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Tag Archives: Social Connection

No. 13 – Building a Room for Possibility

September 22, 2010 1:38 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
This week, to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness… Coping Kete I will practice focusing my thoughts on the inevitability of change to help shift bad moods. To start with, I will practice this strategy for minor mood changes. When I notice a slight shift in mood or a bit of stress, I will take a breath and say things to myself like, “everything changes and so will this,” or “this too shall pass.” I will leave space in my thoughts for the possibility of things being different. I will remind myself that nothing stays the same forever. In this way, I will make sure that my thoughts are not promoting a hopeless way of looking at my situation or experiences. I will then turn my attention to something else altogether in order to shift the moment. Sometimes it is a sense that we will feel this way or be dealing with the same problems forever that makes things so unbearable or overwhelming. Once I am comfortable thinking this way to get through the smaller moments, I will add it to my Personal Coping Kete as a self-soothing strategy for moments of heightened distress, when perspective might be lost. I will be able to remind myself of all the smaller instances in which I told myself it would pass, and it did.
Posted in: Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: , , , , ,

No. 9 – A Body of Strengths

August 25, 2010 5:08 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
This week, in order to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellness … Coping Kete I will remind myself of my strengths regularly throughout my day. If I find this difficult to do off the top of my head, I will prepare a written list in advance that I can pull from pocket or bag and read. I will add to this list as time goes on and I get better at identifying the positive attributes, qualities and skills that I possess. If I am unsure of my strengths and skills, I will ask people who know me to have a think about it and get back to me with what they think my positive qualities are. Once I am used to thinking about my positive qualities a bit, I will add ‘Remember I am a Body of Strengths’ to my Personal Coping Kete. By thinking about my strengths during moments of stress and distress, I will work to balance my thoughts, emotions and physical responses. Whenever I notice that my self-talk is full of put-downs, self-directed insults or pessimistic expectations I will start listing in my head the strengths and skills that I have shown in the past. It can help to do a few diaphragmatic breaths first, especially if you are really distressed. See Week 6 for instructions on how to learn diaphragmatic breathing. Once you’ve learned it, it’s a great complement to most strategies. www.engagenz.co.nz/wordpress/?tag=breathing-exercises
Posted in: Mindful Distraction, Self-Soothing ⋅ Tagged: , , , , , ,

No. 7 – Letting My Surroundings In

August 12, 2010 12:16 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
This week to attain, maintain or regain my sense of wellbeing… Coping Kete 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: , , , , ,