Coping Ahead for the WIN(TER)!
Most of us could not have imagined that this pandemic, and continued social distancing, would have lasted this long. And yet, here we are, enjoying the last bits of warmth from the lingering summer we enjoy so much in the Bay Area, and facing down months of possible quarantine along with shorter days and colder temperatures. Historically, as I notice more fall leaves in my front yard and a crisp chill on my morning walks, I begin to imagine cozy movie nights with my family, an abundance of baked goods featuring way too much pumpkin, and an excitement for more settling in at home. However, even though I have experienced some silver linings from months of forced time at home, I can honestly say that I probably don’t need more settling!
I have provided therapy in a private practice setting for 16 years now and throughout that time period, I have learned the cycles of adolescent challenges that typically coincide with school testing and grading periods. The summer, Thanksgiving and winter breaks usually provide a time of respite and increased well-being for hardworking students. Unfortunately, this did not come to full fruition this year due to online learning, isolation, family stress, missed summer trips and job opportunities.
As a clinical team, we often discuss preparing for these stressful cycles by reminding our clients of essential DBT skills, including Coping Ahead, Radical Acceptance, Pleasant Activities and Reducing Emotional Vulnerability, to name a few. Recently, we considered these hard-learned observations and thought, “Here we go, winter is coming, this is going to be brutal for our clients.” Being the spirited group of clinicians that we are, we decided no, that wasn’t good enough, we need to be as positive as we can be and reach out to our community and COPE AHEAD TOGETHER.
A reminder to get outside and mindfully notice nature’s beauty. Fall and winter sunsets can be spectacular.
The Coping Ahead Skill and Challenge
The DBT Coping Ahead Skill helps us prepare for a situation we know will cause us stress and enables us to plan and practice a more effective response. Our typical action urge when experiencing anticipatory anxiety (or an intense emotion) is to avoid or under prepare for the situation. When we consider stressful triggers and rehearse in advance, we automatically respond with more effective behaviors. A Coping Ahead Plan helps us manage challenges effectively.
As we go into the winter months under quarantine advisory, we at MindFit want to encourage our clients to create their own positive Coping Ahead Plan. For a little extra inspiration, we're launching a Coping Ahead Challenge on Instagram. We encourage our clients and their family members to share their Winter Coping Ahead Plans with our team by posting a comment on our Challenge Post, dated Sunday, November 8 on Instagram. The lucky winner (chosen randomly) will receive a $50 Amazon Gift Card. Bonus points for directly quoting a DBT Skill in your plan! The deadline to post is Friday, November 20th, and the winner will be announced on Friday, Dec 4th (just in time for Holiday gift shopping!).
Some Ideas for Coping Ahead
List your current go-to coping strategies
Create a Pleasant Activities List with things that you can engage in easily on a daily basis
Plan a fun event for the future, something to look forward to in the spring or summer months
Pick up a new hobby and plan specific times to enjoy that activity during the winter
Acknowledge your maladaptive coping strategies and plan for more effective behaviors
Acknowledge your understandable feelings about quarantine and plan how to handle them
Remember, as long as this seems, it is temporary
When feeling down about the rain and being inside, think, “it’s only water” and get outside
Select an inspirational quote and post it in a common area
Be sure to subscribe to the MindFit Newsletter to receive all the latest updates from the practice. This week’s Newsletter features our clinicians’ favorite Pleasant Activities with some great suggestions on how to Cope Ahead for Winter.