Not handling triggers

[Emilie Jolie]

I'm finding myself in a difficult, emotionally charged situation that I feel I'm not handling very well at all at the moment.

I wondered whether there were there any simple tips to try and keep the pressure off? Not looking for anything too heavy (I go to therapy already), just temporary fixes to help keep relatively positive.

Anything would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[Wiseman2]

Thought cancelation, much like noise cancelation technology, where one thing sort of competes for that wavelength, corner of attention. (Not the same as drowning out.)

This means if you're doing something and thoughts creep in stop that (go back to it later), and pursue something else.  

Nice drives

Listen to favorite (not sentimental) music.

Mindless entertainment. Shows/movies no one admits they like/watch

Whatever hobby you like is

Be productive

Be nonproductive

When you shift gears, your mind can get to a different area and sort of "reset", if you will.

[Emilie Jolie]

Thanks for the quick reply. It's been pretty intense the last few weeks, almost like feeling trapped, and I feel like a Netflix series might not cut it this time round. 

I tried my usual fixes but nothing seems to be working. I'm usually a positive person so this is definitely not my normal self.

About to get into a candlelit bath with nice lavender bubble bath - will keep your non sentimental music suggestion and see how it goes.

[Ruby Slippers]

Meditation, yoga, nature walks, naps, any kind of soothing self-care.

I've been feeling a good deal of pandemic fatigue lately. I had been pretty good at making the best of the situation, but lately I just feel drained and blah. What's helping me get back to a better state of mind more than anything is short, simple meditation breaks. I like to do it while relaxing in a hot bubble bath. Even 2 minutes of it can do wonders.

[Emilie Jolie]

3 minutes ago, Ruby Slippers said:

lately I just feel drained and blah.

Same for me, except it's more a sort of work-related issue that I feel I have no control over whatsoever. It's really very triggering, I'm in tears most of the time and I don't even know why. It's the weirdest thing I've experienced in my life.

Thanks for the meditation suggestion - never tried it so I'll read up on it at some point in the w/e.

[Ruby Slippers]

I'm sorry you're feeling so stressed out. I definitely have not been at the top of my game lately. I'm very thankful that people at work are very understanding. We're all pretty exhausted and just crawling to the finish line of a little time off for Christmas break. There are free guided meditations on YouTube. 

[Emilie Jolie]

Thank you, Ruby. Yeah I mean it feels much more like abuse than exhaution from work tbh. Day job is stressful but fine, it's all the other stuff that's not so great. 

[FMW]

This time of the year can be extra challenging for some people.  If it's almost Winter where you live, the daylight is getting less and less every day, and even during daylight hours it's often cloudy and gray.  All the "happiest time of the year" propaganda (you can tell how I feel about the holidays!) makes you think it's just you feeling stressed and depressed and everyone else is jolly.  

That and COVID can make any abuse you are experiencing feel even more intense.  

I agree with Ruby Slippers, try meditation.  If you have difficulty with that at least take breaks to do slow, deep breathing for at least 5 minutes.  It's naturally calming.  

Edited December 12, 2020 by FMW

[major_merrick]

Sleep as much as possible.  It makes the time go by faster.  If sleep is an issue, don't be afraid to take over-the-counter medication to knock yourself out. 

[ClearEyes-FullHeart]

6 hours ago, Emilie Jolie said:

Thanks for the meditation suggestion - never tried it so I'll read up on it at some point in the w/e.

When I was facing struggles with a failed marriage, I found Sam Harris’s meditation app - Waking Up - to be a great help in learning how to stop my mind from spinning out of control. One thing I liked about it was that it was practical and the sessions were short in duration. It didn’t require you to go from never meditating to having to try to do it for a long time. I haven’t done it lately but it was very soothing and I just found how he guided the listener to be effective. Good luck!

[gaius]

Take a few hours and indulge in anything that makes you laugh or smile. That has other people laughing or smiling. I'll often put on youtube clips, Howard Stern, Ken Burns The Civil War (there's actually a lot of humor in that), Al Bundy, Wil E Coyote. Anything that seems amusing really. It helps.

My wife and I were watching this the other night. The look on Alex Trebeks face alone had us cracking up pretty hard.

 

[Emilie Jolie]

8 hours ago, FMW said:

  If you have difficulty with that at least take breaks to do slow, deep breathing for at least 5 minutes.  It's naturally calming.

Thank you! I've actually put 'remember to breathe' reminders on my calendar.

7 hours ago, major_merrick said:

Sleep as much as possible. 

Yeah I think that's key. Definitely need better quality sleep. Spending too much time on my phone probably isn't helping much. Not sure about sleeping pills (not a medicine person in general) but I do need to organise some form of morning routine.

1 hour ago, gaius said:

My wife and I were watching this the other night. The look on Alex Trebeks face alone had us cracking up pretty hard.

Thanks for the video! That's actually raised a smile. I've never heard of any of the people you've listed other than Stern (cultural differences!), but I like the idea 🙂