Dealing with PTSD Symptoms

There are several benefits that come from asking for help and building coping skills. Thus, we recommend that you also build other skills to improve your health.

Use humor often to relieve some of your stress. Take breaks when you need to and when you feel overwhelmed.

Steps to build coping skills

Socializing - After you build a social group of people whom you can trust and feel safe with you can learn that it is ok to accept help from others.

Task – focus behaviors

Use your problem-solving skills to work through situations that you can manage. Learn to accept that there are some things you cannot change. Think through your problems carefully and plan what you need to do to take control. Take active steps to solving your problems.

Generate some ideas that help you find solutions for dealing with your problems. Consider potential solutions and ask yourself what is the best way to deal with the problem. Identify your priorities and minimize the risks in solving your problems.

Ignore the actions going on around you when you manage tasks. Finish one task before you allow room for other tasks or interruptions.

Focus on what you need to complete now instead of what you need to do tomorrow. Next, learn some steps to control your emotions.

Distancing your emotions –

When things get hard and unbearable, learn to distance your emotions.

When you mind becomes overwhelmed, take some time to visualize yourself in a special place. For example, you may picture yourself on a big screen in a theatre acting or dancing to entertain others. Set up a Karaoke stand and pretend that you are a star. Visualizing yourself entertaining others; you can choose any visualization that makes you happy.

Using relaxation techniques such as breathing exercises or meditation to block painful emotions: pretend that you are in a peaceful and serene environment to block the emotions. Allow yourself to go into a dreamland or fantasy based environment to combat the stressful emotions.

Try to find positive things to think about. When negative thoughts develop in your mind, focus on something positive.

Do things that help you remember that you are OK. For example, when you feel overwhelmed by a certain memory, tell yourself “I am safe”.

Try to think of others as human beings that make mistakes. Sometimes when people trigger us, they do it out of ignorance. Keep this in mind to help you avoid mistrusting others.

Distance yourself by doing something you enjoy like singing. Look into the future and visualize yourself doing something you enjoy.

Manage your emotions through CBT or cognitive self-talk

When you have a task to complete, visualize yourself in the scene. In other words, put yourself in the scene before you arrive to prepare yourself for the activity. Try to think of something positive about what you need to do.

You are a good person

Recognize that bad things happen to everyone, including good people. When you feel threatened by a responsibility put on you, prepare by taking deep breaths, adjust your posture so that you stand up straight and focus on staying in control.

Use affirmatives and positive self talk

Confirm that you have things under control by using affirmatives and positive self-talk. State in a clear voice, “I am strong, I am in control, I am safe.” Next, we will do a worksheet to help you build skills by finding your strengths.

Write down some of your strengths and weaknesses. Become aware of your self-defeating behaviors or weaknesses. Use your strengths as a tool to help you focus on positive things and to see how you can overcome your weaknesses. Instead of saying, “This is overwhelming” refrain from such negative words and state instead, “I am in control.” The more you use these positive enforcers the easier it will become to think positively.

Instead of probing into demanding tasks with negative thoughts, try to focus on changing those thoughts into something positive. Find a deeper understanding in your daily responsibilities. Learn to celebrate your achievements.

Altruisms can make you feel good

Self-sacrificing to help others often makes a person feel good as long as the person has balance; take time in your day to do something nice for someone else. Find someone who is weaker than you and help them accomplish something good. You will start feeling good about yourself when you become a helper to others.

Next, we will learn how to deal with your fears and the anxiety that it causes.

Fear

Fear is a powerful source that can rob you of joy and happiness. To overcome your fears you have to be able to assess the sources of your fear and anxiety. Thus, it is possible to do this by joining in the technique called:

Dealing with your fears and anxiety

Intention – assessing your fears and anxiety

Description – learning how to assess your fears can help you conquer your fears. We will use this CBT training technique to see if we can help you overcome your fears.

Four steps to challenging fears –

1. Ask – is your situation in your control? Do you have other solutions that you can use to take control of your situations?

2. Is your fear life-threatening? You can ask someone that is close to you to conduct this treatment. Ask them if they feel that your fear is life-threatening or if your situation is life-threatening.

3. Do the three step process to eliminate the situation – 1. Speak with others: 2. Get out of the situation. 3. Take baby steps to approach the situation and deal with it.

4. Ask questions to reduce your fears and anxiety. Ask – is this really something I can’t handle? Is this something that is worse than what I have dealt with in the past? Will this situation mean something to me in a few weeks? What is the worst thing that can possibly happen to me in this situation? Can I cope with the worst possible results?

Next, we will do some role-playing procedures in CBT.

Role-play

In role-play, you reverse the roles – you can either ask someone to work with you, or you can use your visualization skills to role-play on your own.

With others

If you choose to let someone role-play with you, allow the other person to act as you. Let that person express their emotions, feelings, thoughts, etc that you would express to them. In other words, they are playing you and you are playing the role as that person. Notice their behaviors, actions and responses. Notice their expressions. Once the person is finished telling you about his or her problems, examine them closely and see if you can develop some ideas or solutions to help the person solve the problems.

Self –role-play

If you choose to visualize in an individual role-play procedure then visualize yourself sitting across the room from a person. Picture that person as you. You can be the person’s friend or counselor. Allow the person in the chair across from you to express his or her feelings, thoughts, emotions, fears, etc. once the person finishes, assess them closely and see if you can help the person overcome their problems. Use meditation and self-talk if you need to so that it will be easier for you to help the person solves his or her problems.

Summary

In this article, we used some powerful coping skill CBT techniques combined with other techniques to help you combat PTSD symptoms. In the next article, we will focus on helping you combat depression.

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