How to Replace Negative Self-Talk with Coping Cards
Coping Cards
Coping Cards are small but mighty in stopping the negative thought spiral associated with anxiety, stress, & depression. I create my own coping cards to use personally & professionally with my clients. It helps replace those spiralling thoughts in the moment to decrease anxiety and negative self-talk.
Negative thoughts or self-talk are like birds. We can’t stop them from flying in the sky. But, we can stop them from building a nest in our hair.
Coping cards help create new pathways in the brain, or new thought patterns. It does take time and consistency, but it is absolutely doable.
Dental Health and Mental Health
This is like brushing your teeth. If you’ve never done it before, but decide to start to do it one time for one hour, you will not see a huge improvement in dental health–only a very sore mouth. However, with time and consistency, 2 minutes, twice a day, for a few months, you will look back and say ‘wow I have come so far and now I have great dental health!’
The same is true for our mental health. If you focus on it for only one time for an hour, you may not see a vast improvement over night. But, if you practice these strategies that we work on daily, and with time and consistency, you will look back and see how far you’ve come and how thankful you are for starting. You will have a much stronger and healthier mental health.
We CAN change our thoughts
In fact, this is called neuroplasticity. Essentially, this is hopeful and means that we can create better, more balanced thoughts. We are not stuck in our ways!…(even though it can feel like it). This is why it can be very helpful to work with a trained therapist, especially using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, to replace these negative thoughts that fuel negative self-talk, anxiety, stress, and depression.
In counselling, we work together to formulate meaningful coping cards that are unique to you & your situation. These are a practical strategy to help in the moment. When working with together, I create client resource worksheets to work through together to personalize coping cards for you!
I also highly recommend the app, Mindshift CBT by Anxiety Canada.
Read below an example excerpt from Mindshift CBT and Anxiety Canada on perfectionism,
“Although there is nothing wrong having high standards and striving to do the best you can, remember that perfection is not only unhealthy, but it’s impossible! To truly be perfect, you need to sacrifice a lot, including your health! Is it worth it?”
MindShift CBT on Perfectionism
To learn more about perfectionism or other anxiety “issues”, contact me and also check out the full deck of Coping Cards in the free anxiety app, MindShift CBT