Manic Minds
Day By Day (Everyday Coping Skills).
Everyday coping skills.
I have found these skills very useful for challenging negative emotions and calming myself down in stressful situations. However, these skills should not be used as a substitute for seeking professional help if you are struggling. If you feel that you or someone else is in immediate danger please call 999. Or if the situation is urgent but not life-threatening please use this website to find your local crisis team’s phone number. https://www.nhs.uk/Service-Search/other-services/Crisis%20support/LocationSearch/329
Decatastrophizing
Cognitive distortions are irrational thoughts that have the power to influence how you feel. Everyone has some cognitive distortions – they’re a normal part of life! However, when they are too extreme they can be harmful. One common type of cognitive distortion is catastrophizing. This is where we exaggerate the problem or assume the worst possible outcome is true.
By questioning these thoughts you can correct most of these cognitive distortions:
What are you worried about?
How likely is it that your worry will come true? (Give examples of past experiences, or other evidence to support your answer).
If your worry does come true, what’s the worst that could happen?
If your worry does come true, what’s most likely to happen?
If your worry does come true, what are the chances you’ll be ok…
In one week? % In one month? % In one year? %
Challenging negative thoughts.
Depression, poor self-esteem and anxiety are often the result of irrational negative thoughts. Someone who regularly receives positive feedback at work might think they are terrible at their job based off of one criticism. Their irrational thoughts about their job performance will dictate how they feel about themselves. Challenging negative thoughts can help us take charge of them.
Answer the following questions to assess your negative thoughts:
Is there substantial evidence for my thought?
Is there evidence contrary to my thought?
Am I attempting to interpret this situation without all the evidence?
What would a friend think about this situation?
Will this matter a year from now? How about five years from now?
Challenging anxious thoughts.
Anxiety distorts our thinking by causing us to overestimate the likelihood of something going wrong and imagine the potential consequences as worse than they really are. Sometimes, just taking a moment to think about these facts can help us recognise our irrational thoughts.
Briefly describe the situation:
What’s the:
Worst outcome:
Best outcome:
Likely outcome:
If the worst outcome was to come true, would it still matter:
1 week from now:
1 month from now:
1 year from now:
Now, using your ‘worst outcome’ and ‘likely outcome’ from above, describe your…
Irrational thought:
Rational thought:
Grounding techniques.
These techniques help to turn attention away from your current thought/worries and refocus on the present moment.
5-4-3-2-1 technique.
This helps you to take in the details of your current surroundings focusing your attention back on the present.
What are 5 things you can see? Focus your attention on small details, such as patterns.
What are 4 things you can feel? Notice the way your clothes feel against your skin, or the texture of the chair you are sitting on. Make sure you pick things up so you can actually feel them.
What are 3 things you can hear? Pay specific attention to sounds your mind has tuned out. Eg – a clock ticking or birds singing.
What are 2 things you can smell? Try to notice smells in the air around you. Eg – air freshener, cut grass or candles.
What is 1 thing you can taste? Try carrying gum or candy for this step and focus on the flavour.
(You don’t have to stick to this specific order. Doing this in a different order may work better for you.)
Categories.
Choose at least three of the categories below and name as many items as you can for each one. Spend a few minutes on each.
Movies Countries Books Cereals Sports Teams Colours
Cars Fruits Animals Cities TV Shows Famous People
Mental Exercises
These mental exercises work really well especially when you want to be discreet.
Name all the objects you see.
Count backwards from 100 by 7. (or another number but don’t make it too easy)
Spell your full name, and three other peoples names, backwards.
Name all your family members, their ages and one of their favourite activities.
Read something backwards, letter by letter. Practice for at least a few minutes.
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