Use Stress First Aid's 7 Cs

Once we get to the orange zone, it means our normal strategies for coping with stress aren't working well for us. For whatever reason, we're not able to navigate it as effectively as we want to. So go to the Seven Cs of Stress First Aid as a guide for what to try. They are a toolkit for building skills and strategies to help you navigate stress.

• Check and Coordinate
• Cover
• Calm
• Connect
• Competence
• Confidence

Consider getting more support

Sometimes, talking about it helps.

Talk to a trusted friend or family member, a colleague or supervisor, or your medical provider.

Or consider seeking mental health treatment.

You can start here, with the Here For You flyer:

Address negative thinking: 3 Good Things

As we get more stressed, we're more likely to experience negative thoughts. So ... deliberately think of 3 positive things in your life and reflect on them for a moment. It's an antidote to some of that negative thinking that occurs when overwhelmed by stress.

If we're in Green and we do the Three Good Things, we're either creating the habit or we're simply preventing the move to Yellow. In Yellow and Orange, it's a way to try to get out of them those zones breaking the negative thinking cycle.

Address negative thinking: Cognitive tools

Recognize that we are likely to doubt ourselves when we experiencing overwhelming stress. So you may doubt your ability to navigate it. You may start feeling like, I'm never going to feel better. I'm not going to get out of this. I'm not good at this. Watch for unhelpful negative thoughts that are being caused by the stress, but then also perpetuating it. You know, we can get stuck in a really negative cycle where we start believing those negative thoughts. Break the cycle.

Imagery

What's really important in the Orange Zone is that you're having a lot of negative experiences, and imagery can just remind you that there are still good things in life, you know, a place you like to be, imagining yourself out of the stress again, reminding yourself that's possible. It's a way to build hope and kind of help you think of what you're trying to get to. 

Progressive muscle relaxation

When you purposely create that tension, it's easier to feel what it's like to let go of tension.

Start with your feet. Tighten the muscles and hold them for a few seconds.

Release them.

Notice the difference in sensations of tense versus relaxed muscles.

After your feet, go up through your legs, up through your torso. You go through each body part one at a time, tightening and holding some tension and then purposely releasing and letting it go.

Make a plan to do something you would usually enjoy, even if you don’t feel like it right now

Having positive experiences is part of getting out of the Orange Zone, part of healing, part of having a different way of feeling about things. So even if your thoughts are, "I'm not going to enjoy it." "I don't relax anymore." "I don't feel happy anymore." Do it anyway. You need some positive experiences in the mix. Even just the act of scheduling something can help.

Take time off if you need to and are able to

Take a break and get some rest. Part of what gets us to the orange zone often is that we just don't have a chance to catch our breath and reset. So we need to recognize once we're in Orange Zone, we might need to take a break. Maybe we need the actual stress to stop long enough for us to use the skills that help us feel better.

Review the strategies for the Green and Yellow zones as well

The things that worked for you when you were feeling better might help you now. Those tips and tools described in Yellow, and Green Zones may prove helpful for you in Orange.