Some tips to get through the hard times

Here are some coping skills, not all will work for you but some will! It is always worth a try to deal with hard memories in a positive way before heading into a darker space. Sometimes you just need to be able to hold on for a little while so you don't go back to a handler, or carry out programming. This list can help! This list is in NO WAY comprehensive! Feel free to add your own to the list! Lets keep it growing!

Reach Out to Others
• Phone a friend.
• Go out and be around people. (I know this one can be hard but we mean safe people here!)

Express Yourself
• Write down your feelings in a diary.
• Cry – crying is a healthy and normal way to express your sadness or frustration.
• Draw or color, or write poems or music

Keep Busy
• Play a game.
• Listen to music.
• Read.
• Take a shower.
• Open a dictionary and learn new words.
• Do homework/work work/house work
• Cook.
• Dig in the garden.
• Clean.
• Watch a feel-good movie.

Do Something Mindful
• Count down slowly from 10 to 0. (or 100 to 0)
• Breathe slowly, in through the nose and out through the mouth.
A simple, timed breath routine where the exhales are longer than the inhales can be powerful enough to soothe the nervous system and the overworked mind.
What makes this kind of breathing so calming? When your exhale is even a few counts longer than your inhale, the vagus nerve (running from the neck down through the diaphragm)
sends a signal to your brain to turn up your parasympathetic nervous system and turn down your sympathetic nervous system.
• Focus on objects around you and thinking about how they look, sound, smell, taste and feel.
• Do yoga (do only if you can do so without summoning demonic forces)
• Pray
• Learn some other breathing exercises to aid relaxation.
• Concentrate on something that makes you happy:
good friends, good times, laughter, etc.

Release Your Frustrations
• Break old dishes.
• Rip apart an old cassette tape, smash the casing. Old CD's/DVD's are awesome to break!
• Throw ice cubes at a brick wall.
• Throw eggs in the trash or outside (this sounds silly but its really satisfying to have them break)
• Rip apart an old papers or books
• Smash fruit with a bat or hammer.
• Throw darts.
• Punch pillows.
• Scream into a pillow.
• Slam doors.
• Yell or sing at the top of your lungs.
• Exercise.

Feeling angry: Let me be the first to tell you if you have never been told, it is OK to be angry, or to have any emotion. God created you to have emotions, its ok to have them!!! Here are some ways to cope when the anger feels overwhelming!

• Slash an empty plastic soda bottle or a piece of heavy cardboard or an old shirt or sock.
• Squeeze ice.
• Do something that will give you a sharp sensation, like eating lemon.
• Make a soft cloth doll to represent the things you are angry at. Cut and tear it instead of yourself.
• Flatten aluminum cans for recycling, seeing how fast you can go.
• Hit a punching bag.
• Pick up a stick and hit a tree.
• Use a pillow to hit a wall, pillow-fight style.
• Rip up an old newspapers.
• On a sketch or photo of what you are angry at, mark in red ink what you want to do. Cut and tear the picture.
• Make clay models and cut or smash them.
• Throw ice into the bathtub or against a brick wall hard enough to shatter it.
• Dance.
• Clean.
• Exercise.
• Bang pots and pans.
• Stomp around in heavy shoes.
• Play handball or tennis.

Feeling sad or depressed: Again let me tell you it is OK to have these emotions!
• Do something slow and soothing.
• Take a hot bath with bath oil or bubbles.
• Curl up under a comforter with hot cocoa and a good book.
• Baby yourself somehow.
• Give yourself a present.
• Hug a loved one or stuffed animal.
• Play with a pet. Animals are the BEST
• Make a list of things that make you happy.
• Do something nice for someone else.
• Light sweet-smelling incense.
• Listen to soothing music.
• Smooth nice body lotion .
• Call a friend and just talk about things that you like.
• Make a tray of special treats.
• Watch TV or read.
• Visit a friend.

Feeling empty or unreal:
• Squeeze ice.
• List the many uses for a random object. (For example, what are all the things you can do with a twist-tie?)
• Interact with other people.
• Put a finger into a frozen food (like ice cream).
• Bite into a hot pepper or chew a piece of ginger root.
• Rub liniment under your nose.
• Slap a tabletop hard.
• Take a cold bath.
• Stomp your feet on the ground.
• Focus on how it feels to breathe. Notice the way your chest and stomach move with each breath.

Wanting focus:
• Do a task that is exacting and requires focus and concentration.
• Eat a raisin or any food mindfully. Notice how it looks and feels. Try to describe the texture. How does a it smell? Chew slowly, noticing how the texture and even the taste of the food
change as you chew it.
• Choose an object in the room. Examine it carefully and then write as detailed a description of it as you can.
• Choose a random object, like a twist-tie, and try to list 30 different uses for it.
• Pick a subject and research it on the web.

Feeling guilty or like a bad person:
• List as many good things about yourself as you can.
• Read something good that someone has written about you.
• Talk to someone that cares about you.
• Do something nice for someone else.
• Remember when you’ve done something good.
• Think about why you feel guilty and how you might be able to change it.

These are GREAT ideas!!!!