Grounding Techniques
This grounding skill utilizes putting thoughts or feelings on hold and put away until being able to safely process.
Containment
Name the 4 main activated trauma responses
fight, flight, freeze, fawn
Describe how setting boundaries is a helpful to all parties involved
Reduces mindreading, assertive practice, addresses needs and wants, teaches what can and won't be expected from us, etc.
Name 2 healthy coping skills you have been using or practicing
journaling, identifying safety, art, music, walking, playing with pets, addressing needs, setting boundaries, etc.
When is distraction not helpful?
Avoidance
This grounding technique utilizes various smells, sights, sounds, feeling and taste
5 senses
This is the threshold of how much activation you can take before shutting down
Window of Tolerance
List different types of boundaries
Time, space, professional, rigid, porous, physical
This is looking for moments of joy or moment that prompted a moment of positive emotion/opposite of a negative trigger
Glimmers
What are the things we can actually control?
Beliefs/morals and core values - which leads to how we learn to respond to others
Describe why grounding prior to processing emotions/thoughts.
The amygdala is activated, therefore you are unable to tend to the emotions and thoughts prior to grounding.
Describe how the amygdala works and why if it's not deactivated how it can impact sense of safety.
Assesses danger, when activated you may be in fight, flight, fawn, or freeze. Sometimes the amygdala senses something is unsafe when it is and can be overly activated making it difficult to manage with trauma symptoms.
Bonus: What does the acronyms stand for?
FAST is focused on communication with self-respect.
Give an example of an ACCEPTS skill and how it's effective for skillful distraction.
Watching a show or movie that brings about an opposite emotion, listening to music that prompts an opposite emotion, doing an activity that focuses outside of self, comparing to a time you felt differently.
What are the 3 components of self-compassion?
Common humanity, self-kindness, mindfulness
Name 2 physical grounding techniques
temperature, intense movement, tapping, dive effect
What is the level of arousal we want to be when we're not activated, and what "system" is this called?
Calm arousal - ventral system
What are the 4 types of communication styles?
Passive, passive-aggressive, aggressive, assertive
This skill is used to check in/identify how we feel, where we feel it and observing judgmental thoughts.
Mindfulness
What are the 4 types of attachment styles and describe a trait of each
Secure Attachment
Anxious Attachment
Avoidant Attachment
Disorganized attachment
What is one way you can deactivate when in hyperarousal, as well as hypoarousal?
hyper - physical grounding (tapping, temperature, 5 senses) hypo - relocate/change your seat/position, identify things that bring about an opposite emotion, mindfulness, and CBT interventions
What are the three systems related to polyvagal that associate with calm arousal, hyper arousal and hypo arousal?
Ventral, sympathetic, dorsal
What is DEAR MAN?
BONUS: What does DEAR MAN stand for
A skill used for setting boundaries or asking for needs/wants.
D - describe
E- Express
A- Appear confident
R- Reinforce
M- Mindfulness
A- Assertive
N- Negotiate
Distress Tolerance is a DBT skill - What is distress tolerance and what are some techniques of distress tolerance
The ability to experience emotions without distress - distress tolerance looks like grounding techniques such as ice/temperature, physical movement/intensity, progressive muscle relaxation, paced breathing.
What are 5 types cognitive distortions?
Black/white or all/nothing thinking
Filtering
Fortunetelling
Mindreading
Generalizing