Being dysregulated is your responsibility. Read that again. What it didn’t say is why you’re dysregulated is your fault. I’m not victim blaming here, but I am offering responsibility as a tool for your own agency. Many adults suffer from a lack of positive coping tools and defer to alcohol, drugs, sex, or food to cope.
There’s a better way to cope!
While this tool isn’t magically going to erase extreme negative experiences, it’s free and it’s plenty powerful. It’s called orienting and it’s very simple. The next time you notice yourself anxious or dysregulated, stop. Try this:
- BACK. Turn behind you and notice something specific behind your location. (When I do this I notice a frame on the wall of an adobe home.)
- LEFT. Look to your left and notice something specific. (I notice a golden sconce on the wall.)
- RIGHT. Look to your right and notice something specific. (I noticed a diamond patterned pillow.)
- FRONT. And, finally notice something specific in front of you. (I notice a mostly full water bottle.)
Why does this work?
The labyrinth of the mind will follow rabbit holes so deeply into the past or the future that we become pulled away from the moment and dysregulated. Orienting most specifically brings you back here!
Stay tuned for more somatic coping strategies. Keep going!
9/18/23 WOD
DEUCE Athletics GPP
Complete 4 rounds of the following complex:
2 Hang Power Snatch
1 Power Snatch
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
12 DB Floor Presses
12 Ring Rows
:40 Hollow Hold
Complete 6 rounds for time:
6 Sandbag Squats (150/120)
1 Bull Run
4 Renegade Rows
DEUCE Garage GPP
12-12-Max
False Grip Ring Rows
Complete 3 rounds for quality of:
4-6 Ice Cream Makers
10 Bar Dips
12-15 Hollow Body Band to Hip
Then, complete the following for time:
15 Hang Cleans (155/105)
1000m Row
15 Hang Cleans