- Find a comfortable and calm place to sit.
- Place one hand on your chest and place your other hand near your diaphragm.
- Breathe deeply through your nose and hold that initial breath for one or two seconds.
- Slowly exhale through your mouth.
- Take another deep breath through your nose, hold it for one or two seconds, and exhale through your mouth.
- Repeat these steps 3- 5 times until you feel completely relaxed.
-If there is a memory or thought that is disturbing you, concentrate on how your body is responding to that memory/thought.
-On a scale of 1-10, how does the memory make you feel? (1 being the least disturbing and 10 being the most disturbing).
-Where do you feel the discomfort or tension in your body?
-Once you recognize the physical response to your distress, imagine that your emotions are energy.
-If you were to imagine that energy moving into a spiraling motion, which direction would it be moving in, clockwise or counterclockwise? (There is no right or wrong answer.)
-Now consciously try to imagine yourself moving that spiral into the opposite direction.
-Notice what happens to that disturbing memory.
-On a scale of 1-10, how does the memory make you feel?
-You should notice that this particular memory or thought becomes less disturbing.
-Think of a disturbing memory or thought.
-Now imagine a tornado coming and taking that memory away
-Think of a disturbing memory or thought.
-Now imagine the surface of an open paint can
-Envision yourself having a paint stirrer or brush in your hand.
-Stir up the paint until the memory dissolves into the paint
-Think of a disturbing memory or thought.
-Recognize how you feel and allow yourself to feel your emotions.
-Now look straight up
-This can be repeated a few times until you feel less anxious or sad.
Here is how to get started:
-Write down the upsetting event and the emotions you feel on paper (Sad, depressed, embarrassed, foolish, frustrated, stuck, etc..)
-On a percentage between 0%-100% , how strong does this emotion feel? (Write it down)
-Go through the cognitive distortion checklist: (Ask yourself if your thoughts contain any of these distortions)
-All or Nothing: You view things in absolute/ black-and-white categories (Ex. If my homework is not 100% perfect, I did a terrible job.)
-Overgeneralization: You view a negative event as a never-ending pattern of defeat: "This always happens!"
-Mental Filter:You dwell on the negative things and ignore the positive
-Discounting the positive: You believe that your positive qualities do not count.
-Jumping to conclusions: you jump to conclusions not warranted by facts
*Mind reading- You assume that people are reacting negatively to you
*Fortune Telling- You predict that things will turn out badly
-Magnification & Minimization: you blow or shrink things out of proportion
-Emotional Reasoning: you reason with your feelings (Ex: "I feel stupid ,so I must be stupid")
-Should Statements: You use should, shouldn't, musts, oughts, and have tos, even when events are out of your control
-Labeling: Instead of saying "I made a mistake", you say "I must be inadequate"
-Blame: You find fault instead of solving the problem at hand.
*Self Blaming- You blame yourself for something out of your control or something you were not fully responsible for.
*Blaming others - You blame others and overlook how you may have contributed to the problem.
-If you recognize any of these distortions in your thoughts, write them down.
-After reading/ recognizing these distortions, write down how strong your inital emotions feel between 0-100%?
-Hopefully that percentage is lower than how you initially felt before doing the exercise.
-Then write any positive thoughts that can replace the negative thoughts you had before this exercise.
-Fill a Ziplock bag with crushed ice and leave it in the freezer. A bag of frozen vegetables (like peas) can also be used for the ice dive.
-When you are feeling overwhelmed with emotion, press the frozen bag against your face for 15 to 30 seconds.
-Then remove the frozen bag from your face and sit in a quiet and calm area to relax.
- Once you are stable enough, you can try to used other techniques such as diaphragmatic breathing to completly relax.
Why Does it Work?:
-The shock of the cold ice against you face serves as a mental reset button.
-Instead of focusing your attention on those recurring and overwhelming thoughts, your brain is focused on the cold temperatures felt by the ice
-This gives you more time to slow down your racing thoughts.
| Name | Advice |
|---|---|
| Jane C. | Get more sunlight. It improves vitamin D levels and brightens your mood. |
| Dave | Exercise helps to relieve my stress. I run in the morning to manage my anxiety. |
| David | Take breaks in between tasks to reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed. |
| Milo p. | I use talkspace.com for a therapist online. |
| AFN STAFF | If you have any questions about the management techniques mentioned, let us know. :) |
| AFN STAFF | Check out BetterHelp.com for online Therapy. |
| Adam | Download the Calm meditation app. Its Great! |
| Nai | Meditopia is also a good app for mindfulness meditations. |
| AFN STAFF | Thanks for the tip Nai. |
| AFN STAFF | Here is "3 Instantly Calming CBT Techniques For Anxiety" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiDaTi_iQrY |
| AFN STAFF | Hello! |
| AFN STAFF | Thank you to everyone who have shared useful tips. |
| Joy Y. | The Headspace app is great for meditation. |
| K4PUYU4K | What is your helpful advice to others? (Please be mindful that what you choose to share will be public.) |
Burden Bearers Drayton Valley. "Checklist for Cognitive Distortions" https://www.burdenbearersdv.com Accessed 1,May 2020