Distractions
Name 3 different distraction tools/activities.
Name 3 different grounding activities.
5 senses
Walk on grass
Meditation/ Yoga
Deep breathing
Cooking/eating regular nutritious meals
Shower
Buy a small treat
Take a nap
Give an example of how you would challenge thoughts?
write down negative thoughts and then list all the reasons they may not be true.
Imagine someone you loved had these thoughts- what advice would you give them?
Opposite action focuses on which of the following two: thoughts---feelings--behaviors.
Feelings and behaviors.
How are distractions helpful?
They help take our minds off of current stressors/problems.
How are grounding techniques helpful?
Can help bring you down from heightened emotions and decrease overthinking.
How is self-care helpful?
Engaging in regular self-care can help prevent or control symptoms of physical and mental concerns.
Self-care is the practice of taking care of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of your life to promote health and wellness.
How is thought challenging helpful?
Can help you identify cognitive distortions, or what is "really true."
What is opposite action?
When would you use a distraction?
When your mind and your body need a break.
When would you use grounding techniques?
When having heightened symptoms of anxiety. Quickened breathing. Racing thoughts. Tense muscles.
When would you use self-care activites?
EVERY DAY.
Even more when you feel like you are being hard on yourself.
When would you use thought challenged?
When negative thoughts are overwhelming, or when you recognize that you are having the same negative thought over and over again.
What is the first step of opposite action?
This is the first step in using Opposite Action: you must identify your emotion before you can respond to it.
What can help you identify your emotions?
What are the "Pros" of using distractions?
When you need short term relief.
When you need a short break to be able to come back and reassess the situation.
When you want a change in perspective.
What are the "Pros" of grounding techniques?
They can help calm you down and regulate in the moment. They don't have to be obvious. Can do them anywhere.
What are the "Pros" of self-care?
Regular self-care can help prevent worsening symptoms.
How do you feel when you don't eat as much? How do you feel when you don't sleep as well?
What are the "Pros" of thought challenging?
Can help shift long-term negative thinking habits.
Being logical can help reduce extreme emotions.
How could our thoughts interfere with opposite action?
What are the "Cons" of using distractions?
They shouldn't be used for long periods of time.
They are less likely to lead to solving the problem.
What are the "Cons" of using grounding techniques?
Sometimes we move right into grounding techniques to before taking time to understand what is causing the issue. We may overlook the need to identify the cause or pattern,
What are the "Cons" of self-care?
Are there any?
You can help define what self-care is for you. Sometimes it may feel really hard to do or "superficial" but it's not.
What are the "Cons" of thought challenging?
The more emotional you feel, the harder this can be to do.
Strong feelings such as guilt or shame can make this hard to do.
Choose the opposite action and emotion for FEAR.
Opposite action: to approach, confront, or make plans to confront.
Opposite emotion: confident, brave.