Foundation Skillls
Taking a shower, brushing your teeth, doing laundry, practicing good sleep hygiene, staying hydrated, exercising, and getting good nutrition
Whare are examples of basic self-care
The opposite of denial.
What is acceptance?
Putting aside feelings that get in your way and instead focusing on what really matters.
What is effectiveness?
Painful, anxious, and possibly life-threatening responses when a person stops using their drug of choice.
What is withdrawal?
Focusing on the importance of the long-view, purpose, and perspective taking to guide the recovery process.
What is developing a recovery vision?
When you observe your thoughts, emotions, and sensations in your body in the moment with self-compassion.
What is mindfulness?
Putting your best foot forward and letting go of the outcome.
What is practicing attached detachment?
Guidelines, rules, or limits that you create to identify what is a reasonable, safe, and permissible way for others to behave towards you.
What are boundaries?
The brain wants more and more dopamine when substances are used chronically.
What is tolerance?
All things, without exception, come to an end. This realization helps us persevere when the going gets tough.
What is impermanence?
Weighing the pros and cons, considering your values, thinking about your long terms goals rather than immediate impulse and satisfaction.
What is engaging the pre-frontal cortex?
Finding the silver lining and choosing the meaning you want to attach to circumstances.
What is reframing?
I use exquisite listening, express empathy, and identify feelings when using this skill.
What is demonstrating understanding?
Clean, Dirty, Addict, Meth head, Pot head, Coke head, Junkie, and Alcoholic.
What are pejorative labels?
Name them, notice how they feel in your body, step away from the story, and sponsor them with self-compassion.
What is experiencing difficult emotions?
The system you would activate if you wanted to reduce your heart rate, blood pressure, and respiratory rate.
What is the para-sympathetic nervous system?
Establishing a gratitude practice, wallowing in pleasant feelings, watching funny movies, and reflecting on good memories.
What is cultivating positive states?
Secure, Avoidant, Ambivalent/Anxious, and Disorganized.
What are attachment styles?
This population has a higher prevalence of tobacco use disorder, by far, than any other segment of the population. This is not by accident, they have been targeted as "downscale" customers by Big Tobacco.
Who are people with mental health disorders?
Keeping one's living space clean and well organized, having privacy and safety, having a balance of alone time and time with others.
What is creating optimal environments?
The system activated when you yell and jump up and down, are playing a game of soccer, running, or engaging in a debate.
What is the sympathetic nervous system?
Two neurotransmitters that are released when we engage in positive mental states.
What are dopamine and serotonin?
Practicing Self-Compassion, Petting an animal, Hugging a loved-one, and Placing the hands on the heart are all ways to release this neurotransmitter.
What is oxytocin?
Anger, denial, persistent feelings of sadness and despair, flashbacks, unpredictable emotions, physical symptoms such as nausea and headache, avoidance of people, places, and things, and feelings of shame, guilt, isolation, and hopelessness.
What are trauma responses?
The substance that will cause more deaths than all of the other substances (alcohol and drugs) combined.