Retrain Your Brain Digital Content
During this period of modified services at Campus Health, we’re offering the 4-session workshop series online, and hope you find the skills introduced to be helpful. Before you watch the modules, please watch the videos on our website here: https://caps.unc.edu/services/retrain-your-brain-workshop. These videos provide important introductory information and the science behind how and why we experience difficult emotions and will help you get the most out of the Retrain Your Brain Workshop. We typically show them at the start of our in-person workshops, and they’ll help you understand the content in each module.
Once you’ve watched the introductory videos, you’re ready for the workshop content below.
As we note on the Retrain Your Brain website, we know learning new skills is hard! It takes time and practice to “retrain” the brain, so please be patient with yourselves as you try the skills learned in the workshop. We created this workshop series because we know how common these concerns are, and want you to know that you’re not alone in experiencing them. We encourage you to take care of yourselves and practice self-compassion as you learn and start applying these skills.
If you find yourself needing more support, please call CAPS Mon-Fri 9a-12p and 1p-4p at 919-966-3658. . If you are experiencing concerns related to the safety of yourself or others, please call 919-966-3658, 911, or go to your nearest emergency room. Additionally, you can contact the following crisis hotlines: National Crisis Text Line: Text “TALK” to 741741; National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Emotional Awareness Module
Emotional Awareness Handouts
This worksheet takes you step by step through developing emotional awareness. Choose an event that’s happened recently that was mildly distressing, and see if you can identify what you noticed in your body, what feelings you had, what thoughts you had. The module will help you work through these steps to understand your behavioral responses and come up with a preferred outcome, and over time, help you increase your emotional awareness.
This handout outlines the mindfulness skills you’ll need to help slow down your emotional experiences and become more aware of what you’re feeling in the moment
Distress Tolerance Module
Distress Tolerance Handouts
Make a list of your favorite skills from the packet to use when you need them
Review this list and see if you can identify at least 10 things that you already do or would like to do to help build resilience to emotional vulnerability
Cognitive Appraisal Module
Cognitive Appraisal Handouts
Use this worksheet to help identify your automatic thoughts, the thinking traps associated with them, and come up with alternative appraisals using the skills learned in the module.
These worksheets provide descriptions of the most common thinking traps. Look through them and identify which ones you use. The last two pages here provide guidance on how to find alternative thoughts based on the common thinking traps.
Behavioral Change Module
This handout provides the steps to identify an alternative action when your action urges don’t fit the facts and you’d like to identify an alternative behavioral response
This practice sheet can help you put opposite action into practice by identifying specific situations that trigger a behavioral response you’d like to change, recording your corresponding thoughts and feelings, and coming up with a plan for opposite action.
