[(JD)]

<font color="darkblue">[b]There are things we do to help ourselves feel better, whether it's on an ongoing basis, or just when the T is out of town...

... things like take our medicine as we know we should, eat right, get rest, be careful... and good things that we do to comfort ourselves and shut out the current problems of the world, to help keep ourselves safe and non-reactive.

Please use this thread to share those things that you do in the way of "self care," to help others learn more about it. THANKS!
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Great idea Sky

I do many things to help myself daily and when my therapist is not available Though I don't allow myself to do them to shut out my or the worlds problems, very often because shutting out my problems and what was physically going on around me is why I have DID.

So instead of shutting out my problems I find a way to instead meet that problem head on and take care of it for example my head is a bit nuts tonight so I have the relaxation visualization CD that my therapist made going on my computer jukebox to help slow me down so that I can make sense of my thoughts so that I can do one or more of the following to locate my triggers instead of dissociating way from what ever has my head triggered on fast forwards -

Journal writing
read or do self help books and or workbooks such as -
The Courage To Heal Text - by Laura Davis and Ellen Bass
The courage To heal Workbook - By Laura Davis
Amongst Ourselves - Dr. Tracy Alderman and Karen Marshall
Getting Through the Day - Nancy J Napier
Recreating Yourself - Nancy J. Napier
The PTSD Workbook
Managing Stress through the Arts
Mind over Mood

Draw
paint
Make Diaramas
Make scale models
Listen to music
Watch a non triggering movie
Take a bubble bath
go for a bike ride
Email - write to friends
call my friends
Join support groups both on line and in my real life location
Join Therapy groups in my local area
Call a local crisis hot line
Put on the relaxation visualization recordings my therapist and I made during sessions
play with my cat
meet a friend for dinner at the local store
Wrap up in a comforter while I write or draw and so on
Clean my house

The list goes on....

[kimmydawn]

(((((((((( sky ))))))))))))) what a great thread!

Well, for me...

I'm taking this weekend off to sit around and do some crafts and try to relax, nap, rest, do some internal work on me, etc. I actually won't be here for two days! OH MY!

Also, for forever I didn't know the meaning of that term as it applied to me. Isn't that strange? I was great at giving advice, but thought myself super human or something. It was to my detriment.

So now that I've learned a few things, I try to keep them close to me....resting, acknowledging and managing triggers as I can, giving what I can while keeping my eye on my own limits. Also, I'm trying to eat more healthily.

KD

For me a big part of self-care is realizing how much stress I can manage in my life (very little) & trying to reduce exposure to stressful situations or avoid them altogether.

My brother likes to stir up a lot of drama & was going to sue me over my dad's will (he was estranged from my dad & was left only $1.00), even though my brother is a millionaire. Anyway, though I thought I was right I knew I couldn't take the stress of a lawsuit & gave him the money he demanded.

It wasn't worth my mental health. I've worked too hard at getting well to allow myself to through it away for money. So he's happy & I'm sane!--Suzy