noun: strategy; plural noun: strategies
- a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.
"time to develop a good game strategy"
B. Daily Practice
Practice makes perfect, so they say. The more you do something, the more likely your body will automatically do it without you trying really hard. Managing anxiety is a little like training for a marathon. You don't just work on one thing and expect to win. You have to work on your diet, speed, distance, strength, and mental motivation. With Daily Practice, you are training the physical reaction in your body. But your body is reacting to your thoughts and feelings and then your thoughts and feelings react to your body. Along with your physical body reactions, you have to address your thoughts through reframing, and your feelings through emotional regulation. Here are ways to train your physical reaction: |
Building the Staircase (Connecting logic to survival):
It's a good thing that when our brain senses danger, we act. It's not a good thing when it's not really a survival situation. How do we train our brains to tell the difference? You can building the staircase from the downstairs brain (survival) to the upstairs brain (logic). Click on the box to learn how. |
In Identify Feelings, we talked about how important it is to write down feelings, thoughts, and actions. It's also important to write down good feelings.
|
Your plan should include training for your Thoughts, Feelings, and Actions: Reframing, Emotional Regulation and Daily Practice.
Once you have your strategies, you can start to practice using them. Start small. Rehearse at home by practicing making conversation or asking a question and actively listening. Once you start to practice, you can see what doesn't work. If you struggle with how you Deal With It, like avoiding or procrastinating, you need to address your Coping Skills. You know when you spend three entire days trying to figure out how to get out of that after school club you promised to go to because there's a bunch of kids you don't know? Or when you just don't do something because it's too hard to figure out but you didn't tell anyone because you hate conflict? That's a negative coping skill: Avoidance. We do this with or without wanting to. This is our way of "dealing with it." Communication skills help you effectively get your message out. They are a part of social skills. Social skills help you interact effectively and harmoniously with others. They are communication skills, active listening, empathy, perspective-taking, cooperation, and conflict resolution. Social skills are essential for building and maintaining positive relationships. If you struggle with what to say and when to say it, you need to work on Communication. For more tips on pulling it all together, click on Plan. |