THERE IS

SOMETHING
GOOD IN

everyday
A Mental Health Coping Miss. Pharis
Strategies Notebook

Table of Contents

A guide to progressive muscle 2

relaxation
Step-by-step walk through of how to utilize
progressive muscle relaxation

A guide to mindfulness 3
The benefits of mindfulness

A guide to setting S.M.A.R.T goals 4

Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant
and timely

A guide to calming techniques 5

Colouring, soothing music, physical activity
and a healthy diet

Page 1
A Mental Health Coping Strategies Miss. Pharis
Notebook

Strategy #1

Progressive Muscle
Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation is a behavioural strategy
that is used to reduce anxiety. This strategy focuses on
tensing then releasing each part of the body.

Step 1: Lay on your back on a

smooth comfortable surface.

Step 2: Breath in and tense

one part of your body for 5-7
seconds.

Step 3: Breath out and relax

the muscle group you were
just tensing.

Step 4: Relax your entire

body for 15 seconds before
tensing the next part of your
body.

Step 5: When you have

tebsed all body parts count
backwards from 10 and
bring yourself back to the
present.

Page 2
A Mental Health Coping Strategies Miss. Pharis
Notebook

Strategy #2

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a cognitive strategy used to pay close

attention to thoughts, emotions and body sensations of
the present moment. I have listed several mindfulness
applications below.

Benefits of Mindfulness:
•Reduced task-irrelevant thoughts
•Reduced fear
•Enhanced flow-state
•Reduced anxiety
•Increased confidence
•Increased optimism
•Improved performance

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A Mental Health Coping Strategies Miss. Pharis
Notebook

Strategy #3

S.M.A.R.T Goal
Setting
A good way to reduce stress and anxiety is by setting
goals. These goals can help you focus on what is
important to you. To be successful in achieving those
goals it is important to make S.M.A.R.T goals

To ensure your goal can be reached it is important to

make it S.M.A.R.T
Specific: Make a detailed goal that specifies every little
aspect.
Measurable: Make sure you have identified a way to
measure and track your progress.
Achievable: Make sure you set a goal that can be
achieved. Setting unrealistic goals can discourage you
from achieving the goal.
Relevant: Make sure that there is a benefit to achieving
the goal you set. If reaching the goal is not beneficial to
you the motivation to reach it will be lacking.
Timely: Make sure a timeline is established to help keep
you accountable.

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A Mental Health Coping Strategies Miss. Pharis
Notebook

Strategy #4

Calming
Techniques
There are many little things a person can do to reduce
their level of stress. It is important to use calming
techniques to set time aside for yourself to relax and
unwind.

Colouring Exercise

Soothing Music Healthy Eating

Page 5