Robert Ta says you need to notice you're stressed before any tactic works. Expressive writing, backed by over 200 studies, helps. Then comes regulation, and finally prevention: avoiding situations that trigger stress in the first place.
What I've worked on is first is just awareness. After awareness, then you can apply tactics. So tactics will be different for everybody, and I've gone through different things. Journaling is great. The expressive writing protocol is a really good one that's scientifically backed by over 200 peer-reviewed studies. I think undoing a lot of that being in the matrix essentially, or that training of, hey, I have to do this and then I'll get love. But the goal really I've learned working with my therapist is first, awareness in those moments and then regulation through some tactics. Another thing is prevention. So how do I prevent myself from getting into that situation in the first place where I'm likely to be so stressed that I'm my own worst enemy?
