Homework Sample: Continuing Towards Wellness

Here is a sample of homework from my final week of the CTB program (week 12). Why now? Because I was just reviewing the therapy notes in order to keep them fresh in my mind, to keep the promises, and practice to work towards wellness.

Question 1: What works for me? List the skills and techniques you learned that work best and how you will apply them moving forward.

The Skills and Techniques:

• Keep a journal
• Make a daily to-do list (no more than 5 items on the list and rank priority)
• Create and keep a schedule/routine
• Attend the weekly support groups (no excuse)
• Take a bath to relax and decompress
• Dance to music or take a walk for physical activity
• Listen to rain sounds or soft music
• Listen to a guided meditation / Don’t forget to breathe
• Work on something creative / Jigsaw puzzles
• Write / Draw / Play an instrument
• Seek help / Talk to someone

The Application:

• Keep a record of thoughts/behaviours/tasks
• Keep a schedule/reminders/cues
• Check-in with self
• Review and remind myself of SMART goals and plans

Question 2: What are my High-Risk situations? (Basically what are my triggers)

• Watching too much news
• Being too much online / too much screen time browsing
• Working long hours
• Physical pain / Digestive problems
• Stress / Pressure / Expectation (including self motivated pressure and expectations)
• Not taking my meds

Question 3: How will I know if I’m starting to not feel well?

• Obsessive behaviour (especially health or relationship-related)
• Not eating / Refusing to eat
• Feeling physically sick / Having physical symptoms
• Getting easily irritated / Getting angry at self
• More sleeping / Less physically active
• Not doing meditation / Not keeping to schedule
• Not attending support groups
• Avoiding people
• Procrastinating / Avoidance of tasks
• Increased anxiety / Panic
• Starting to enjoy things less / Depression
• Finding no purpose to live
• Isolation / Not communicating
• Not giving myself permission for a break or to relax
• Not permitting myself to be happy
• Self-harm thoughts
• Confusion / Losing sense of reality
• Hallucinations / Delusions / Paranoia

Question 4: What’s my specific action plan if I see any of those signs?

• Track of what is happening. Jot it down and review (the physical and the mental).
• Track what I do and feel throughout the day (Status Review)
• Go over the CBT notes
• Continue to practice techniques mentioned above, especially attending the support groups
• Seek help / Force myself to speak

Simple. Right? Yeah. Well. If I didn’t have this taped to the Bristol board in my home office and if I didn’t look at it every day, I most likely would forget and go back to my old bad habits. As I might have said many times before language and memory is at times troublesome for me. So, yeah. Here it is, another reminder.