Crafting Effective Safety Plans to Prevent Crisis Situations

If you have a mental health diagnosis, learning coping skills to avoid crises can be crucial. Crises are not ideal and can be very scary, so creating effective safety plans can be helpful. At Avalon Malibu, we want to ensure you know you are not alone in learning how to navigate life with a mental health diagnosis. It may seem intimidating to learn new skills but they can benefit you in your daily life. Modifying safety plan coping skills into daily life can benefit you and also help keep your nervous system regulated, which can help prevent crises from arising in the future.

Creating Safety Plans

At Avalon Malibu, we know the importance of creating effective safety plans. Safety plans are created so that in the case of a crisis, there are steps you can follow to keep yourself safe. Crises can be scary, so an effective plan is crucial. If you have a mental health diagnosis, there is no shame in talking with your therapist about creating a safety plan or altering an existing safety plan to fit your needs as you grow throughout your healing journey. 

A safety plan is usually written down with steps in a specific order in the case of a crisis. It is important that you call the appropriate authorities in an emergency. There are many tips you may want to consider when creating a safety plan. One tip to consider could include using coping skills that you have utilized in the past or have practiced before and found effective. Another useful tip when creating a safety plan could be to have multiple types of coping skill options. 

An online book, Coping Mechanisms, by Emad B. Algorani and Vikas Gupta, discussed various types of coping mechanisms. This source categorized coping mechanisms as problem-focused, emotion-focused, meaning-focused, and social coping, then said the following to define them:

1. Problem-focused, which addresses the problem causing the distress

2. Emotion-focused, which aims to reduce the negative emotions associated with the problem

3. Meaning-focused, in which an individual uses cognitive strategies to derive and manage the meaning of the situation

4. Social coping (support-seeking) in which an individual reduces stress by seeking emotional or instrumental support from their community. 

Healthy Coping Skills

As previously mentioned, we understand that learning new coping skills can be intimidating. Again, you are not alone. If you need treatment for your mental health, this could be a great opportunity to begin learning new healthy coping skills. Your therapists can help you become acclimated to using new skills to discover which ones work for you and which ones do not. This can help you to know which skills to use in the case of a crisis. 

There are a variety of skills you can learn in treatment. One example of coping skills you may learn in treatment can include TIPP skills. TIPP is an acronym that stands for temperature, intense exercise, paced breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation. These skills are taught in dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), which is one method of treatment we offer at Avalon Malibu.

If our mental health treatment facility, The Grand House, is the right fit for you, we are here to help support you on your healing journey. We take your safety seriously and want to help you learn how to care for yourself with a mental health diagnosis effectively. We are equipped to help you learn new skills to keep you safe in the case of a crisis. When you are ready, we can then help prepare you for life outside of treatment to transition back into everyday life. 

Modifying Safety Plans and Healthy Coping in Daily Life

We understand that navigating life inside of treatment and outside of treatment can be very different. As mentioned, safety plans are created to be used in the case of a crisis. Safety plans can also help you incorporate healthy coping skills into everyday life outside of treatment to prevent crises in the future. Taking skills you have used to create your safety plan and modifying them into simpler coping skills can be doable. 

One example of modifying safety plan skills into daily life skills could include taking a daily walk. Another example could include utilizing progressive muscle relaxation every night before bed. Utilizing skills like these can train your mind and your body to recognize that your environment is safe. This, over time, can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and help regulate your nervous system. 

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has a variety of healthy coping skill ideas on its website. Some of these ideas include caring for your mind and body, such as getting adequate rest, spending time outdoors, taking regular breaks from social media, and joining support groups.

If you have a mental health diagnosis, it could be crucial to discuss creating a safety plan with your therapist. Safety plans are important to keep you safe in case you are in a crisis. Safety plans are created with a variety of coping skills to keep you safe. We understand that sometimes, learning new coping skills to keep you safe can seem intimidating at first. Your safety is a priority, and Avalon Malibu wants to help you. Our mental health treatment facility can help you learn new skills to empower you to stay safe. Please contact (844) 857-5992 for more information on safety plans, crises, and how we can help you today.