Lived Experience Forum

[Polarshift]

Hi everyone

Some of you may have heard of the wellness toolbox and i found it quite helpful to have a visual of those things that benefit my moods and those that dont....So what you do is find something that represents a toolbox it can be a shoe box or an actual tool box its up too you but make it personal to you then find seven items that represent something that makes you feel happy eg i used a dog collar because walking the dog is enjoyable and i put that in the tool box another suggestion would be a cd beacuse music is important so on and so forth so make it personal to you then find two triggers that are in no way good for your wellbeing so i put a stubby holder in there beacause alcohol was a negative copying stragegy at one stage etc so you can see once you have finished you will have a toolbox with reminders of the things you can do if you need to lift your moods..Be creative its your journey

Take Care

Polarshift

[Shimmer]

Hi @Polarshift,

I love the idea of a wellness toolbox! Thanks for sharing, I'm sure others on the Forums will find this a really helpful strategy too 🙂

@Crazy_Bug_Lady had a similar idea and started a virtual Coping Box for Forum members to share. Both @Jon22 and @SCORPION added reminders of their dogs, it seems like pets are a very popular way to lift your mood! (I know my cat is great for that too!!)

I haven't heard of putting in negative triggers before, is that to remind you to avoid unhelpful coping strategies? It's a good idea, sometimes it's easy to slip into old habits that can exacerbate the problem!

Hmm I've always thought a wellness toolbox is a wonderful idea, but never actually created a physical one for myself, just try to keep a list in my head... Is yours an actual box @Polarshift? Now that I think about it, it would be good to have a physical reminder, as sometimes when you're feeling down it can be easy to forget the many strategies we have up our sleeves to lift our mood again. It seems I have a new creative project for the weekend!

Shimmer 🙂

[Outlanderali]

Hi @Polarshift

I have never heard of the idea of a wellness toolbox...but I love it!!! 

As soon as i started reading your post I started to think of things I could put in my toolbox.

I think i'd start with a pic of my cat (who is off chasing gekos in heaven)

One of my fave book - wuthering heights

A journal - to remind myself that there is always a space for me to get my words out

And still thinking about the others!

Thanks for the thought @Polarshift

[Polarshift]

Thankyou

I dont know which state you are in  but where i am from its going to be sunshine sunshine sunshine over the weekend so if thats the same for get a friend over do it outside which in turn creates a social scene .....

Take care

Polar shift

[Polarshift]

Thankyou

It might be a good idea if your comfortable with it to get a friend round and make one together if where your froms whether is going to be like mine get outdoors and do it makes for more of a pleasent experience

Take care

Polar shift

[Polarshift]

Im sorry i meant weather....

[Polarshift]

I appologise for not answering your question about putting the triggers in your box ..answer YES very important know your faults and weeknesses is very important in the recovery process bring it into the light because your triggers can only thrive in darkness