I think they probably should have gone into more ways to actually deal with your triggers rather than just identifying them. Like I know in the other workbook they have a list of like 100 coping skills or activities you can do for distress tolerance and I find that helpful.

Sometimes noises trigger me as well. Sometimes I get furious when I hear people talking or hear any kind of noise due to just being really irritable at the time and it makes me feel rage. One thing that helps me with things like that is headphones. I have them on frequently listening to music or audiobooks or podcasts or YouTube videos in the background. I can still go around and get things done while they’re playing but it’s a good way to keep from getting triggered by outside noises.

I think it’s good to have an entire “toolbox” of coping skills. Various ones that work for various things. Cause the same things won’t work for every trigger. So it’s good to have a variety

Some of the ones I do frequently

-Paint or draw. I paint miniatures that come with those board game tabletop RPG games. They’re so tiny and intricate that they require time and patience and it’s very mindful and fun to do while listening to something. It forces your mind to slow down and concentrate. I draw sometimes too. Not all the time. Cause I’m really perfectionistic with it and get angry when it doesn’t come out perfect. But I do enjoy drawing for the most part. I have to not be in an already irritable mood though to enjoy it.

-Music: I play violin, ukulele and some piano. It’s a great outlet especially for anxiety. I find having something to do with my hands helpful. And it feels amazing when you learn something new successfully and there’s always more to learn. It’s helped give me a healthy sense of identity too.

Some other various things that help me:

Ice packs, especially when I’m panicking. The cold helps a lot

Reading, I can feel my stress lower after about 20 min of reading

Meditation, I do 20-30 min a day of meditation

Yoga, it’s very mindful plus it’s good physical activity

Exercise: Cardio like walking on the treadmill fast on an incline helps especially with anxiety or anger and irritability.

Playing videogames, or card games like yugioh or pokemon or magic the gathering etc or tabletop RPG or dungeons and dragons or chess. I love strategy games, especially with the element of fantasy and role playing. It’s so much fun and fun to challenge myself to get better at them. And I can play them with my boyfriend or anyone else who wants to play so the social element is helpful too.

Watching shows or movies: Sometimes it’s nice to just sit back and relax and immerse myself in a good series or movie. I’ve had many experiences where I’d be dissociating and then forced myself to sit down and watch several episodes of a show and then I end up feeling better somehow. It’s distracts me enough that the dissociation stops. And it’s enjoyable. Lately I’ve been watching the series The Boys on Amazon prime, plus various anime shows

Another thing I think is super helpful is journaling. Now I have both a physical journal and digital journal. But I prefer the physical for its mental health benefits. Writing stuff out physically just seems to benefit me more in terms of reducing stress and anxiety. Plus now that I have a printer I can print pictures out and tape them in there so it’s even more fun. I like putting pictures of the books I’m reading, shows I’m watching, games I’m playing, and pictures I’ve taken like of my cats or other things and vision board stuff

Another thing I think would be very helpful is crocheting. I have all the stuff to crochet with but I never learned. I want to learn cause it’s supposed to be very good for anxiety and you can make a lot of cool stuff.

So that’s a bunch of stuff I do regularly and stuff I want to do. I think a common element with them is the them of stress relief and also creative outlets and distraction being the three most common themes in my personal variety of coping skills.

Sorry for rambling, just wanted to post some ideas

But yeah I think that chapter could have done a better job. It was like here’s how to identify your triggers and just left it at that. I’m pretty good at identifying my triggers, what’s more helpful is knowing how to actually deal without making the situation worse