Strategies: Taking Care of Ourselves

MINDFULNESS: Start with yourself

Awareness:

  • Practice mindfulness to stay grounded and present. Focus on what the other person is saying and your own physical sensation and body language. This helps you to respond more thoughtfully.

  • Learning process: adopting a trauma-informed approach is not accomplished through any single particular technique or check list. It requires our attention, awareness and sensitivity. And this is an ongoing learning process.

  • Recognize your own bias and stereotypes such as towards race, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age etc.

  • Remember that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and experiences.

  • Sensitivity

    Navigating difficult topics or stressful situations requires sensitivity and respect for others’ emotions and experiences.

  • Emotional Self-Regulation

    Role-model emotional regulation. A calm, measured tone can help co-regulate a person in distress, modeling healthy coping mechanisms and setting a supportive tone.

  • Authenticity

    Choose to communicate openly and truthfully, even when it is difficult. Being authentic, transparent, warm and genuine builds trust.

  • I-Statements

    Express your thoughts and feelings from a personal perspective rather than making assumptions about others. For example, say, “I feel uncomfortable when...”, instead of “You always make me feel…”.

  • Patience

    It is important to practice patience and avoid jumping to conclusions or making assumptions. Taking the time to gather all the relevant information and asking clarifying questions can avoid misunderstandings and promote a more productive conversation.

  • Open-Mindedness

    It is helpful to approach a difficult discussion with a willingness to learn and understand different viewpoints, even if they differ from your own.

“Let us not underestimate how hard it is to be compassionate. Compassion is hard because it requires the inner disruption to go with others to a place where they are weak, vulnerable, lonely and broken. This is not our spontaneous response to suffering. What we desire most is to do away with suffering by fleeing from it or finding a quick cure for it.“

― Henry Nouwen