2 Develop your own stress plan

My Stress Plan

Sometimes when we are feeling very stressed we need to be reminded of all the things we can do to help calm us down.

To relieve my stress I stop doing everything, lie down on the couch and relax my muscles, sometimes rubbing my own neck and shoulders. I put on some soothing music and focus my mind on the music and try not to think of anything else. When the weather is fine I’ll sit outside in the sun in my garden and listen to the breeze through the trees and the calls of the birds.

Greg Francis

MIEACT Volunteer Educator

Self-care for me looks like taking my dogs for a walk, cooking with my partner, yoga, watching my favourite show and many other things that take me out of my own head and bring me into the present.

Rose Clifford

MIEACT Volunteer Educator

Create your Stress Plan.

Read through the below ‘calming strategies’ and choose your favourite to drag across to create your own stress plan.

Create your Stress Plan.

Read through the below ‘calming strategies’ and add your favourite to create your own stress plan.

Get out in nature
Sing the alphabet forward and backwards
Play with my pet
Hum or sing a song
Have a healthy snack
Do some colouring in
Ask for a hug
Say something kind to myself
List 5 things I love in my life
Talk to a trusted adult
Go for a run
Enjoy the sun on my skin
Listen to my favourite song
Play a game with someone
Watch a funny movie
Watch a TV show that makes me laugh
Take a nap
Go to bed early
Swap an unhelpful thought with a more helpful one
Take deep breaths in and out
Hug a soft toy
Drink a glass of water
Write about how I am feeling
Draw how I am feeling
Imagine a calm place
Go to a quiet place
Use positive self-talk like ‘I am brave’
Give myself a neck massage
Do some stretches while breathing deeply
Count to ten
Play relaxing music
Take long, deep belly breaths
Try an online yoga class
Label how I am feeling “I am feeling ...”
Create an artwork
Sit outside and notice 5 different sounds
Squeeze and relax the muscles in my body
Speak to myself as I would to a friend
Give a friend a call
Read a book
Notice the sound of my breathing
Have a bath or a warm shower
Trace my hand with my finger
Use visual calm down cards
Drink a warm beverage
Become a volunteer and help out
My Stress Plan
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