How to Help Yourself Cope During a Crisis

The mental health charity Mind has information on ways to help yourself cope during a crisis. This includes calming exercises and a tool to get you through the next few hours.

Making a plan for the next few hours

For example, if you are finding it difficult to focus or are unsure how to manage your day, you can try to make a plan for the next few hours – writing down what you’ll do next might help you feel more in control of the situation. Try and think short term. Try not to think about what to do afterwards.

Here are some suggestions by people who have been through something similar to what you’re feeling right now, but if they’ve worked for someone else, maybe they will work for you.

• Listen to a 5 minute song
• Do a 5 minute meditation
• Read one page of a book or magazine
• Make a hot drink
• Put some moisturiser on
• Stroke a pet
• Do some star jumps
• Do a 5 minute breathing exercise

Relaxing and calming exercises

If you are feeling anxious or scared there are many things you can do to help yourself cope.

A common – and natural – response to anxiety is to avoid what triggers your fear, so taking any action might make you feel more anxious at first. It can be difficult, but facing up to how anxiety makes you feel can be the first step in breaking the cycle of fear and insecurity.

Here are some simple exercises you can try that might calm you down:

• Take a break
• Focus on your breathing
• Listen to music
• Spend some time in nature
• Try active relaxation (for example, Pilates)
• Think of somewhere else
• Try guided meditation
• Get creative

Coping with scary thoughts

Some people experience thoughts that are frightening or alarming you. They could be about suicide, harming yourself, harming others, or hearing voices and other hallucinations.

It might help to write down how you’re feeling. You can write down your thoughts online on the mental health charity Mind’s website – that is a safe space where you can reflect, try to clear your mind and attempt to make sense of what you’re experiencing.

Some people have found the online tools on the Mind’s website helpful:

• Weave Silk is creative and relaxing
• Pixel Thoughts is a meditation tool to help you clear your mind