The Eight Categories of Generative Resources
I can’t wait to share the full workbook, which will support you to expand your awareness of your resources and build your resiliency “toolbox.” The forthcoming Claiming Your Resources workbook has pages for you to fill out on your own, so you can get clear on what resources relate best to your life and your needs.
The Eight Categories of Generative ResourcesAs important as our survival resources can be in helping us deal with stressful circumstances, they generally will not support us to heal, grow, or move forward. The resources that help us survive are rarely the ones that will enable us to thrive. That’s where Generative Resources come in!I’ve identified eight different but interrelated categories of Generative Resources. These categories are as follows: I’ve included an example of each to get you better acquainted with the idea of these distinct categories. Environmental Resources - such as physically connecting with your environment through your five senses. Somatic Resources - such as moving your body in a way that feels good to you.Emotional Resources - such as giving yourself time and space to feel and release emotions.Mental Resources - such as researching or studying a subject you’re passionate about.Interpersonal Resources - such as spending quality time with friends, family, or loved ones.Creative Resources - such as making something with your own hands, whether art, food, etc.Energetic Resources - such as setting healthy boundaries around your time and energy.Spiritual Resources - such as meditation, yoga, prayer, or religious practices. These categories tap into practical, essential aspects of our lives: our environment, our creativity, our relationships, our spirituality, and so on. Once you begin to look around you, you’ll notice that there are ways to resource yourself in nearly every situation. Simply pausing and noticing what you need in the moment is enough to begin your journey toward becoming better resourced and more resilient.I can’t wait to share the full workbook, which will support you to expand your awareness of your resources and build your resiliency “toolbox.” The forthcoming Claiming Your Resources workbook has pages for you to fill out on your own, so you can get clear on what resources relate best to your life and your needs. xo, Lindsay
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The Role of Survival Resources in Coping with Stress and Trauma
For many of us, our survival resources or coping mechanisms can feel compulsive, habitual, or automatic, like they’re out of our control. We may engage in them, even when we don't really want to. They may alleviate our distress and soothe our nervous systems temporarily, but typically that relief is short-lived. They may even increase our distress in the long run by reinforcing harmful patterns.
The Role of Survival Resources in Coping with Stress and TraumaI mentioned in my last blog post that there are two general categories of resources we can tap into when we need support coping with our experiences: Survival Resources and Generative Resources. Both categories are crucial to finding our resilience and reconnecting with our bodies. So let’s explore in a little more detail! First, what are survival resources? Survival Resources are resources or skills that have helped us to survive and to cope with stress and trauma, but which may not be generative or healing, and which may keep us feeling stuck over time. We might also refer to these as “coping mechanisms” or “survival strategies.” They typically support disconnection.Depending on the individual, some common survival resources may include:
- Regularly going along with other people’s preferences to avoid conflict
- Having really rigid, inflexible boundaries
- Not setting or maintaining boundaries at all
- Avoiding tasks or conversations that are unpleasant, emotional, or intimidating
- Always on the go, rarely slowing down or resting
- Seeking distractions (i.e. compulsive scrolling)
- Obsessing, ruminating, or intense anxiety
- Zoning out, shutting down, or numbing out (could include alcohol or other substances)
- Staying in relationships that are causing you more harm than good
It's easy to view our survival resources and strategies as limiting, problematic, or even bad. But it’s important to recognize that survival strategies are incredibly valuable, in fact life-saving, in traumatic circumstances. There's a really deep intelligence in our survival strategies. They are quite literally what helps us to survive, and to cope internally, with circumstances that would otherwise be intolerable.For many of us, our survival resources or coping mechanisms can feel compulsive, habitual, or automatic, like they’re out of our control. We may engage in them, even when we don't really want to. They may alleviate our distress and soothe our nervous systems temporarily, but typically that relief is short-lived. They may even increase our distress in the long run by reinforcing harmful patterns. While we need survival resources to get us through traumatic experiences, and other critical life moments when we’re not adequately supported, they aren’t always the best resources for the job. In my next post we will explore Generative Resources and the support they can provide. xo, Lindsay
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