Alongside therapy
Individual therapy can help. Many other activities and experiences can be therapeutic. You might do them in addition to therapy, or as an alternative.
Mindfulness practices
There are two main reasons to try it.
One is to cultivate mindful awareness of your emotions, rather than fighting or fusing with them.
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The other is to attend to the underlying wounds.
Gains are slow and take gentle, steady practice. Going to meditation classes or on a retreat can help.
If sitting or closing eyes is too much (e.g., you are carrying trauma), you can bring mindfulness into other activities during the day.
Being with others
Many personal struggles can come with a sense of isolation or inner loneliness. Thawing the boundaries around that personal suffering can be an important part of the healing process.
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It might be about sharing a headspace with others, not just a physical space. This might be through taking part in a group, attending events, or (if it feels safe enough) sharing more authentic feelings with someone you trust.
Journalling
Some people write to make sense of their experience and get to know themselves better.
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You might risk being honest with your journal and writing as messily as you need.
Not everything makes sense to begin with, and your journal might be another way to listen without judgement to what you're going through.
Repairing the relationship with your body
Our relationship to our bodies can become critical or detached. Healing these rifts is an important part of many therapies.
You might do so with movement, stretching, exertion, or by nurturing your body (sleep, food, comfort) and attending to health issues.
To note: This might be a bit different to what we call "exercise", which can be either helpful or unhelpful depending on the intention with which we carry it out.
Stepping away
Smartphones, work and social or family commitments can mean there is precious little space for listening.
We might collaborate in these distractions to avoid painful feelings or facing decisions.
If you're going through a period of change, you may need to "de-clutter" so that you can focus on what's genuinely going to support that for you.
This may involve doing much less and resting much more than you are used to, particularly if you've felt unhappy or stressed for a longer period of time.
Cultivating patience with yourself
We can gain plenty of useful ideas and tips from others. These can certainly bring more immediate relief. But you may need time to make sense of it all for yourself and to relate it to your own experience.