EMOTIONAL

Emotional: Abuse, Anger, Anxiety, Crisis, Divorce, Grief, … – Coping

Bear with me as I develop content for this page….I’m feeling the pressure!

Helpful Ways to Deal With Difficult Feelings

  1. Calming down. Relaxing the body helps relax the mind and relaxing the mind eases difficult feelings. Some people do best to slow down and relax (meditate, deep breaths, go for a walk, sit under a tree, read, listen to music….). Other people do better to speed up and exercise (run, bike, dance…) to relax.
  2. Re-frame negative “boo-boo” thoughts with positive “bandage” thoughts: “I can’t do it” becomes “With enough practice I can do most things” or, “this is too much for me, but there are other things I’m great at”.
  3. Reflect: Often there is a bright side to a problem or we can learn from it.
  4. Think about, or do something, that you enjoy. It helps to take your mind off the feelings.
  5. Humor. Cartoons and comedians provide good examples for finding humor in any situation.
  6. Tell someone what you are feeling. Talking helps get the feelings out.
  7. Ask for help. Sometimes people we trust will have ideas how to feel better or how to solve a problem that we hadn’t thought about.
  8. Draw or write about it. Drawing and writing helps get feelings out.
  9. Accept the feelings and focus on what’s next. (I feel nervous but I can still do it)
  10. Eat and Sleep: Take care of yourself so low blood sugar and tiredness don’t get in the way.
  11. Talk It Out. For some problems this is the most helpful of all.
  • Take time to cool off (calm down).
  • Talk and listen. This helps everyone understand each other and the problem. Use “I statements”. Ask questions. Listen and show that you understand (reflective listening).
  • Think about ways to solve the problem (brainstorm and discuss the ideas).
  • Decide and Act: Choose the idea you both like best. There is often a way to work it out for everyone.

NOTE: Many of these strategies involve thinking. How we think has a great deal to do with how we feel.

NOTE: Details and Tips about how to develop or teach these tools will follow.

Respectful Comments and Questions Encouraged

Leave a comment