If you’re feeling really low and aren’t sure what to do, try some ‘emotional first-aid’. This is about taking care of basic needs that might have not been met because you’re going through a tough time. It can be hard to remember how best to look after ourselves sometimes. Here’s a list of some quick things you can do to get yourself back to ‘functioning’, so you can make it through:
- Drink water
- Check if you’ve missed any medication today
- If you normally have caffeine, check if you went without this morning
- Step outside and walk around for 5-15 minutes if you’ve not been out yet today
- Eat a small snack. It can be hard to realise we need food when we’re feeling really low
- Have you washed yet today? Have a wash or put on fresh clothes.
- Take some time to cry
- If you haven’t spoken to anyone yet today, call or text someone you trust just to say a quick hello
- If you’ve only been around other people, ask for some alone time
Make your own list – you might have a very good idea of what you need each day to function. Put it somewhere that you can easily see and spend 5 minutes doing one or two items when you’re struggling.
Have you heard of emotional first-aid? How do you feel about treating an emotional struggle like we do physical ones? Is it helpful for you?
.
