Personalizing Coping Skills
Figuring out how to tweak my coping strategies to suit me better has made a huge difference in my recovery journey. If you've ever been to therapy or counseling you may be familiar with the 5,4,3,2,1 coping skill which consist of 5 things you can see, 4 things you can touch, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste. This coping skill is great because you can do it anywhere at any time. On the other hand it can feel unnatural to me. It took some time for it to feel less forced but adapting it has made it more effective. At its core doing the 5,4,3,2,1 coping skill is about engaging with your senses in order to focus on the present moment. It helps you shift your focus from the stressors in your mind to physical sensations by externalizing your attention. Understanding this mindfulness technique makes you realize that you can incorporate a conscious engagement with your senses into almost any aspect of your day to day life. One way that I have incorporated it into my daily life has been with tea. I would start by watching the colour of the tea change as it started to steep. Followed by smelling the tea and feeling its warmth in my hands. Then I would taste the tea and feel its warmth go down my body. Using tea incorporates the use of temperature as another helpful coping skill. Temperature as a coping skill works by engaging the body's natural physiological responses to heat and cold, influencing the autonomic nervous system, promoting relaxation, and providing sensory grounding. My go to tea is the celestial brand of camomile lavender, not only for its taste but also for its calming effects. Lavender is often used for its ability to reduce stress and anxiety, promote relaxation, and improve sleep quality. Chamomile, on the other hand, is known for its mild sedative properties, helping to soothe the nervous system, reduce anxiety, and promote restful sleep. Another way that I engage with my senses is the use of incense. I love fire and how smoke looks in the air. I also enjoy the smells that come with it. So I would start with looking at the fire and the smoke that followed after. I would play with the smoke in the air then would concentrate on the smell. A different way that I use my senses is when I am outside. I would go for a walk and incorporate my interest for photography into a coping skill. I would seek out the beauty that's around me by looking out for mental pictures I can take. Simultaneously I would engage in mindful walking focusing on the physical sensation of my feet being grounded to the floor to lifting up to the air.
Finding coping strategies that genuinely work for me has been a vital aspect of my recovery process. As I continue to navigate this journey, I am constantly learning, adjusting, and discovering what helps me manage challenges more effectively. There are so many other ways to incorporate mindfulness and sensory techniques into daily practice. Experimenting with different approaches allows you to discover what works best for you and helps you cope in a healthier, more adaptive way. There were strategies I used to believe didn’t work for me, like meditation, but revisiting them later showed me just how helpful they could be. I’ve learned that keeping an open mind about coping strategies is essential because my mindset significantly influences how beneficial they are. When I assumed a strategy wouldn’t work, it became a self-fulfilling prophecy—I didn’t give it a fair chance, which prevented it from actually helping. I hope this post has helped you see how mindfulness and sensory techniques can be adapted to fit your own needs. By staying open to experimenting with different approaches, you can discover what truly works for you and supports your journey toward healing.
