Wise Mind "ACCEPTS"
"IMPROVE" the Moment
Self-Soothing Skills
Pros & Cons
Willing & Willful
100
The "ACCEPTS" skills help distract us from from our emotional pain. Why do we sometimes need to be distracted from our pain?
Sometimes our pain is overwhelming and sometimes our pain is related to situations that we cannot change. Continuing to focus on our pain can lead to us getting stuck in certain emotions.
100
How can the "IMPROVE" skills help us when we are dealing with emotional pain?
These skills can help us distract, soothe ourselves, and decrease our negative feelings.
100
What are the five senses that can be used in self-soothing skills?
Touch, smell, look, taste, and hearing.
100
What is a Pros & Cons list and why is it used?
A Pros & Cons list helps you figure out how a certain choice would be positive and negative for you. You create two columns and list all of the positives and negatives of a choice you might make.
100
What does it mean to be willing? Give two examples.
Willing means that you make efforts to help, try something, accept things for what they are & not fight against them.
200
How can "contributing" or helping other people help distract us from our pain?
Helping others allows us to take the focus of our ourselves and focus on someone else. Helping others may also lead to us having some positive emotions.
200
The "E" stands for encouragement. What is an example of how you can encourage yourself when you are facing difficult feelings or situations?
--Saying positive things to yourself like, "You are strong, you can get through this". --reminding yourself that things won't always feel this bad since feelings come and go -- remembering the goals you are working towards
200
What does it mean to "self-soothe"?
Using different activities, thoughts, and experiences to help yourself decrease or tolerate negative feelings.
200
How can using a Pros & Cons list help you when you are feeling really upset and having unsafe thoughts?
A Pros & Cons list can help you figure out if acting on your unsafe thoughts would lead to more positive or negative outcomes in your life. It can help you to think through things and be less impulsive.
200
What does it mean to be willful?
Willful means wanting to only have things your way, refusing to cooperate, fighting against reality.
300
What activities can help us have "opposite emotions" if we are feeling really sad?
Examples: Exercising, helping someone, watching a funny TV show, spending time with one of your favorite friends.
300
The "P" stands for "peace". What are 2 activities or experiences that bring you peace?
Taking a walk outside, listening to calming music, taking a warm bath, praying.
300
What are 3 self-soothing skills that involve "touch"?
Examples: Laying under a soft blanket, taking a cold/hot shower, playing with a stress ball, putting on lotion/cologne.
300
Your mentor has not shown up for the second week in a row. You are really frustrated and disappointed. Your heart starts racing, your body feels hot and you are having thoughts about destroying the furniture on the unit. Name 2 Pros and 2 Cons of destroying property on the unit.
Pros--It might feel good to release your feelings, destroying furniture is a better option than hurting myself or others. Cons--Peers & staff may be upset with me, this will lead to me being placed on consequences, my mentor may not want to take me on further visits if they find out I responded this way.
300
How can being "willing" help us accept what is going on in our life?
Being "willing" can help us accept that there are certain things in our lives we cannot change and we do the best we can in trying to move forward. Not allowing ourselves to get stuck in certain emotions.
400
Fill in the blank: Using ____________ can help us realize that someone else has more struggles than we do and that our situation could be worse.
Comparisons
400
The "I" stands for "imagery". What is imagery and how can it help you deal with difficult feelings and situations?
--Imagery is using your mind to imagine a safe place, a happy memory, hearing a family member's words. --Imagery can help distract us from the painful feelings we are having and possibly even decrease our painful feelings.
400
Name 3 self-soothing skills that involve "hearing"?
Examples: -Listening to your breathing, paying attention to sounds of nature, listening to your favorite songs on your radio.
400
In order to do complete a Pros & Cons list, what mind do you need to be in: emotional, rational or wise mind? How does being in that type of mind help you best in doing a Pros & Cons list?
Wise Mind. Being in Wise Mind helps you be aware of your emotions and make the best decisions that will help bring you closer to your goals.
400
How can being “willful” get in the way of us dealing with our pain and moving forward?
When we are "willful", we can get stuck in certain feelings, not want to accept our life for what it is, and refusing to accept help or help ourselves.
500

Your boyfriend/girlfriend broke up with you in school without any explanation. You feel sad, empty, angry, and alone. Your feelings become overwhelming. In order to distract yourself from these feelings, you walk into the kitchen and grab some ice cubes that you hold in your bare hands for 10 minutes. This is an example of using what ACCEPTS skill?

Sensations.

500

Talk about how you used 2 of these skills in the past and how they helped you deal with difficult feelings or situation. Imagery, Meaning, Peace, Relaxation, One thing in the Moment, Vacation, Encouragement

Imagery--Imagined a funny cartoon character, imagined sitting on the beach and feeling the warm breeze. Meaning-- Writing poetry, identifying some life goals, looking foward to trying some new experiences. Peace--Warm bubble bath, taking a walk near a stream, listening to calming music. Relaxation--Deep breathing, muscle relaxation, stretching, yoga. One thing in the Moment--Focusing all of your attention on a mindfulness activity such as blowing bubbles, coloring a picture, listening to the words of a song. Vacation--Taking a short break from responsibilities. Allowing ourselves to take a short nap before finishing homework, eating a snack and then completing chores. Encouragement--Telling ourselves positive things that will motivate us: "You have dealt with much worse situations in your life. You can make it through this, too", reminding ourselves of the success we are making towards our goals.

500

What are the best times to use your self-soothing skills?

When you are in emotional pain, feeling overwhelmed by your emotions, having thoughts/impulses to be unsafe.

500
Talk about a time when you used a pros & list. Talk about how it helped you decide what you needed to do in your life.
.......
500
You are disappointed when you are not selected to go on an outing even though you have had good behaviors. Give an example of how you could show "willing" behavior and an example of "willful" behavior in this situation.
Willing: Accepting that other kids deserve a chance to go on outings as much as you do, accepting "no" in a mature way, using coping skills to handle your feelings of disappointment. Willful: Yelling, screaming, and arguing with staff, going into crisis, taking out your disappointment on your peers who do get to go on the outing, choosing not to use your coping skills.
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