Coping and self-care
Over the next 4-6 weeks you might find that your energy is lower than usual. You might find it harder to do all the things you expect yourself to do. Sleep could be disrupted and you might notice images or memories of the event the event that happened. The goal is to check in with yourself and try some of the strategies that will help your system to recover.
Levelling your energy
Recognize that emotional memories take time to work through (4-6 weeks). They are often visual and/or sensory.
It is natural to have memories, including visual memories, or thoughts about the event throughout the weeks that follow the event. This does not mean that you are experiencing post traumatic stress disorder.
If distressing symptoms persist, reach out to health resources
Set reminders
Click on each of the three types of self care systems below on the left, and on the right side, different strategies will appear. You can select to receive reminders.
Recalibrating cortisol (BDNF)
Rest & Reset (arousal control). Like a phone, the more we use it, the faster we are going to need to plug it in to recharge it. To get the re-charge going , we want to check in with ourselves and bring our system as close to baseline as possible. This calms our stress response system, which uses a lot of our energy (batteries).
Managing serotonin
When our energy is low and our brain is working through what happened, our anxiety can start to increase and our mood can start to get low. These are signs that our system “took a hit” and it helps to support it to get back to our baseline.
Dopamine and oxytocin
There are things in our lives that we need to do that take energy (energy takers) and things in our lives that feed us and give us energy (energy makers). They can be small, but when we do them, they give us an energy boost.
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Breathing reminder
Most of us hold our breath when we are stressed. Breathing activates the system that helps our brains to take in information and helps manage our blood pressure and heart rate. Choose a reminder:
Resting reminder
When we rest, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) gets released. It helps to re-balance what the stress hormone, cortisol, has damaged. Resting for a few minutes, can help offset the brain drain we can feel at the end of a day. Choose a reminder:
Laughter reminder
As children, we laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults the frequency goes down. Laughter can help improve mood, the ability to cope with stress. It can reduce stress hormones, lower blood pressure, release endorphins, boost the immune system, and relax your body.