My T was talking about this today, and it had me a bit confused. She said that another client mentioned an "emergency" coping kit that helped when things reached a much higher level. She said that these things would be different from the normal coping skills that get me through the "not-quite-an-emergency-yet" times. Does anyone else have something like this, a go-to for when **** is really about to hit the fan? The only things I could think of that fit the bill for me were my negative coping skills (ones we want to change). How do you find that set of things that helps stave off the "emergencies" that may arise?
She mentioned that coping skills often have "levels" of usefulness. Watching tv may be a lower level, while art may be something a bit more involved for me and cover a higher level of skill (it also serves more than one purpose: communication, as well as in-the-moment coping). But I struggle to find coping skills that work reliably. I am not sure if this is because my positives list is so small, that I go to the same things over and over again. This seems to make them useless after a short time. They lose effectiveness. I feel like I'm cycling through all my skills and hitting the sh point faster and faster.
So I was trying to come up with what I may consider an emergency skills list. I have no idea where to begin. I have a really difficult time finding "regular" skills to help me get through things. I wish I had tried to talk to her more about this, but I'm always more articulate after I have had time to think about what I want to say.
Si I guess my question is: what would you consider an "emergency" coping skill (one you only pull out when in desperate need)?