SELF HARM RESOURCES

Maintenance

 

At the beginning of recovery it's both incredibly hard to use skills, and quite easy to remain focused on trying to use skills.  That's because you need them all the time.  But, after a few months of recovery, many people can find it hard to keep practicing and using these healthy coping skills on a regular basis.  After all, it can be hard to notice the signs that things are getting worse.  It tends to be quite easy to notice when things have completely fallen apart.  So, how do you prevent slipping back into old habits without realizing it?  How do you keep these healthy coping skills fresh in your mind and easy for you to use? 

 

Some things to consider:

Journal -

Record your mood and some of your activities and see how it changes over time.  

Notice when things are heading up, and when things are heading down.  Noticing small changes in your mood or routine can help you be aware of when things are starting to get rough and then be able to use coping skills right away to prevent a relapse or slip-up.  

An example of this might be: Tracking your emotions each day and writing what you did for exercise or socially.  You might notice one week that your emotions were mainly words like: low, meh, grey, tired, uninterested or stuck.  You might've had a routine of going to the gym four times a week, but only went once this week, or perhaps you often have lunch with friends or text or message them frequently, but this week you had a few days where you didn't really contact anyone at all. You're not doing terribly, you're getting by, BUT you're not doing great.  This is the time to start practicing a few little skills for prevention.  Things like: gratitiude journaling, self-soothing, mindfulness, and opposite-to-emotion activities.

Record what skills you use throughout each week.

Are you remembering to do little things to keep yourself cared for an motivated?  You might track things like:

• Medications (every day?  right amount? at the right times?...) 

• sleep (how much? did i wake up often? how did i feel after? dreams?...)

• meditation

• exercise

• self-soothing

• self-expression (journaling, art, talking...)

• social activities (did you hang out with others? message others? reach out to others? honest with others? feel connected to others?...)

 

Have a Routine

Planning skills into your life can help you use them.  Example:

In the morning I will: drink tea (self-soothe), meditate (breathing), write in my gratitude journal

During the day I will: go for a walk (exercise), talk with my friend (social wellness)

In the evening I will: journal and blog (express myself), take my meds as perscribed

During this week I will: plan a fun thing to do with someone else (social wellness),