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Thank you to Mr. Musselman for donating a Love Sac to our Meditation Space in our Bridge Program!  ~Adapted from DBT Skills Manual for Adolescents (Rathus & Miller, 2015)
This week, our students learned about a new acronym to support our emotions when they are at an extreme. This acronym is known as TIPP. TIPP can be used when emotional arousal is very HIGH!, you are completely caught in emotion mind, your brain is not processing information, and you are emotionally overwhelmed. “TIPP” your body chemistry to reduce extreme Emotion Mind quickly with: Temperature: Change your body temperature using cold water or ice. Hold a cold pack on your face or cheeks. Hold for 30 seconds. Intense Exercise: To calm down your body when it is revved up by emotion. Engage in intense aerobic exercise, if only for a short while. Expand your body’s stored-up physical energy by running, walking fast, jumping jacks, dancing, stretching, wall sit, etc. Paced Breathing: Slow your pace of breathing way down (to about 5-7 in and out breaths per minute). Breathe deeply from the abdomen. Breathe out more slowly than you breathe in (e.g., 4 seconds in and 6 seconds out). Do this for 1-2 minutes. Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Tense and relax each muscle group, head to toe, one muscle group at a time. Tense (5 seconds), then let go; relax each muscle all the way. Notice the tension; notice the difference when relaxed. ~Adapted from DBT Manual for Adolescents (Rathus & Miller, 2015). When you are upset, it is important to have ways of coping with stress. There are many ways to relieve stress and among them are what we sometimes call "self-soothing" skills or techniques. These are simple things that you can do whatever you need to calm to your mind and body. Why Are Self-Soothing Skills Important?Coping strategies are diverse, just like the people who rely on them. When stress and anxiety hit, it's a good idea to have a few skills ready to help you find relief. Self soothing strategies help you to cope with overwhelming negative emotions or intolerable situations. They help us stay grounded and calm. They take a lot of practice, but as you get the hang of using some of these techniques, you will see your relationship to the negative emotions and intolerable feelings change. Some of us may recognize these techniques as things that we already use. But many of us have never learned how to self-soothe, or how to do those often simple things that makes us feel better. These are mostly very physical techniques, that use different body senses. Some of us have never had the feeling that we could do things to make ourselves feel better, calmer, feel relaxation or pleasure. I urge you to experiment with these techniques until you find some that are comfortable and helpful for you. And when you find these, practice them. Use them when you are feeling distressed, when emotions feel overwhelming, when situations feel like you can't stand them any more. Effective coping strategies may be those that involve one or more of the “six” senses — touch, taste, smell, sight, sound and movement. Putting These Strategies to Work When engaging in these strategies, make sure to focus completely on the task at hand. That is, be mindful of your senses and what you are experiencing. Anytime you are distracted, simply bring your attention back to what you are doing. Try to recognize the difference between using a self-soothing technique for distraction and avoidance as well as when you are using these techniques to just pass the time by and not for actually solving the problem or lowering your distress. Examples are: Visual: Cut out pictures from magazines/print images (water, beach, friends) Smell: Essential Oils, Coffee Beans, Lotions Touch: Pipe Cleaners, Feathers, Felt, Putty/Playdough Hearing: Make a playlist of music, guided imagery/meditation apps Taste: Hershey Kisses, Mints, Chewing Gym Movement: Walk, run, Jumping Jacks |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
June 2019
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