Mental Health Toolkit

Sometimes we are overwhelmed by an emotion and it’s hard in the moment to find a healthy way to cope. I created a Google doc called my “Mental Health Toolkit” as a way to recognize and remember what are my proven healthy coping strategies. If I start going through the things on this list, I do feel better.

This is just my a small portion of my toolkit as an example, but yours will look different. I'm not saying what I do will be right for you; you have to explore and understand what helps you. What are the feelings/states that you regularly find yourself in and how can you take care of yourself when you feel that way?

Can’t Sleep

• Read a physical book
• Journal all the thoughts swimming in my head
• Self massage including temples, jaw, neck and shoulders
• Biannual beats meditation
• Progressive muscle relaxation (ie start at feet and tense each muscle group a few times until you reach your head)
• Count gratitudes (like you would count sheep)

Stress

• Do an inversion (like bridge pose) and/or a balance pose (to focus attention elsewhere)
• Journal - even if it’s bullet points on your phone or a post it note - just release it
• Breathwork
• Stop, take a deep breath and think about what I truly need in the moment. Am I too consumed by the feelings and need to find a different environment to be in right now?
• To decompress and share, try acting out how you are feeling rather than explaining the details of a situation. For example, express that traffic made you feel “urgh” rather than explain the situation.

Too Tired

• Breathwork  
• Go outside, walk, change surroundings
• Smell peppermint essential oil
• Do some light yoga/stretching 
• Caffeinated tea
• Cold shower

Sadness

• Journal
• Talk to a loved one
• Dance to “Shake it Off” by Taylor Swift while physically shaking and dancing as hard as possible
• Embrace and feel into the feeling, don’t try to suppress it
• Shower or bath 
• Ask: what can you take that is positive from the experience?