What are coping skills?

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What is the vagus nerve? First of all, the vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the body which originates in the brain as cranial nerve ten, travels down the from go the neck and then passes around the digestive system, liver, spleen, pancreas, heart and lungs. This nerve is a major player in the parasympathetic nervous system, which is the ‘rest and digest’ part (opposite to the sympathetic nervous system which is ‘fight of flight’).

Validation means that we are acknowledging another person’s emotions, thoughts, experiences, values, and beliefs. Validation isn’t about agreeing, placating, “fixing” the other person, trying to get someone to change, or repeating back what the other person has said.

Why validate? Validation is essential to meaningful connection. We all need validation at one time or another. Consistent and purposeful validation helps us to build relationships. Using validation tells the other person, “You are important. Our relationship matters."

Anxiety is the experience of a nervous system that is not running smoothly.  Many things cause anxiety including stress and trauma. Here are several simple somatic practices to soothe the nervous system. Each gently invites awareness back into the body and can create experiences of safety and calm. You can develop these resources at home, or anywhere you have a moment, and then practice tapping back into them during stressful experiences.

There are many benefits to "somatic experiencing" be it with a therapist during a therapy session or in our every day lives. Clients have told me that in using some of the exercises, they feel a sense of comfort or healing in between therapy sessions. Below are some somatic experiences. Explore each one that sounds interesting or intuitively a fit for your needs during a calm or content time. Most of these exercises are best used on a regular basis so you become familiar with the steps and your body gets a chance to learn that it is a cue to settle into a sense of safety.

1. Don’t regard this as a family disgrace. Addictive behavior is something all humans express to some degree or the other. When it “Gets out of Hand”… Humans Can and DO make Changes.

When you feel the symptoms for a panic or anxiety attack begin…SIT DOWN…look at a clock and tell yourself, “in 10 minutes I will begin to feel better.” 

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