THREAD: coping skills and alternatives if masks are triggering for you! It’s difficult for a lot of trauma survivors but a lot of us have found strategies that help make the mask less difficult

1. Essential oils! Putting a calming scent in your mask can help, but make sure to pick something that isn’t overwhelming, because that’ll just end up increasing anxiety. Lavender is my personal favorite

2. Wear your mask around at home. I can’t emphasize this one enough - it’s the best way to get used to wearing the mask, and it’s a good spot to try out your other coping strategies before you’re out in public.

3. Grounding techniques. There are so many grounding exercises out there and I suggest googling to find the best one for you, but when in doubt, focus on your senses and your breathing. Focus on what you can see/taste/hear/feel/smell, and use slow and controlled breathing.

4. If you need to wear a mask for work or other long stretches of time, try out different styles and fabrics to find the best fit for you. Wash reusable ones frequently to avoid having any kind of bad smell, because that can make suffocation-related triggers a lot worse.

If you have any more tips, please drop them below! This is something I get asked about all the time, and I feel bad that I haven’t made a thread before now. Hopefully we can all learn from each other and find ways to make mask-wearing a calmer experience