17 Short-Term And Long-Term Coping Strategies For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

When you suffer from PTSD, following trauma or abuse, you need a variety of ways to deal with it, both in the here and now and in the longer term.

Since you never know when a flare-up may occur, because triggers are often unpredictable, you need a method of calming yourself back down again as quickly as possible.

At the same time, there are things you can do to make day-to-day life more bearable too.

This article will cover both of these aspects, but there’s one topic that needs to be discussed first, because it creates a reference point for much of what follows.

And that is…

The Window Of Tolerance

This term, which was coined by Dr. Dan Siegel, a professor of psychiatry, describes “the zone of arousal in which a person is able to function most effectively. When people are within this zone, they are typically able to readily receive, process, and integrate information and otherwise respond to the demands of everyday life without much difficulty.”

This video, by Beacon House, does an excellent job of explaining what the Window Of Tolerance is, and why it’s an important tool when helping somebody to recover and grow following their trauma or abuse:

While the video is talking specifically about children, the principles discussed apply equally well to adults with PTSD too.

Avoidance

This is often the easiest tactic to use, and the one most PTSD sufferers turn to at first.

And it makes sense – why wouldn’t you try to avoid situations that you believe will trigger an attack?

However, for most people, it’s not practical to go through life avoiding triggers, especially when you don’t really know when they will occur or what they all are.

Also, depending on the circumstances, avoidance may not always be an option for you.

So, while at first, it may be the easy way out, it is far better to learn as many coping techniques as you can, so that you have a good chance of applying one that’s effective, no matter the situation.

Controlled Breathing

Sometimes referred to as deep breathing, this is an excellent tool that can be used almost anywhere at any time to calm down during an attack (e.g. anxiety, panic), and in my experience, it is one of the most effective and fastest-acting ways to bring yourself out of the attack.

In essence, you need to inhale (preferably through your nose), and then exhale (either through your nose or through pursed lips), for longer than you inhaled.

There are many variations on this exercise, but one common one is to inhale while you count to four, hold your breath for a count of two, and then slowly exhale while you count to eight.

It works because a group of nerves in the brain that regulates breathing has a direct connection to the arousal center of the brain. Faster breathing, which you would experience during some kind of emergency, say, sends signals to that arousal centre, telling it to do something that can lead to a hyperactive state, while slower breathing, on the other hand, does not send those signals, which means you do not become hyperactive.

Distraction

In this context, a distraction is anything that takes your mind off your current panic attack, say, and it can include:

• Exercise
• Music
• Playing games
• Reciting things from memory

Don’t Rush It

While nobody wants to suffer from mental health problems such as PTSD for any longer than they have to, healing from trauma and abuse is usually not something you can rush.

You must expect it to take a while, with slow and gradual improvement, so be patient – trying to force it may backfire on you and cause additional issues.

Five Senses Exercise

This practice, which comes straight out of the mindfulness playbook, gets you to focus on you and what’s around you, rather than on your anxiety and stress.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Focus on five things that you can see (e.g. a car driving by), five things you can hear (e.g. a dog barking), five things you can smell (e.g. coffee brewing), five things you can feel (e.g. the texture of your socks on your ankles), and five things you can taste (e.g. hints of the toothpaste you used earlier).
2. Then do the same, but focus on just four items in each category.
3. Repeat, with three items for each sense.
4. Keep going, this time with just two items each.
5. And finally, focus on a single sensation in each category.

Now, for this to be as effective as possible, you should be as specific as possible. For example, don’t just say to yourself that you see a car – go deeper, like what type of car it was, what colour, what speed was it going, how many people were in the car.

The more details you can provide, the more likely it is that you will soon forget about your anxiety.

HEAL Technique

This is a method devised by neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson that helps you gradually replace bad and negative memories with good and positive ones.

It’s like positive thinking on steroids, because it takes advantage of how our brains are hardwired.

This excellent talk by Dr Hanson explains how to apply this technique, and why it works:

Journalling

While maintaining a diary might make you think of teenage girls, journalling is for everybody, whatever their gender or age – some people find it a fun thing to do, but the reason I’m listing it here is because there are proven benefits for people suffering from mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and PTSD.

You’ll find more information on these benefits in this article.

Laughter

We’ve all heard the saying that laughter is the best medicine, and while not strictly always true or appropriate, it’s hard to laugh and still feel sad afterwards.

It’s been proven that laughing reduces stress, so I would recommend having a list of funny videos (e.g. DVDs, a playlist on YouTube) or audios that you can turn to whenever you need a bit of cheering up.

Make Plans

These might be small plans (e.g. pizza and movie night with your family), or larger plans (e.g. a family vacation), but not only does this give you something positive to focus on, but it also helps rebuild trust, which is something that is often lost when suffering from PTSD, and create new, positive memories.

Meditation And Mindfulness

There are many reasons to meditate, and dealing with PTSD (and other mental health issues) is but one of them.

You can choose to meditate when you are anxious, as a way to calm you down right now, and you can choose to meditate regularly (preferably daily) as a longer-term strategy to heal your mind (and body).

You’ll find articles about meditation right here on this site.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

This is a very effective way of relieving tension and stress, and it’s easy to do:

1. Sit or lie somewhere where you are comfortable.
2. Start by clenching the muscles in your feet and hold that for about ten seconds.
3. Let go that tension suddenly.
4. Relax for 30 seconds.
5. Then repeat the clenching, holding, and releasing with the muscles in your thighs and buttocks.
6. Next, move on to your stomach muscles.
7. Then, it’s the turn of your hands.
8. Next, do the same with your biceps (with elbows bent).
9. Then, it’s time for your upper back muscles, followed by your shoulders.
10. Finally, do the same with your forehead (since you can’t really clench this, wrinkle it instead), your eyes (squeezing them closed), and lastly your mouth (by opening it as wide as you can).

The whole series should take you between five and ten minutes.

This makes for a great regular exercise, but when you need to relax more quickly, you can use a technique called the Tension Dump.

This is very fast and very easy – all you need to do is tense your entire body at once (i.e. every muscle you can control), hold it for about 30 seconds, and let release all of that tension immediately.

Self-Validation

When you have an attack, it’s important to remember that you are experiencing a perfectly normal reaction to an originally abnormal event (or series of events).

It is not your fault, and you need to remind yourself of this – you will not heal as quickly if you are constantly blaming yourself.

Service Dogs

Many people suffering from PTSD find that having a service dog, or emotional support dog, or therapy dog, is very helpful in reducing symptoms. (They are also useful for people who are depressed, as this article shows.)

This is obviously not practical for everybody, but it is definitely worth looking into.

And there are a few breeds that have been found to be especially good for people with PTSD, because of their natural qualities (e.g. affection, bonding, intelligence):

• Boxer
• Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
• Doberman Pinscher
• Golden Retriever
• Labrador Retriever
• Lhasa Apso
• Standard Poodle

Tell Those Who Are Close To You What You Need

While this does mean talking about your problems, which may prove difficult for you, the more those around you know what you need (and what you don’t need, including the triggers you are currently aware of), the better they will be able to help you.

Therapy

If you are not already undergoing therapy for your PTSD, then you should consider it, even if you don’t think it’s for you.

When I was severely depressed (over 15 years ago now), it was suggested I go for therapy, and I wasn’t keen on the idea, especially the group sessions. But not only was it helpful, but I actually enjoyed it too.

Options include seeing a psychiatrist / psychologist, or attending a support group if there’s one in your area.

Volunteering

This doesn’t need to be just charity work (e.g. serving at the local soup kitchen, visiting and talking with elderly people who are all alone), but anything that gets you involved in community activities (e.g. coaching sports, joining a drama club) can work, because it helps create experiences and feelings that are outside of your trauma.

Weighted Blankets

I’ve mentioned these before in other articles, but they can really help people, including both children and adults, to sleep better (since sleeping problems are associated with all sorts of mental health problems), and to calm down.

They work because they simulate being hugged, and hugging is one activity that releases oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone”.

If you’ve ever watched the excellent movie about Temple Grandin, who was autistic, you’ll remember she constructed her own hugging machine shortly after going to college, because she was no longer able to receive hugs from her parents.

Bonus Tip

There’s one last thing I’m going to recommend, and while it sounds a bit “new age”, please don’t discount it without trying it first.

Aromatherapy!

Smells (both pleasant and unpleasant) can trigger emotions and memories, and you can put this to good use, because certain aromas (e.g. chamomile, lavender, lilac, sandalwood, ylang-ylang) are known to help calm you down.

You have a few options on how best to expose yourself to these relaxing scents:

• a diffuser in the room
• bath salts
• candles
• herbal teas
• in an aromatherapy locket you wear around your neck
• pillows
• topically, on your skin (but only when mixed with a carrier oil, since pure essential oils can cause skin irritation)

Needless to say, be careful not to choose a scent that triggers an attack!

Conclusion

Whether you have PTSD, or somebody you care about or know has it, the key, as is the case with most mental illness, is patience and understanding.

The effects of this type of stress may not make sense to anybody else and may not seem real, but to you, they are very definitely a major part of your life – until you can heal yourself and recover (for most of the time).

Triggers can happen at any time, often when you least expect them, so even when you think you are better, you still need to have a few tools available to help you deal with any attacks.

Hopefully, this article will have provided you with a variety that will work in most situations.

Additional Resources

These are suggestions for those who wish to delve deeper into any of the above:

1. Aromatherapy Oils & Diffusers
2. PTSD Workbook
3. Support Dogs
4. Temple Grandin
5. Trauma Support
6. Weighted Blankets

Lavender field photo by Léonard Cotte.