Coping Strategies
Part 12 - Close-up on 7 ways of coping

It’s all very well focusing on our thoughts, feelings and actions for certain aspects of our lives, but if we have some form of trauma or emotional blockage or a general ailment within our physical body, we would likely need a new approach. This is where bodywork comes in. Not only can it help to release stresses and distresses, it can also improve posture and energy levels as well as bringing the mind and the body closer together.

Below is an incomplete list of bodywork practices for you to investigate further if you so wish. Some of these interventions involve touch, while others do not.

Alexander technique	Visceral manipulation	Feldenkrais method	Hydrotherapy
Ortho-Bionomy	Polarity therapy	Deep tissue massage	Pranic healing
Craniosacral therapy	Bowen therapy	Rosen method	Aston-Patterning
Breema	Biofeedback	Trager work	Gua sha
One Light Healing Touch	NeuroMuscular Reprogramming	Connective tissue massage	Flotation repatterning
Lymphatic massage	Marma therapy	Myofascial release	Jin Shin Jyutsu
Qigong	Lomi work	Rolfing	Reiki
Reflexology	Amanae	Watsu	Hellerwork
Breath perception	Trigger Point therapy	Soft tissue release	Swedish massage
Bioenergy	Aromatherapy	Hypnotherapy	Iridology
Thai massage	Acupressure	Hot stone massage	Oncology massage

If you wish to take a break from the endless thought-traffic generated by a noisy brain, having your own mantra may be a useful tool for you.

A mantra, for SD purposes, is a nonsensical word or series of words that form a phrase that can either be spoken aloud or inside the head, over and over again, in order to bring about peace and tranquillity.

A suggestion to begin with is to practise this for 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes at night, as well as to use it on an as-and-when basis.

If you are stuck for a mantra, you would be welcome to pick one of these (providing the words/phrases don’t have any meaning for you that will distract you in any way):

Chu Ku Ley Mar	Jem Nay Seer Fah
Sumja Bey Um	Lum Suu Kin Boo
Pel Naa Seylah	Sil Hah Joa Vey
Bu Ray Zim Tah	Chay Woo Baydah

Otherwise, you could always ask someone to come up with a mantra for you, or you could create your own one. Alternatively, you could look into the mantras from yoga, Hinduism, Sikhism and Buddhism, starting with the sacred sound of Om.

An affirmation is a word, phrase or quote that, if remembered, can be brought into focus at any moment in time to help you come through a difficult situation or to give you a boost of self-belief. There is also a notion that if you say an affirmation for long enough, you will be able to assimilate its meaning into your own being.

For an affirmation to work it needs to be meaningful to the person saying it. For example:

This affirmation could be effective if you would benefit from a good dose of conviction in order to keep on keeping on. However, if your hopelessness is stronger than your hope, the affirmation is likely to be counter-productive.

The following affirmations are matched to a theme. If you like any of them, take them and repeat them over and over until they are well and truly inside your head. If you can make up your own affirmations, all the better.

Self-determination

“I always do the best for myself, no matter what.”

When you are lacking motivation for the day ahead

“I will walk into the day and I will find something worthwhile within it.”

When you are fearful of what might happen

“I trust myself and my abilities.”

Facing a problem

“I can get through this. This is not the end of the world.”

Difficulty sleeping

“I give myself permission to end my thoughts for the day and seek peace in sleep.”

When you are angry

“I take full responsibility for myself and my actions.”

When your self-esteem has been knocked by someone else

“I believe in myself. I know how amazing I am.”

When you are sad and alone

“I know this is a temporary state. I know there are people out there who care for me.”

Instructions:

1. Find a box or storage container and divide it into many different sub-sections. If you can find an old printer’s wooden box, so much the better.

2. Fill the box with all sorts of textures such as:

Sandpaper	Leaves	Plastic	Wood	Sponge
Wire	Nuts/bolts	Rubber	Leather	Clay
Plasticine	Rock	Wool	Sand	Metal

3. Touch each object in turn and see if a certain type of tactile stimulation matches your mood, or brings you comfort, or helps to ground you in some way.

4. Use the tactile box as and when you feel the need.

5. If you recognise which types of textures/materials/fabrics best match your needs, you could start to carry them around with you.

Our senses are being constantly bombarded with information. What would it be like to be silent for a moment, without any purposeful activity going on inside your brain, without any need or urge to engage in the outside world? To some people this may sound quite boring or depressing, while to others it may be a lifeline out of the stresses and strains of being constantly on the go.

Often people who have mastered the art of slowing down and becoming still for periods of time find they are less tired, more alert and generally feel more energetic. Others, who practise the art of silence, either alone or as a group, for longer periods of time, experience a whole raft of ‘happenings’ inside themselves, such as a release of tension and an outpouring of emotion.

Some people, however, fall at the first hurdle of silence. They try to find silence or they try and block out the noise. Or they try to get from A to B in one fell swoop, rather than have the experience of the journey. They fail because their mind is all-seeing and all-knowing when it comes to its own affairs. It resists the silence by filling the void with any old junk. That is when the people give up and say, “No, this is not for me.”

Other people, though, who have more perseverance and no expectations, who don’t force themselves to stop thinking, who are up for the journey and are happy to commit themselves to a certain amount of time each day in the pursuit of quietness, are more likely to be rewarded with the calmness and tranquillity that they seek.

If you are serious about silence, could you answer the following questions?

Q: Realistically, if I wanted to make a go of this, would I?
Q: Realistically, could I do this on my own or would I need to book a course or a retreat with other people?
Q: If I am to do this on my own, when in the day could I do it, where would I do it and for how long?
Q: Would a meditational app be of use to me?

There is only one moment, and that is right here, right now.

If you are dwelling on things from the past or endlessly fretting on what may happen in the future, it is little wonder that you are stressed. So surely any means of getting you to have more and more moments where you are rooted to the here and now can only be a good thing?

The perceived wisdom of how to achieve this state of being is to be slow, aware, deliberate and purposeful in whatever kind of action you may wish to do.

Type “mindfulness” or “mindfulness exercises” into a search engine and you will get a million and one suggestions as to how to achieve this aim. So maybe all you need to do to help yourself on your way is to work out what actions you would like to be mindful of, and then seek them out online. The exercise could involve eating or drinking, it could be around your breathing or your skin or your body as a whole. It could be connected to driving or cycling or walking or swimming. It could involve looking, listening, touching, tasting, smelling. It could pretty much be about anything and everything. The question is: where would you like to start?

According to Chinese traditional medicine, meridian points on our body are channels of energy that can sometimes get blocked or shut down in times of upheaval and disturbance within the body and mind. However, when these points are stimulated, the flow of energy can be repaired. In Western medicine, this is likely to be referred to as the nervous system.

Emotional Freedom Technique (alongside Meridian Tapping Techniques), otherwise known as ‘tapping’, encourages us to use our own hands and fingers to apply small amount of pressure on certain meridian points in order to significantly reduce the effects of, among other things, cortisol. Cortisol is the stress hormone that can flood our body when the part of the brain called the amygdala perceives there to be a threat.

Below are three illustrations of where the meridian points are, followed by an exercise to get you started.