Using your body to get your “foot in the door” with your mood regulation can be done in many ways. These include breathing techniques, balanced sleeping and eating habits, soothing sensory-based skills, using open and confident body language, and using exercise and exhausting your muscles to allow your brain’s natural endorphins to regulate emotions. For those of you who feel that you cannot yet find an effective coping skill for your challenging thoughts and feelings, consider starting with your body first. Discuss with your therapist or trusted supports as to what behavior changes may effectively lead to desired changes in moods and thoughts, and then, allow the new behavior to have an impact.
Managing Stress (And Not Avoiding It)
In the moment, it can feel much easier to avoid something that makes us stressed or uncomfortable, rather than tackling it head on. However, active coping that aims to address a problem head on, as a way to alleviate stress. Active coping can look like talking through problems to alleviate relationship stress, reframing a situation in order to view the positives of it, or budgeting to reduce financial stress amongst other ways of coping. No matter what active coping approach you take, the ongoing benefits lead to a happier and healthier sense of being.