Coping Skills ~ A Journaling Exercise

[(*Haven*)]

I've been surfing around for the past couple of days searching for journal prompts. I came across this website that I think may have some good things to use. I found this one and thought I would post it for my fellow Bussers that journal.

http://www.journal-writing.webdjinni.ne ... oping.html

First write down 1-5 (1 = yes!/very well./strongly agree, 2 = yes/well/agree, 3 = sometimes/undecided, 4 = no/not well/disagree, 5 = no!/not well at all/disagree), then write down an explanation of your answer, if you find it helpful, add the question “why?” to the end of each question.

There are no right or wrong answers - there is just your belief. Be honest with yourself and write down your answers.

1. Do you accept your mistakes and not shun away responsibility for making the mistakes?

2. Do you trust your own judgment?

3. How well do you take compliments?

4. Do you ask for help with issues you are unsure about?

5. Do you enjoy new situations and not get overwhelmed by them?

6. For you, is there a way out of every situation?

7. Do you enjoy taking time for yourself to relax?

8. Do you easily overcome discouraging setbacks?

9. Do you stick to your decisions and not second-guess the decisions you have made?

10. If you have a gut instinct about how to solve a problem or act in a situation, do you generally follow it?

11. Do you know where to find information you need to solve a problem?

12. Are you able to apply your knowledge to a new situation to help find a solution?

13. Are you capable of making a strategy and that will get you where you want in life?

14. Can you set aside your problems at the end of the day and relax?

15. When you become stressed, can you still find solutions to your problems?

16. Do you generally make decisions on your own and not have to check with others to the validity of your decision?

17. When making a decision, can you foresee the possible outcomes?

18. If you are in trouble, is it easy for you to talk to others to gain help and perspective?

19. Do you like learning new things?

20. Do you take acceptable risks to get where you want in life? (i.e., not being an observer of others who take risks)

21. Do you like to laugh?

22. Do you handle change well?

23. Do you know how to fix your problems in life?

24. Do you find yourself able to discern other's motives or emotions?

25. Do you find yourself finding new solutions to problems when the old solutions have failed?

26. Are you good at compromising? (not your ethics, but opinions or solutions)

27. If you want to change something about yourself, do you try to change?

28. Do you enjoy engaging in stimulating activities such as reading, playing cards, sports, outdoor activities?

There's a thing under that too, with more things to do, but it says to answer the questions first. So you could do it either way, just answering the questions or continuing on with the excerise.

~*Haven*~

[jamie28]

1. Do you accept your mistakes and not shun away responsibility for making the mistakes? yes. if anything i try to take responsibility for my mistakes AND thing that are the fault of others or things that are completely beyond my control.
2. Do you trust your own judgment? yes. it's taken a lot of time, but i now realize that i am mostly always right.
3. How well do you take compliments? fairly well. sometimes i even think i deserve them.
4. Do you ask for help with issues you are unsure about?mostly. as far as mental health issues, i'd say 99% of the time. when it comes to other issues, such as work, probably could stand to ask for help more often.
5. Do you enjoy new situations and not get overwhelmed by them? depends on the situation. i definately do better in new situations than i used to.
6. For you, is there a way out of every situation? i'm not sure what this means. if this means "is there a way to avoide taking responsibility for your actions" there is almost always a way, but i won't take it. if it means out of physical danger i will take any way out i see. if it means emotional pain it just depends. this question is too vague to be of any use.
7. Do you enjoy taking time for yourself to relax? oh hell yes!
8. Do you easily overcome discouraging setbacks? i don't know about "easily" but i don't give up. i keep working until i have overcome. if every setback one has is "easy" to overcome, is it even a setback?
9. Do you stick to your decisions and not second-guess the decisions you have made? yes. however, i don't do this to a fault. i don't make many mistakes but when i realize i have, or when situations change, i am willingto change decisions or courses of action.
10. If you have a gut instinct about how to solve a problem or act in a situation, do you generally follow it? yes. i don't go just on "gut instinct", i follow it up with research and facts, but "gut instinct is a factor.
11. Do you know where to find information you need to solve a problem? another question which is so vague i don't know how useful it really is.....WHAT kind of problem? a problem at work? with my marriage? with my classes? the answer i would give would depend on the problem.
12. Are you able to apply your knowledge to a new situation to help find a solution? yes. something that has taken practice but i've become quite proficient at it.
13. Are you capable of making a strategy and that will get you where you want in life? yes. my goals have changed as i have learned and matured, but i have always managed to meet the most important goals by developing a strategy and revising it as necessary.
14. Can you set aside your problems at the end of the day and relax? sometimes. i'm getting better about this.
15. When you become stressed, can you still find solutions to your problems? usually. it does take more outside help, however.
16. Do you generally make decisions on your own and not have to check with others to the validity of your decision? almost always. no one knows me as well as i do, so no one knows what is as valid for me as i do.
17. When making a decision, can you foresee the possible outcomes? yes. that is why i make the decisions i do. ok, i don't know if anyone can be 100% correct in foreseeing the outcome of every decision, but i do a damn good job of it.
18. If you are in trouble, is it easy for you to talk to others to gain help and perspective? i don't know if it's easy, but i do it anyway.
19. Do you like learning new things? DEFINATELY. i can't understand people who don't. they always end up seeming petty and boring to me.
20. Do you take acceptable risks to get where you want in life? (i.e., not being an observer of others who take risks) yes. i take acceptable risks nearly every day. if one wants to get ahead or mke any sort of progress one MUST take risks on occasion.
21. Do you like to laugh? of course! i've met a few people who don't and i think they need someone to pee on them.
22. Do you handle change well? generally. it does depend on the type and scope of the change, however.
23. Do you know how to fix your problems in life? i don't know how to fix every problem in my life, but i am not giving up on them. the ones i do know how to fix, i have fixed.
24. Do you find yourself able to discern other's motives or emotions? very often. i seem to be rather intuitive in that way.
25. Do you find yourself finding new solutions to problems when the old solutions have failed? yes. if you do the same old thing it's likely that you will get the same old results. trying something different is always crucial.
26. Are you good at compromising? (not your ethics, but opinions or solutions) depends. sometimes i'm just a stubborn cuss.
27. If you want to change something about yourself, do you try to change? well yeah, duh! people who whine about what they don't like about themselves but aren't willing to try to change piss me off.
28. Do you enjoy engaging in stimulating activities such as reading, playing cards, sports, outdoor activities? reading, studying, running, word games, time with my pets, etc, etc, etc, yes.