Free Member Resource | Downloadable PDF
Sometimes everything feels like too much.
You may be experiencing intense emotions, struggling to think clearly, feeling increasingly disconnected, or finding yourself unable to do things that would ordinarily be manageable.
For people with DID or OSDD, overwhelm can also involve different parts of the system responding in different ways. Some may be frightened or distressed, while others become numb, withdrawn, or unable to respond.
When you’re overwhelmed or shutting down, even knowing what might help doesn’t necessarily mean you can access that knowledge when you need it.
Sometimes what you need is something simple and accessible that can help you remember what you already know.
Coping Statements for Overwhelm and Shutdown is a downloadable resource offering supportive statements, gentle reminders, and opportunities for reflection to help you navigate periods of intense distress, dissociation, or shutdown.
This resource may be helpful if…
- You sometimes become so overwhelmed that you struggle to think clearly.
- You experience shutdown, emotional numbness, or increased dissociation when things become too much.
- Different parts of your system respond to distress in conflicting ways.
- You tend to criticize yourself when you’re unable to function as well as you normally do.
- You feel pressured to solve problems immediately, even when you’re already overwhelmed.
- You struggle to remember reassuring or supportive thoughts when you’re distressed.
- You want something you can return to during difficult moments without having to work through a complicated exercise.
- You’d like to develop coping statements that are meaningful to you and your system.
What you’ll find in this resource
This six-page PDF provides a collection of coping statements intended to offer reassurance and support during periods of overwhelm or shutdown.
The resource includes:
- Supportive statements addressing common experiences associated with overwhelm, dissociation, and shutdown.
- Suggestions for incorporating coping statements into your existing self-regulation strategies.
- Reflection prompts to help you identify which statements may be useful to you or other parts of your system.
- Space to develop your own coping statements based on your experiences and needs.
- Encouragement to approach periods of distress with greater understanding and less self-criticism.
You don’t have to find every statement helpful.
Some may resonate immediately, while others may feel difficult to believe or simply not fit your circumstances.
The goal is to identify reminders that are meaningful and potentially helpful to you—not to convince yourself to believe something that doesn’t feel true.
Why coping statements can be helpful during overwhelm
When you’re overwhelmed, your ability to think flexibly, remember useful information, and access coping strategies may become more limited.
You might know, when you’re feeling relatively settled, that you don’t have to solve every problem immediately. But when you’re distressed, that perspective can become difficult to access.
Coping statements provide a way to make supportive perspectives more readily available.
They can also help you begin recognizing when the way you’re interpreting an experience is adding to your distress.
For example, people who experience shutdown may interpret their inability to function as evidence that they’re failing, rather than recognizing that they’re struggling with more than they can currently manage.
Having reminders available can help you approach those experiences differently.
For dissociative systems, coping statements may also provide a way to offer reassurance to parts who are frightened, overwhelmed, or having difficulty recognizing that circumstances have changed.
You don’t have to eliminate your distress for a coping statement to be useful. Sometimes a small shift in how you understand what you’re experiencing can make a difficult moment a little more manageable.
Access the Free Coping Statements
Coping Statements for Overwhelm and Shutdown is a six-page downloadable PDF available free to CommuniDID members.
Explore supportive reminders, identify statements that may be helpful during difficult moments, and create coping statements that reflect your own needs and experiences.