Start your day right. How you start your day has a big impact on the rest of your day. Some ideas:
- Start slow. Don’t hit the floor running.(This only feeds the fight or flight response for the rest of the day)
- Get up before everyone else, while the house is quiet. Wrap yourself up in a cozy blanket. Light a candle and watch the sunrise. Wake up 10 minutes earlier if you need. Don’t get up 10 minutes earlier just to work. Try using that 10 minutes to start your day with grounding practices instead.
- Slowly drink something warm.
- Step outside and go for a short 5 minute walk.
- Do some visualization work (NSR students)
- Read your favorite devotional or bible verses.
- Do some stretches.
Give yourself permission to step away. You matter enough to step away.
- Away from conversations.
- Away from gatherings.
- Away from groups.
Slow down. You might not be able to say no to some things, but you can slow down.
- Walk from A to B with slower steps.
- Talk quieter and slower.
- Gaze slowly out the window from time to time.
- Slowly get out of bed in the morning.
- Slowly smell the Christmas candle, watch as the flame flickers in the window.
- Slow down that stirring of the gravy on the stove.
Take an anchor item with you to a social setting. Anchor items can help ground us when we are feeling all wishy washy and triggered. They can remind us of many things. (love, nostalgia, security, happiness)
- A seashell
- A tiny book of bible verses.
- A rock with a word on it.
- An item from your safe person like a hair tie, button, clip, etc.
Savor. When your triggered brain wants to only see the trigger, come back to a different truth.
- Savor the taste of the food you are eating.
- Notice the softness of that cozy sweater you are wearing, run your hands up and down your arms.
- Look at the shape of that snowflake hanging in the window.
- Take a deep breath and smell the spruce bows nearby.
Have compassion.
- Compassion for yourself. Beating yourself up and pushing to the very end is likely not going to end well for you. We must learn to work WITH our triggered parts, not against them. At the end of the day, give yourself a hug. You are doing great.
- Compassion for others. They are usually acting out of their own triggers and traumas and projecting them on to others. Maybe they too have some past story/trauma/trigger that is setting them off today. We are all just humans being humans. Nobody gets it right every time, all the time.
Who's daughter or son are you? Who fearfully and wonderfully made you? You are enough in his eyes. You are beloved. Stand tall. He is by your side and will never leave. He loves you and with him on your side, he makes you capable and steady.
Other people do not determine your worth. Open your heart to the idea that you will not please everyone. You will not get it all right. You can not do it all but you can do some.
You will get through this. Did you know what is cool? Time keeps on ticking forward. It just keeps on moving and eventually January 1st will be here, and you made it. Our brains like to get very stuck, stuck in freeze, overwhelm, panic, anxiety, overthinking, and all leading to it feeling like we are truly stuck and helpless. But you are not as stuck as your brain is telling you. Try these simple tricks and maybe it will help you just a little.
hp
