GiveLove --
What a great idea: a book of ideas to refer too. I am also bad at remembering what worked last time; as you know, I fall into those spots too often to feel happy about.
Things I've done - more sporadically than consistently - are journal, read Buddhist meditation books, take walks (when the weather isn't sub-zero or sleeting!), and use the phone. Even my 13-year-old recognized how I will call friends when I'm stressed and how that helps me get even-keeled again. I worry, always, that I'm relying too much on my friends (so my patient sister gets more of the calls than maybe she wants
), but especially with the support from here, I keep trying to remind myself that my friends are able to say if they are overwhelmed, etc. - I don't have to do that for them.
I think that one of the best set of things I have gathered, though, are the various ideas from here - including all of your wisdom, GL. (I have been assigning all kinds of areas to my Wonder Woman Princess, for example.) I think that remembering that you have a huge amount of insight yourself would be a good thing to list - believe or trust in your own insights!
I guess I use a lot of momentary escapism - watching movies, reading good books, listening to specific music, etc. - to help break out of my mental rewind.
I don't know if any of these things are adding anything new, but maybe it's helpful for me to just restate them...
I'd be interested to see/read your final list; I am sure I'd find things that I could use as well.
:ghug
UM