distract myself from what’ s going in my day or a moment. This gives my unconscious mind a bit of a rest and sets me up for a moment of safety. I could get a few tubes of acrylic paint for a few dollars each from my local stationary shop. Some emporium style shops have a great range of really cheap paints, brushes, papers and canvases – but really, I can paint on anything. If I keep in mind that I can do a lot with just one colour and I’ ll be able to get started almost straight away. Once I am used to taking a few moments to paint in my everyday life, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of shifting or expressing moments of stress and distress.\r

This week’ s strategy comes from a participant at today’ s RCNet Monthly Forum. We’ ve fleshed it out a bit.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction ⋅ Tagged: acceptance, Coping, mindfulness practice, private expression, self-care, time-out, visual art

No. 43: Ten Words

May 3, 2011 6:04 pm ⋅ admin

This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing...



...use the short 'Ten Words' writing exercise to sort out your thoughts, centre yourself and express what is going on for you. By making yourself aware of what your current moment is all about, you will be able to move beyond reacting to responding mindfully.

**Ten Words Writing Exercise**

Step 1: Write down ten words that come into mind when you think about what you are experiencing in the *current* moment (that's right now). If you can't think of ten, just write down however many you can think of.

Step 2: Look at your words and choose the one that seems most important or most true for you right now.

Step 3: Write a sentence using that word that describes what is happening for you at the moment.

Step 4: Repeat this process with the other words until you have a clearer picture of what you are dealing with at the moment.

Once you are comfortable using this exercise, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete for times of stress or distress.

Posted in: Expression & Support ⋅ Tagged: private expression, Writing Exercises

No. 42: Daily Free-Flow

April 28, 2011 11:39 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete

I will keep a daily journal of thoughts, feelings and impressions from the day. This will allow me to ‘sort out’ my thoughts, become aware of what is going on for me and process the things I need to adapt to. I will need a dedicated notebook to write in and somewhere safe to keep it. I might need to schedule this in each day in order to get in the habit of doing it and it might take a while to get used to writing. It doesn’t matter what I write or how I write it, the point is to get in the habit of connecting non-judgmentally with my own inner states and learn ways of expressing them. Part of accessing support is being able to express our need, and this will be a good way of working on that. At the same time, writing each day can help to calm racing thoughts and sort out any sense of confusion. If I am ever finding it difficult to write anything down, I will write down ‘the story of my day’ and finish it off by saying how I feel about that. If I have any further thoughts I can then write those down, in that way start to bring my thoughts and feelings to the surface. If doing this exercise leads me to think on things that upset or distress me, I will practice self-soothing and mindfulness exercises to comfort myself back to the present, current moment, in which I am safe. I will experiment with different ways of writing about my day until I find a way that allows me to sort out my thoughts without intensifying the distressing aspects of them. Once I am used to expressing myself in a daily journal, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of expressing my thoughts privately during times of stress and distress.

Posted in: Expression & Support ⋅ Tagged: Mindfulness, private expression, Stress Management, Writing Exercises

No. 33: Moving Into It

February 17, 2011 8:00 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness… Coping Kete

I will practice coping with the things I don’t want to think about by scheduling short moments in each day when I will deliberately think about them for a few minutes. This week I will focus on living the lesson behind the saying “I cannot leave until I first allow myself to arrive.” Rather than avoiding or constantly moving away from certain thoughts and feelings, I will move into them, so that I can practice letting them leave. For a few minutes I will make myself aware of the different memories, thoughts and feelings I have been holding off. I will observe them pass through my mind and body as they come and go, by describing them to myself in my head. I will practice feeding myself comforting and encouraging self-statements throughout the exercise, ultimately making this an experience of self-compassion and care. I will then turn to my next task. Once I am used to deliberately observing the thoughts and memories that distress me and comforting myself, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of working through what is bothering me in moments of distress.

Posted in: Engagement, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: creative expression, physical activity, private expression, self-care, Stress Management

No 17. What Would Goofy Do?

October 20, 2010 12:01 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness…

I will practice taking some time out with a notebook and doing a writing exercise to cope with stress. When I think I need a break from the moment, I will sit down with a notebook and choose a cartoon character. I will imagine that this cartoon character is in my situation instead of me. I will write for 5 minutes about how this character would view and react to the situation. It will distract me and maybe even give me a different perspective of things. I will need to keep a notebook and pen or pencil in my bag or pocket for this one. Once I am used to doing writing exercises when I am not particularly upset, I will add ‘What Would A Cartoon Character Do? Writing Exercise’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a way to shift unwanted moods.

Posted in: Engagement, Expression & Support ⋅ Tagged: acceptance, distraction, gratitude, Mindfulness, private expression, relaxation techniques, social connection, time-out

No. 14 – A Letter to The Past

September 29, 2010 6:52 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness Coping Kete

I will use letter-writing as a means of private expression. If I find myself thinking over and over a past negative experience, I will write a letter to one of the people in the situation or my past self explaining how it was for me and airing any unfinished business. I will finish the letter by writing what I need now and what I can do for myself now. When I have written down everything I wanted to say but didn’t have the chance to, I will screw the letter up and throw it away as a symbolic gesture of moving on from things I cannot change. I will then turn my attention to one small thing I have been needing or wanting to get done. Whenever my thoughts turn back to the experience, I will remember what was at the heart of my letter and give myself empathy and compassion for what has distressed me. I will then remember that moment of releasing it and bring my thoughts back to the current moment by describing the immediate situation to myself. Often we need to let go more than once. If I find this engagement strategy helpful, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a way of expressing feelings about the past again later.

Posted in: Engagement, Expression & Support ⋅ Tagged: Mindfulness, physical activity, private expression, Stress Management

No. 12 – Power Ballads

September 16, 2010 3:25 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week in order attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness… Coping Kete

I will spend 5 minutes every day singing along to music. If I can’t find a CD or set of songs to play, I will sing old songs I know off by heart. If I have time on my hands and am feeling anxious or stressed, I will pass some of the time by singing. I can do this alone or with others. Singing has real physical effects which you can use to your advantage. Singing changes the way we are breathing and this alters the level of CO2 in our bloodstreams, which triggers the release of neurotransmitters and creates a sense of elation. Depending on the song you are singing, it can also be a powerful form of self-expression and sense of connection. Singing is a very good way of changing the moment for ourselves. Once I’ve gotten used to spending some time singing, I will add ‘Power Ballads’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a strategy to shift my mood when I am feeling distressed.

Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: breathing exercises, Coping, physical needs, private expression, relaxation, time-out

No. 7 – Letting My Surroundings In

August 12, 2010 12:16 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing…

I will practice using mindful awareness to silently observe and describe my surroundings to myself in neutral and accepting terms. I will start out by describing the elements of the situation or my thoughts that I find distressing. Then I will observe and describe other elements of my immediate environment to yourself. I will try to ensure my body posture and eye gaze allow for me to take in my surroundings – I will sit/stand up straight and open my posture, look around me and widen my focus. We so often turn ourselves into closed systems when we are distressed. I will simply observe and describe, but try not to make judgements about my observations. When I notice that I have made a judgement, I will observe and describe it to myself and then turn my attention back to something around me. When I am comfortable observing my surroundings and bringing my thoughts back to that task, I will add ‘Mindfully Observing my Surroundings’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a distraction strategy for moments of distress.

Posted in: Expression & Support, Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: physical activity, private expression, relaxation techniques, self-care, social connection, time-out

No. 5 – Regular Self-Checks

July 28, 2010 2:54 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ admin

This week, to attain, maintain or retain my sense of wellness …

I will practice being mindful of what I am feeling and what I need. Once every hour or two, I will check in by mentally asking myself ‘what do I feel right now?’ and then ‘what do I need to do for myself right now?’

I will give myself those things that I am capable of giving (or getting). Do I need food? Sleep? A breath or two? Reassurance? A kind thought? A glass of water? A chat? A distraction? Assistance? By creating small moments in my day, I will become practiced in the art of responding to my needs as well as privately connecting with and expressing my feelings.

Once I am comfortable with creating moments in my days, I will add ‘Do a Self-Check’ to my Personal Coping Kete as a strategy for moments of stress and distress.

Posted in: Engagement, Expression & Support ⋅ Tagged: Coping, distraction, physical activity, physical needs, private expression, self-care

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