Coping tools

Look around and name:

• 5 things you can see
• 4 things you can feel (your feet on the floor, your shirt)
• 3 things you can hear
• 2 things you can smell
• 1 thing you can taste

It pulls your brain back to right now.

Box breathing: breathe in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4. Repeat 4 times.

Longer exhale: breathe in for 4, out slowly for 6–8. A longer breath out tells your body it’s safe to slow down.

Follow the circle: breathe in as it grows, hold, and breathe out as it shrinks.

• Cold water on your face, or hold an ice cube
• Do jumping jacks or a fast walk for 2 minutes
• Squeeze your fists tight for 5 seconds, then let go
• Turn on a song you know every word to

Write on paper or in a private note. Skip anything that doesn’t feel right.

• Right now I feel… and I feel it in my body here…
• Something that happened that wasn’t my fault:
• What I wish someone would say to me:
• A place, person, or thing that makes me feel even a little safer:
• Three things I got through this week:
• If my best friend were in my situation, I’d tell them…
• One thing I want for my life in five years:

If someone might read your journal, use a disappearing note, write and tear it up, or keep it somewhere only you go.