Self Help 4 Stroke

Dice

Dice. When I am feeling anxious or low I have a dice that I throw and the numbers match things that I like. I also use it to reward myself for tackling something I had maybe been putting off. Anyone can do this by making their own list. Mine looks like this;
1. Catch up with your friends
2. treat yourself to your faveourite snack
3. listen to music
4. watch your favourite TV show
5. read a magazine
6. Buy something new to wear

Red card

Red card. Sometimes when I am talking with my wife or family they go on and on. It can get too much and we developed a red card system. I hold it up when I feel they have gone on for too long or are covering the same old things – mind you it works both ways – they can also hold up the red card when they think I am talking too much too! It gives us all the chance to call a halt without offending each other. Seems to work well though I think my wife uses it too much when I want to talk about football.

Egg timer

Egg timer. My husband always buts in and finishes my sentences or won’t let me explain how I am feeling. We use an egg timer to make sure we get a chance to have our say. We’ve used it with our daughters too when they come to visit, as long as everyone understands you’ll get your time but you have to let others chat too – Its great – 3 minutes of uninterrupted talking

Throw negative emotions away

Throw negative emotions away. I find sometimes that feelings can haunt you a bit or make you feel unsafe. A friend told me about “ putting these feelings up in the attic.” It puts them out the way and then you are not as likely to think about them. When I told my husband he said he does something similar – but what he likes to do is think of the feeling written on a bit of paper and scrunching it up and throwing it in the bin. So maybe its whatever you feel would work for you – I see mine all being piled into a basket on a balloon and being blown up and away from me. Good riddance!