Coping Skills
This is the practice of naming five things you can see, four things you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell, and one you can taste.
What is grounding?
The most important priority in Seeking Safety.
What is safety?
Traumatic events often affect this system in the body, keeping it stuck in "fight, flight, or freeze."
What is the nervous system? or What is the limbic system?
A person, place, or thing that brings up painful emotions is called this.
What is a trigger?
The reason many people begin using substances is often to do this.
What is to cope with pain?
This type of coping skill involves writing out your thoughts to process them.
What is journaling?
A behavior like setting boundaries, getting enough sleep, and saying no are all examples of this.
What is practicing safety?
One phrase often used to describe trauma responses is “hurt people…”
What is “hurt people”?
This tool helps you stay present and connected to your body, often using senses.
What is grounding?
Recovery is not about being perfect, it’s about this.
What is progress?
Seeking Safety teaches that instead of trying to control everything, we should focus on this.
What is what we can control?
In the Seeking Safety model, safety includes physical safety, emotional safety, and this.
What is thinking safety?
In trauma recovery, this type of therapy helps people stay in the present while exploring past pain.
What is trauma-informed therapy?
One grounding strategy involves describing your environment in great detail, also known as this.
What is describing using your five senses?
This is a healthy substitute for using substances to manage stress.
What is a coping skill?
This skill helps you get through distress without making it worse and includes things like calling a friend or listening to music.
What is a healthy distraction?
One of the best ways to build emotional safety in relationships.
What is setting boundaries?
Seeking Safety teaches that trauma is not the person’s fault and recovery is this.
What is possible?
A trigger that reminds you of the past but is not dangerous in the present moment is often called this.
What is a false alarm?
In recovery, this phrase is often used to help people focus on the here and now.
What is “one day at a time”?
This creative coping tool can involve drawing, painting, or making music to express emotions you can’t put into words.
What is art or creative expression?
When a person returns to a behavior they were trying to avoid (like substance use), this compassionate, non-shaming word is used.
What is a lapse?
This internal part of you must be treated gently in recovery and healing.
What is your inner child?
his method of grounding involves saying your name, the date, and where you are out loud.
What is orienting to the present?
The idea that you can learn to live without substances and find joy again is called this.
What is hope?