Updated March 1/21
I decided to make a list of resources for stress management, coping, and mental health. I feel like when you search anything related to Sikhs and mental health, it is difficult to find some tangible resources (I do enjoy the thought provoking posts from Sikh your Mind on facebook). This post is not intended to be medical advice but rather is about brainstorming for our own individual coping strategies for the stressful lives that we lead in the age of Kaljug. When we realize the list of possibilities sometimes that in itself makes a huge difference for how we view the world. I certainly was very excited to be making this and then to make a special version for myself as well. It is important to recognize we are all so unique and individual, and the things that we enjoy and that will work well for us are also going to look different. I’ve divided it up into body, mind and spirit for the sake of making things into categories, but really these are all interconnected. This builds off a recent post on Sikh specific resources but is a much larger list. We all could use having our own ideas for what we do to cope with stress, but also we might have a family member or friend really struggling and might be able to help them brainstorm what works for them using this list. Knowing what is out there and making a choice about what you'd like to do is much different than struggling because you don't have the resources and don't know where to look. A strength scale like the VIA can be really helpful too! Its available for free online.
BODY
Sleep:
-weighted or electric blanket
-sleep hygiene (there’s lots of online PDFs that describe healthy sleep habits like the temperature of the room, timing of screen time, etc.)
-white noise machine
-a warm bath or shower before bed
-guided imagery, progressive muscle relaxation, relaxing music
-Kirtan sohila
-reading a book before bed
-trying a sleep tea, melatonin (consult a physician)
-imager rehearsal therapy/dream completion technique, or lucid dreaming therapy for nightmares
-eating a snack so you aren’t going to be hungry, but also not eating a whole meal too close to bed
-if disoriented: night light, glow in the dark stickers on the door
-dealing with any pain issues, restless legs syndrome, or medical conditions interfering in sleep
-sleeping in a different location of the house/couch/with someone else around
-Tel Chasna (scalp massage)
-having a good mattress, quiet room, and safe space
Eating:
-lots of traditional herb remedies
-vitamin D has an important role
-langar, group meals
-Cha (time to socialize as well), teas such as chamomile
-if having trouble remembering to eat, eating mechanically (setting timers) or working with a dietician
-if loss of appetite consider shakes and choosing enjoyable foods and drinks
-relaxation techniques during meals, sitting and relaxing to eat rather than eating on the go
Movement (alone or in a group)
-Yoga (including trauma center trauma sensitive yoga for anyone with PTSD, based out of the US Justice Research Institute)
-Tai Chi/Qi Gong
-aerobic exercise, team sports, swimming, martial arts (note aerobic exercise can be triggering for some), group fitness classes
-walks in the sun
-dancing (any style but also bhangra, gidda), Nia
-Gatka
-Flying a kite
-snow-shoeing and other snow-related activities (keeping in mind same rule for extreme sports being triggering for some)
-martial arts
-Somatic Exercises (ex. work of Peter Levine)
-Trauma Release Exercises
-Yoga Ball
Clothing:
-having choice in what we wear whether that is styles of turbans, the color of what we wear, mixture of traditional and western, etc.
SAD Lamp - this is a specific type of light therapy used for those with seasonal affective disorder, and is 10, 000 lux with a uv filter, speak to a physician about who should use it and how
MIND
Grounding (may be helpful to have a grounding box if you deal with anxiety like generalized anxiety, OCD, PTSD, panic, etc.)
TOUCH: stress ball, noticing where you are sitting, feet on the floor, 5/4/3/2/1 senses, EFT (Gary Craig) or TFT, fabrics/textures, rock/crystals, sensory objects (worms, rubix cube, pipe cleaners, play doh, slinky), splashing cold water on face, washing hands to clear the energy, Mala, painting of a Guru or written prayer
SIGHTS: glow sticks, jot, candles
SOUNDS: Harmony balls (work on acupressure points on the hand and make sounds), Tibetan healing bowl or crystal healing bowl, music, noise cancelling headphones, ear plugs, white noise machine, binaural beats, ipod/phone with kirtan (musical hymns) or paath or favorite music
SMELL: essential oils/aromatherapy, incense (rose, jasmine, sandalwood)
TASTE: mints/chocolate, tasting a lemon, sukka parshad
BREATHING: bubbles, focusing on out-breath, havening, humming, box breathing, belly breathing, alternate nostril breathing
Unwinding: massage, soften gaze, sauna, hot tub, bath bombs/bubble baths/Epsom salts, foot bath, pedicures, body butters, heating pads/hot water bottle, face lotion or putting lotion on your whole body, fuzzy pyjamas, paint nails, audiobooks, predictable tv shows vacations, travel, heating pad/hot water bottle, creating worry time/worry box (ex. writing all worries and keeping them in a journal or box to revisit to solve later), reading (reading can also be helpful for making people feel less alone in their problems), mood and sleep apps
Connection
-friends, family members, elders, community members (whoever is our sangat)
-Camps like Dukh Bhanjan Tera Naam, Sarab Rog ka Aukhad Naam, history camps, simran camps, Kaur camps, yoga camps, (see previous comprehensive list of camps in Canada)
-facetiming someone, sitting with family to watch a movie
-counselling: there are a diversity of styles of counselling ranging from animal/equine therapies, to narrative, to drama/art, talk therapies like CBT/DBT, EMDR (ptsd specific), somatic therapy, biofeedback, neurofeedback, couples therapy, family therapy, internal family systems, etc. There is a list of south Asian counsellors at https://southasiantherapists.org or Punjabi Community Health Services or connect with your physician. There’s always a need to be careful about who you choose and making sure they are qualified. Usually there are multiple types of therapies relevant for each condition.
-having people on your “team” that you need- pharmacist, social worker, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, dietician, doctors, specialists, massage therapist (recommended to be a registered massage therapist not a spa), etc. Some people find medications to be helpful. For some people they prefer more energy based healing things like reiki, chakras, crystals, naturopathy, acupuncture, homeopathy, herbal medicine, Ayurvedic, Indigenous or Chinese traditional medicine, mauna (silent meditations), acupressure, etc. All therapies can be harmful or helpful to us and have that risk.
-note talk therapies can be really hard for certain conditions, like trauma, and in those cases it can be more helpful for people to have something like art, animal therapies, or somatic therapies (this is written about in Dr Van der Kolks book as bottom up therapies, to teach people how to feel safe again and Peter Levine’s work)
Others:
Language of choice can be helpful: “I get to” or “I am choosing to sit for a while before I brush my teeth” or “I am choosing _ instead of _”
Animal therapy: equine therapy, other animals especially helpful to those who have had their trust broken and feel like they cant talk to other humans
Getting together to laugh at theatre or comedy
Gardening
Technology: there’s lots of technology now going into neuro and biofeedback. Some of the ones I saw were “sensate pebble II”, “heart math” and “muse”, apps like mood apps, sleep apps etc. There are lists of good ones online.
-Affirmation cards, Affirmation app (the "I Am" app is a good one but $)
-quotes on walls or printed out
-power poses for confidence (Amy Cuddy ted talk)
-distracting with busy activities like work, puzzles etc.
-cheering or smiling in front of a mirro
-laughing, finding a comedy or youtube video
-dipping your feet in a natural body of water
-Drinking water
-Gargling/yawning (activates the vagus nerve)
-Spa day
-Sailing, Kayaking, Canoeing, Fishing (fishing has been studied in Veterans, you can catch and release)
-enjoying a mid-day break or tea
Creativity/Art Therapy:
Journaling (can be formal- narrative therapy) or Blogging. Consider letter to self or others that you destroy, journal prompts, written or typed, different types of journal covers
music therapy with traditional saaj (instruments) including rabab, dilruba, taus, jori, etc., using different raags to express different feelings. This involves listening to kirtan (singing of hymns to music) or playing the instruments and learning them as well as singing alone, or collectively in sangat (gathering). This has the power for collective healing, individual experiences, expression of emotion, and for connection to scriptures that can be on themes that are uplifting. Some people might enjoy singing, rapping, making youtube videos, etc.
poetry, dhadhi vaaran
jutti-making (shoe-making)
manja making are all traditional art forms
Bilateral drawing/scribbling
Woodworking, wood carving
Leather crafting
Metal working
Calligraphy
Candle Making, soap-making/sculpting
crochet/knitting
sand paintings
painting (oil, acrylic, water, ink)
drawing: pens/pencil crayons/crayons
cooking/baking
beads, jewelry making
crafts
embroidery/cross stitch/needle work
papercrafts/origami/scrapbooking
sewing, quilting
miniatures
mosaics, collages
Clay, play-doh, plasticine
Stone sculptures
Ice sculptures
Costume making
Foam art
Basketry, weaving, rug-making
Glassblowing, glass etching, stained glass
Digital art
Gardening, flower arranging, bonsai, topiary
terrariums
Pottery
pressed flower art
macrame
airbrushing
chalk, pastels
comic art
resin
card making
needle felting, punch needle
nail art, makeup art
rubber stamping
dollhouses, dollmaking, model trains/boats/cars/planes
3D printing
videography, photography
washi tape
casting
fashion design, tie dye
papier-mache
puppetry
vision board for physical/emotional health, career, family/romantic relationships, community health, creativity, spiritual journey, environment
coloring mandalas (a type of mindfulness, not art therapy)
going to a symphony, ballet, or opera
SPIRIT
Meditation: simran (sass as, sas gras, rom rom, with kirtan, using Waheguru or Tuhi or Har mantr, etc.); self-compassion meditation, loving kindness meditation (Dr. Neff, Chris Germer), mindfulness meditation, check out the Self compassion Deck (a deck of cards with mindfulness)
Prayer (Akhand Paath, Sukhmani Sahib, Dukh Bhanjni Sahib, Taiya Taap Sakhi)
Nature: oceans, sunsets, mountains, gardens, forests, sunshine
Volunteerism/Service/Sewa
Being up at Amrit Vela
Stargazing
Visiting healing locations in the world
Plants- ex. aloe, basil plant, flowering plants like jasmine, planting a garden
Animals
Disconnecting from social media/removing people and selectively choosing what to follow
Katha: telling stories of Guru Jis, stories of resilience. For women who have experienced abuse it may be helpful to remind them of the stories of women back in our history, who had been kidnapped and were shunned by the culture of the time but were still taken in by the Sikh community and loved. They were married to Sikhs and lived happy lives as warriors of the Khalsa (see past posts on Sikh women).
Gratitude (journal, doing Ardas)
Going to the Gurdwara- matha tek, do Ardas and get guidance in the form of a Hukamnama
Acceptance of Hukam (we’ve had multiple previous posts expanding on this topic)
The point of the spirit activities is largely to learn to feel things in the present moment and thus might look different for different people
Collective healing: singing, choir, dance, poetry nights, music, theatre, art, prayer, collective celebrations like Nagar Kirtans, cooking/baking together, group crafts
References and Resources: Websites, Videos and Books
Tibetan Healing sounds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6QTdvbu0uI&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=35&t=246s
See previous post on styles of kirtan for different kirtan videos and saaj videos, as well as posts on katha resources
Affirmation cards by Louise Hay
artastherapy.com
Grounding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPH5CFSmYEU&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=10
Veterans Tai Chi https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqkQqcSK1TY&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=7&t=1132s
Somatic Practices for PTSD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Z2cAzzn78&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=5&t=661s
Loving Kindness Meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cxtdiXBQDk&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=32&t=726s
Qi Gong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3fh_IjHo1A&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=8
Mindfulness: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6T02g5hnT4&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=17
TCTSY- Trauma Center Trauma Informed Yoga (note 3 hr time difference, anyone can register from Canada or USA): https://jri.org/get-involved/tctsy-classes
https://www.thecuriouslycreative.com/list-of-creative-hobbies/
An example of TCTSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEI-i1VJFU4&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=46&t=1214s
butterfly
Body Scan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS2yDmWk0vs&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=39&t=417s
havening https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQXbZmuSbFs&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=51
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILhPOKTTkAY&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=50
EFT (Gary Craig) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V4SWbrWTz8&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=54
Power poses for confidence by Amy Cuddy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks-_Mh1QhMc&list=PL9GV_JMNuQ5Ip_M6iDMnM03sTmkZOniug&index=63
Gabor Mate: When The Body Says No https://www.amazon.ca/When-Body-Says-No-Hidden/dp/0676973124/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=when+the+body+says+no&qid=1613688655&sr=8-1
Brene Brown: Daring Greatly, Rising Strong https://www.amazon.ca/Daring-Greatly-Courage-Vulnerable-Transforms/dp/1592408419/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=daring+greatly&qid=1613688673&sr=8-1
Bessel Van Der Kolk: The Body Keeps the Score https://www.amazon.ca/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma-ebook/dp/B00G3L1C2K/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=when+the+body+says+no&qid=1613688655&sr=8-4
Peter Levine Healing Trauma https://www.amazon.ca/Healing-Trauma-Pioneering-Program-Restoring-ebook/dp/B003FS0KGI/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=healing+trauma&qid=1613689149&sr=8-1
Stephen Porges: Polyvagal Theory https://www.amazon.ca/Pocket-Guide-Polyvagal-Theory-Transformative/dp/0393707873/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=porges+polyvagal&qid=1613689189&sr=8-1
Deb Dana: Polyvagal theory https://www.amazon.ca/Polyvagal-Flip-Chart-Understanding-Science/dp/0393714721/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=Polyvagal+theory&qid=1613689161&sr=8-5
Adverse Childhood Experiences Study TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXXTLf7oouU
CAMH resources: https://www.camh.ca
I liked that the book Trauma Toolbox had lots of ideas by Susan Banitt, however I found that there were parts I disagreed with based on modern PTSD research and the fact that she isn't a physician therefore didn't see risks behind some of the activities in her book. Take with a grain of salt, but she does have suggestions for non-conventional things like types of crystals, types of teas, types of epsom salts etc. I read it after making my list, but then decided to add a couple of things as part of my updated version
See recent post on crisis resources, and covid-specific resources
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