#coping methods

NOTE: These are NOT cure-alls. A combination of several methods, professional help like therapy or medication, and having a good support system are all things that go into healing and recovery. Everyone's journey is different. Use the tools that work for you and leave the others that don't.

Journaling (not just day to day entries, but vent journals, art journals, shadow work, reflection journaling, etc)

Art/crafts

Music (listening to and making)

Creative writing

Physical activity like picking up a sport or working out

Talk therapy

Group therapy

Retail therapy (can work IN MODERATION, to overcome things like spending guilt and overthinking)

Dedicated spa days/everything shower days for a fresh and clean reset

Gardening

Age regression therapy

Dedicated rest days

Medidation

Play. Yes, even as an adult. Go to a park, the pool/beach, and get out your old trampoline. Have some childhood toys to play with.

Fidget/stim it out (with stim toys, physically moving your body, with sounds/textures etc)

Go to a rage room

Write all your frustrations down and them burn them / burn old objects with trauma attached to them

Find a grounding method that works for you

Solve a puzzle/ARG/mystery book

Coping Mechanisms

eft tapping

journaling

physical activity (not to a harmful extent)

cold shower

box breathing

yoga, meditation, and stretching

cleaning (not in an obsessive way)

laying on the ground

handwritten mirror affirmations

listen to upbeat and happy music

tell someone and talk about it

sleep

draw or do henna on your skin

ask someone to have a meal with you

eat in small sections until you eat the proper amount of a meal

eat safe foods

distract yourself while eating

do something from start to finish to remove a stresser

keep everything harmful in a safe and only use it when supervised

eat sour candy or drink lemon juice

go outside

use fidget toys

hit something soft (do it safely and only when 100% necessary)

get cozy with a weighted blanket, pillow, or stuffed animal

hang out with your pets

distract yourself with anything else that may be comforting to you

How did I show myself love today?

How can I better show myself love tomorrow?

What is a behavior or habit that is no longer serving me?

What is one thing I appreciate about myself and why?

What is one part of my body that I appreciate and why?

What advice would my older, wiser, and more loving self give me right now?

What can I forgive myself for?

What fears did I face today?

Which of my values did I uphold today?

What brought me joy today?

What did I excel at today?

What did I do that I am proud of today?

How did others make me feel today?

How did I speak to myself today? Would I say the same things to my best friend, or my ten-year-old self?

What are some negative beliefs about myself that I can let go? Where did those beliefs come from and what do they cost me?

What problem or challenge did I face today and how might my ideal self have handled it?

What is a mistake I made recently and how can I offer myself the same compassion and understanding I might offer to a dear friend if they made the same mistake?

Love is going out of your way to do something for someone, not because you need to, but because you want to

Care and love are not the same

Love is that warm fuzzy feel you get in your chest when someone makes you smile just because they like your smile

Care and love are not the same

Love is deep. Love is endless. Love is the sun that meets the oceans horizon and is excited to be in its encompassing embrace

Care and love are not the same

Care is the nurse that makes sure your water is full before ending their shift

Care and love are not the same

Care is the policeman holding the child tight so they don't have to see their dead parents

Care and love are not the same

Care is the moon setting on the ocean horizon, not because it wants to, but because it needs to

Care and love are not the same

Care can exist without love. It needs no prior attachment to exist. It simply can. Love, can exist without care. But its hollow.

I can love the ocean tides. I can love smell of salt in the air. I can love the sound of waves crashing agasint the shore. But I do not care enough to go visit this love of mine.

A) I think it is accurate to the portrayal of the character and would add more depth and detail

B) it is is something I experience and am trying to use to cope

1. Wear a collar and lick biscoff butter from a spoon like a dog eating peanut butter.

Or

2. Buy one of those small rotisserie chickens and eat the whole thing in my car.

I have to go to the grocery store either way.