Coping Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide To Aid Your Mental Health Journey

Coping Toolkit: A Comprehensive Guide To Aid Your Mental Health Journey


Hey friend,  I wanted to reach out and offer you some resources to help you with your mental health and wellbeing. As some of you might know, this Coping Toolkit was initially created as the COVID-19/Mental Health Coping Toolkit, and it was created to pull together resources to help people cope during a really difficult time. Although pandemic restrictions have eased, taking care of ourselves remains as important as ever.  The toolkit includes a range of options, most of which are free, to support your mental health and help you find balance. This page will be updated regularly as I find new resources.


But I'd also like to highlight that it's not just about reading and going through resources alone. Connecting with others who have similar experiences can also be incredibly helpful. That's why I've also included a list of peer support groups and programs that you can check out. Some of these include the Anxiety and Depression Association of America's online support group, Beyond Blue's online forums for Australians, and the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance's online support groups.  

And if you're interested in doing your own work using concepts from evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), there are also lots of resources available for that. For example, GetSelfHelp has worksheets on a variety of topics, PositivePsychology.com offers info and worksheets based on different therapy models, and Psychology Tools has a wide variety of worksheets, including CBT and DBT-based. Everything has been mentioned in detail with proper links and attachments below.

I'll be updating this page regularly as I find new resources, so be sure to check back often. Remember, taking care of ourselves is just as important now as it was during the pandemic. You got this, my friend!

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a resource portal called How Right Now with tips on managing difficult emotions. There are more free mental health resources available on the Resources page, including Feeling Suicidal? A Workbook for the COVID-19 Era.

Peer Support


Peer support groups and other programs provide an opportunity to connect with others with similar experiences.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA): online support group

Beyond Blue: online forums for residents of Australia

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA): online support groups

Empower Survivors: peer support for survivors of childhood sexual abuse

Letters to Strangers: anonymous letter-writing

Mind Peer Support Directory (UK) and Side By Side online peer support community

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): support groups are offered at the state affiliate level

Painted Brain: peer groups on Zoom held Mondays through Fridays

PeerTalk support groups (UK)

Rethink Mental Illness (UK): search for peer support groups in your area

ShareWell: a platform where you can join (or host) peer support sessions

Therapy-Based Self-Help


There are lots of resources available to do your own work using concepts from evidence-based therapies like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Here’s a selection of free resources that I’ve found. There are even more workbook links in the post Free Mental Health Workbooks.

These sites have large collections of assorted worksheets:


GetSelfHelp: worksheets galore on a variety of topics

PositivePsychology.com: info and worksheets based on a number of different therapy models, including CBT, DBT, and positive psychotherapy

Psychology Tools: has a wide variety of worksheets, including CBT and DBT-based

Therapist Aid: worksheets that are geared for therapists to use with their clients

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)


ACT for Anxiety Disorders worksheets: Dr. John Forsyth’s website has handout packs to accompany his books on ACT for anxiety.

ACT Mindfully: Russ Harris’s site has worksheets from all of his books on ACT, including The Happiness Trap.

Mindfulness and Acceptance-Based Group Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder: this includes a therapist manual and participant handouts

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)


Antidepressant Skills Workbook: a good intro for people who are new to CBT for depression, but might feel a little too basic if you are familiar with CBT

Behavioural activation booklets from the NHS: this series of booklets focuses on the behavioural activation aspect of CBT for depression

CBT+ Notebook: CBT handouts and worksheets

CBT Skills Training Workbook: from the NHS, focused on low mood and anxiety

Centre for Clinical Interventions: CBT-based workbooks and worksheets for a variety of mental health concerns

Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression: workbooks for generalized anxiety disorder, PTSD, OCD, panic disorder, social phobia, and specific phobias

Flinders University self-guided workbooks: workbook topics include behavioural experiments for overcoming obstacles and behavioural activation for depression

Integrated CBT patient workbook: this resource comes from Dartmouth University

Managing Your Worries: GAD workbook from the University of Exeter

NHS inform: CBT-based self-help guides for anxiety, depression, and other topics


Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)


DBT is very skill-based, and while it’s used most often for borderline personality disorder, many of the skills can also be useful to people with other mental health issues.

DBT Peer Connections: DBT skills in a massively open online course format

DBT Skills Application: a DBT self-help site with links to worksheets focused on various DBT skills

Dealing with Distress: distress tolerance workbook

ilovedbt.wordpress.com: DBT skills micro-lessons, handouts, and worksheets

Open-Minded Thinking DBT workbook

Other Resources


Between Sessions Resources:

Queens University self-help workbooks on improving mood and self-care

The Wellness Society has a guide on How to Beat the Winter Blues, a Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook, and lots of other free resources

Tolerance for Uncertainty: A COVID-19 Workbook from Dr. Sachiko Nagasawa at Bay Psychology

Self-Compassion


Self-compassion involves:

Self-kindness when we make mistakes
Recognizing our shared humanity
Nonjudgmental mindful awareness

You’re just as human as everybody else, just as prone to messing up, and just as deserving of compassion. For further reading, Dr. Kristin Neff’s book Self-Compassion is a great resource.


A Quick Guide to Self-Compassion from Flinders University

Being Well podcast: Rick Hanson (author of the book Resilient) speaks with Kristen Neff

Building Self-Compassion Workbook from the Centre for Clinical Intervention

Compassionate Self Help from GetSelfHelp

Greater Good Magazine from UC Berkeley has video clips from a talk by Kristin Neff

Just As I Am self-compassion guided journal

PositivePsychology.com has a PDF pack with 3 self-compassion exercises

Simple Steps to Self-Compassion from Dr. Russ Harris

Training Our Minds in, with and for Compassion: compassion-focused therapy info from Dr. Paul Gilbert


Meditations


Center for Mindful Self-Compassion: guided meditations from Kristin Neff and Chris Germer

Chris Germer: a self-compassion researcher, has guided meditations on his site

Headspace: has some free self-compassion meditations

Mindful Path: free mindfulness and self-compassion meditations

Self-compassion.org (Kristin Neff’s site) has exercises and guided meditations

The RAIN of self-compassion: guided meditation by Tara Brach

Self-Care and Self-Soothing


Self-care isn’t a luxury; it’s an essential part of maintaining your mental wellbeing (you can read more about that in this blog post on self-care). These resources can give you inspiration for your self-care:

Creating a Self-Care Toolbox from That Beautiful Brain

Positive Coping with Health Conditions: A Self-Care Workbook from the Consortium for Organizational Mental Health

Positively Present: ABCs of Self-Care

Self-care mega guide from Flinders University

Self-care starter kit from Homewood Health

Self-Care Starter Kit from the University of Buffalo School of Social Work

Self-Care Toolkit: COVID-19 Edition from the University of Edinburgh

Self-Love Rainbow self-care and self-love ebooks and worksheets

TED Talks playlist: The importance of self-care

That Beautiful Brain: self-care printables

The Foundry: 7 days of self-care

The Working Mind COVID-19 self-care & resilience guide: has tips and worksheets

If you’re looking for a self-care subscription box, the UK charitable organization Blurt offers BuddyBoxes, available as a one-off or monthly subscription.

Self-Soothing


Grounding yourself in your senses can be helpful in difficult moments. During those difficult moments, thinking probably isn’t at its clearest, so having a pre-assembled self-soothing kit can make things much easier. You can also put together a more compact kit for use on the go. You’ll want to include one or more things to engage each of your 5 senses.

Sight: e.g. favourite photos or a book of nature or travel photos
Sound: even if you can’t think of anything to physically put in your kit, you can write out the names of favourite songs or a playlist
Taste: e.g. your favourite kind of tea, candies
Smell: e.g. essential oils
Touch: e.g. fuzzy socks, a cozy blanket

Managing Stress


The stress bucket is a great model for conceptualizing how stress pours in and coping mechanisms allow it to pour out. Watch out for unhealthy coping mechanisms that will just siphon stress back up to the top of the bucket!

Your mental health will benefit the most if you can both reduce the stress going in and increase the stress going out through the use of coping skills. Treating mental illness can help to expand your bucket capacity.

The University of New South Wales has a helpful stress bucket worksheet.


Some stress management tools and other mental health tools:



Finding Balance Workbook (Kaiser Permanente)

How to Be Better at Stress guide (The New York Times)

How to Manage and Reduce Stress (Mental Health Foundation)

Manage Stress Workbook (Department of Veterans Affairs)

My Personal Stress Plan for teens (HealthyChildren.org)

Relaxation Skills for Anxiety (University of Michigan Medicine)

Stress management guide (TherapistAid)

Stress Management: Relaxing Your Mind and Body (University of Michigan Health)

Therapy Tools from Mental Health @ Home: includes various thoughts to help with managing your mind

Coping Statements








Promote Wellness


The UK’s Mental Health Foundation has put together a guide called Our Best Ever Mental Health Tips: Backed by Research.

Cultivate Gratitude


Gratitude doesn’t make the bad stuff go away, but it’s a way to bring mindful awareness to the good stuff. Here are a few ideas on how to practice gratitude: daily journal entry, either on paper or using an app like Gratitude: Self-Care Journal

use prompts, like the A to Z prompt: identify things you’re grateful for starting with each letter of the alphabet; Pinterest is a great source of prompts, and you’ll find my collection here



Art & Coloring

People experience greater reductions in anxiety when coloring complex geometric patterns, such as mandalas, compared to unstructured coloring (source: Art Therapy). These sites offer free coloring pages or coloring books:


Mindful Coloring Workbook from Between Sessions Resources

Stay Well, Stay Inspired from the American Library Association

That Beautiful Brain colouring sheets

To Write Love On Her Arms colouring pages


Printable paint by numbers templates:



To explore more art-related options, check out 100 Art Therapy Exercises, or read about my own experience doing paint by numbers.

Music


Listening to music can benefit mental health, whether it’s something you do on your own or you work with a music therapist. You can find out more in the post How Music Affects the Brain and Mood.Music for self-care resources from Indiana University


Meditation Apps


Headspace: has some free options
Simple Habit: has some free options

There's a detailed blog on free apps and therapy resources in our website, please check that out here: 

The Bigger Picture


Particularly for those of us with mental illness, happiness is not always an available option to choose. However, you can still take actions that will facilitate greater overall happiness as a state of being rather than pursuing happiness as a fleeting emotion.




Action for HappinessActionsforhappiness.org: identifies 10 keys to happier living (GREAT DREAM), has monthly calendars with action ideas for each day, and has a 10 Days of Happiness free 10-day online coaching program

The Happiness Academy: identifies 12 pillars of joy and ideas for actions to go along with them

Random Acts of Kindness Foundation: has loads of ideas for spreading kindness (and joy)


Spreading kindness isn’t just good for others; it’s good for you too. According to the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, these are some of the benefits:

releases the feel-good hormone oxytocin, which also lowers blood pressure
boosts energy
stimulates the brain’s reward centre
produces endorphins, which decrease pain
decreases levels to the stress hormone cortisol
decreased anxiety and depression
promotes happiness

The Science of Happiness has created a video called Train Your Brain to Be Kinder featuring some awfully cute kids.

The Lighter Side


Life really sucks some of the time, but there’s still usually a lighter side to things. We’re not talking toxic positivity, and looking for the lighter side doesn’t make the hard stuff go away, but it does ease the load for a little bit.


Whether it’s silly animals, your favourite stand-up comedian, or clips from a tv show or movies, there are probably a few things that will make you laugh every time, even if you’re feeling lousy. Some of my faves are comedy by Trevor Noah or Russell Peters, The Heat with Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock, and Seinfeld. I’m a big fan of “he took it out” from Seinfeld and “pivot” from Friends.

The fuck-it bucket


There’s a fabulous post on Rebelle Society about the Fuck-It Bucket, a new philosophy of life.

The fuck-it bucket is multi-purpose. You can throw shit in so you don’t have to give it any more fucks have a 2-part bucket where you throw in things that aren’t worth any fucks and pull out things that are a much better use of your fucks fill your bucket with something fun like a rubber chicken or two, a roll of toilet paper, or some dead fish, and throw them, or imagine throwing them, at things you don’t want to give any more fucks about.


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