1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:04,400 Speaker 1: Support for today's podcast comes from Causebox. Causebox is a 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:10,040 Speaker 1: beautiful quarterly subscription box curated by women for women that 3 00:00:10,200 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: is filled with all sorts of amazing products and brands 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,720 Speaker 1: that are ethical, sustainable, and have a positive mission to 5 00:00:17,800 --> 00:00:22,040 Speaker 1: give back and make the world better. Every Cause Box 6 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: is limited edition and comes with six to eight full 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:31,480 Speaker 1: size products, including everything from skincare and jewelry to homewares 8 00:00:31,520 --> 00:00:35,240 Speaker 1: and accessories. Each of the last four boxes sold out 9 00:00:35,440 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: in only a matter of days. 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Welcome to the Therapy for 27 00:01:48,360 --> 00:01:54,240 Speaker 1: Black Girls Podcast, a weekly conversation about mental health, personal development, 28 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,400 Speaker 1: and all the small decisions we can make to become 29 00:01:57,400 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 1: the best possible versions of ourselves. I'm your host, Dr 30 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:06,000 Speaker 1: Joy hard and Bradford, a licensed psychologist in Atlanta, Georgia. 31 00:02:06,560 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: For more information or to find a therapist in your area, 32 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:14,840 Speaker 1: visit our website at Therapy for Black Girls dot com. 33 00:02:14,919 --> 00:02:18,040 Speaker 1: While I hope you love listening to and learning from 34 00:02:18,040 --> 00:02:21,200 Speaker 1: the podcast, it is not meant to be a substitute 35 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:32,639 Speaker 1: for a relationship with a licensed mental health professional. Hey, y'all, 36 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining me for Session on two 37 00:02:35,680 --> 00:02:39,720 Speaker 1: of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. In last week three, 38 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:42,919 Speaker 1: for Thursday Chat, I talked about how to manage dealing 39 00:02:42,960 --> 00:02:46,799 Speaker 1: with a breakup in the midst of COVID nanteen. One 40 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:49,679 Speaker 1: of the strategies I talked about was building a coping kit, 41 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:51,880 Speaker 1: and I thought it would be great to share more 42 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: information about that here on the podcast. So the basic 43 00:02:56,280 --> 00:02:59,360 Speaker 1: idea behind a coping kid is having a collection of 44 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: things all together in one place that can be useful 45 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,480 Speaker 1: to you when you're feeling overwhelmed by emotions and need 46 00:03:06,560 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: some ways to distract yourself. When I do this exercise 47 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,840 Speaker 1: with clients, I typically suggest they either purchase a nice 48 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:18,880 Speaker 1: decorative box or spend some time decorating and beautifying a 49 00:03:18,960 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: box that you already have at home. Decorating the box 50 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,600 Speaker 1: can actually be a really meaningful and fun part of 51 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,760 Speaker 1: the process. The purpose of having the box is so 52 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,880 Speaker 1: that all of the items in your coping kit will 53 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:37,520 Speaker 1: be together in one easily accessible place. It's also important 54 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,680 Speaker 1: to note that it's probably most helpful if you build 55 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,720 Speaker 1: your kid before you really need it, so that is 56 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:47,000 Speaker 1: there for you when you do. Now that we have 57 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,920 Speaker 1: our box all taken care of, here are a few 58 00:03:49,960 --> 00:03:53,640 Speaker 1: things you might want to include in it. Number one 59 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,960 Speaker 1: a journal. You've likely heard both myself and guests on 60 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:01,000 Speaker 1: the podcast discuss how helpful they can be to have 61 00:04:01,040 --> 00:04:03,840 Speaker 1: a journal to write down how you're feeling in any 62 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: given moment. It's especially helpful in tracking any patterns that 63 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 1: might exist in your feelings and can give you information 64 00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:14,120 Speaker 1: about potential triggers that might need to be attended to. 65 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,880 Speaker 1: I want you to try hard not to approach the 66 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: journal as an academic assignment. It's not at all supposed 67 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: to be that. Feel free to write in bullets, draw pictures, 68 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,280 Speaker 1: whatever helps you to get on paper what's currently happening 69 00:04:30,320 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: for you. The second thing you might want to include 70 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: in your box is some kind of puzzle or puzzle book, 71 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: something like a word search book, maybe a collection of 72 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: crosswear puzzles or other brain teasers that you've enjoyed in 73 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: the past. Your coping kit is not the time where 74 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,400 Speaker 1: you want to try some kind of puzzle that you've 75 00:04:49,440 --> 00:04:53,160 Speaker 1: never done before that will leave you feeling frustrated and upset. 76 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,240 Speaker 1: That's not at all what we're going for here. You 77 00:04:56,279 --> 00:04:59,080 Speaker 1: want to include some kind of puzzle like activity that 78 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: you've enjoyed in the past and might enjoy doing again. 79 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 1: The third thing you might want to including your coping 80 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,119 Speaker 1: kit it's something that you can hold in your hand, 81 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:14,040 Speaker 1: so maybe something like a stress relief ball, some silly putty, 82 00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: or some play dough. Having something that is tactile that 83 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: engages your sense of touch can be really helpful. In 84 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 1: grounding you in the current moment. The fourth thing you 85 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:28,960 Speaker 1: might want to including your coping kit is a playlist 86 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:32,960 Speaker 1: of your favorite songs or podcast episodes that have typically 87 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,840 Speaker 1: made you laugh or made you feel good in the past. 88 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:38,560 Speaker 1: It would be helpful to go ahead and make the 89 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:42,520 Speaker 1: playlist on your phone or whatever device you typically listen on, 90 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 1: and then just have an index card in your box 91 00:05:45,960 --> 00:05:50,640 Speaker 1: that reminds you to play your playlist. And then the 92 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 1: fifth thing that you might want to include in your 93 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:55,640 Speaker 1: coping kit is a list of shows you'd like to 94 00:05:55,680 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: watch or rewatch, or a list of books you'd like 95 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,599 Speaker 1: to read again. You can use an index car to 96 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,680 Speaker 1: write out the list of shows, or you can add 97 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: them to a queue on your favorite streaming service and 98 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:10,840 Speaker 1: just have the index car there to remind you of 99 00:06:10,880 --> 00:06:14,359 Speaker 1: the list. You might also buy copies of certain books 100 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,600 Speaker 1: that you know you'd really enjoy and save those just 101 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:20,920 Speaker 1: for your coping kit. That way, you know you'll be 102 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:23,800 Speaker 1: engaged and it's almost like a treat you forgot you 103 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,239 Speaker 1: given yourself. Some other things you might want to consider 104 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:31,760 Speaker 1: adding to your coping kit or candles or lotions in 105 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:35,920 Speaker 1: your favorite sense, old pictures that help you to recall 106 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 1: happy or fun memories are a collection of quotes or 107 00:06:40,080 --> 00:06:44,080 Speaker 1: prayers that have been helpful to you in the past. Again, 108 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:46,719 Speaker 1: the idea is to make this a collection of things 109 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 1: that will help you to be distracted and engaged in 110 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 1: something else so that your thoughts or feelings are less 111 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:57,159 Speaker 1: overwhelming for you. If you're able to engage in one 112 00:06:57,480 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: or all of these activities, usually you will have given 113 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: yourself enough time to allow the intensity of whatever you 114 00:07:04,440 --> 00:07:09,680 Speaker 1: were experiencing to come down a little. So I am curious, 115 00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: is this something that you've done before. I love to 116 00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:15,920 Speaker 1: know what you've included in your coping kit or if 117 00:07:15,960 --> 00:07:18,320 Speaker 1: you're going to be building one, let me know what 118 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:21,360 Speaker 1: you're putting in there. You can share the contents of 119 00:07:21,400 --> 00:07:24,040 Speaker 1: your kid or share a picture of your box with 120 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:28,440 Speaker 1: us on social media using the hashtag tb G in session, 121 00:07:29,200 --> 00:07:31,240 Speaker 1: and be sure to share this episode with two of 122 00:07:31,280 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: your girls so that they can work on building their 123 00:07:33,880 --> 00:07:37,680 Speaker 1: coping kit as well. If you're looking for a virtual 124 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:41,560 Speaker 1: therapist in your area, check out our therapist directory at 125 00:07:41,600 --> 00:07:45,480 Speaker 1: Therapy for Black Girls dot com slash directory. And if 126 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,000 Speaker 1: you want to continue digging into this topic and meet 127 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:50,600 Speaker 1: some other sisters in your area, Come on over and 128 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:53,240 Speaker 1: join us in the Yellow Couch Collective, where we take 129 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: a deeper dive from the topics from the podcast and 130 00:07:56,280 --> 00:07:59,360 Speaker 1: just about everything else. You can join us at Therapy 131 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: for Black Girl dot com slash y c C. Don't 132 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: forget to show our sponsors some love by grabbing your 133 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: cause box for thirty percent off by going to cause 134 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,440 Speaker 1: box dot com slash Therapy for Black Girls and entering 135 00:08:12,520 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: code Therapy for Black Girls. Thank you all so much 136 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:18,840 Speaker 1: for joining me again this week. I look forward to 137 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: continuing this conversation with you all real soon. Take get 138 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:23,000 Speaker 1: care