Coping Cards

In the middle of a hard moment, you can't sit down and work through a whole worksheet. Coping cards are the shortcut: short, pre-written lines you've already decided you believe, ready to reach for. Think of them as scripts for your future self.

Build your cards

Pair the hot thought or feeling with the truer, kinder line you've found in your other work.

My coping cards

1

• When I think / feel…: ____________________
• I'll remember…: ____________________

2

• When I think / feel…: ____________________
• I'll remember…: ____________________

3

• When I think / feel…: ____________________
• I'll remember…: ____________________

4

• When I think / feel…: ____________________
• I'll remember…: ____________________

5

• When I think / feel…: ____________________
• I'll remember…: ____________________

Example: When I think 'everyone's annoyed at me' → I'll remember: that's mind-reading. I have no actual message saying that.

Make them reachable

Where I'll keep these so I find them when I need them (phone note, lock screen, wallet, mirror)

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Short and yours: The best card is one short line, in your own words, that you actually believe. Skip anything that sounds like a poster — it won't land when you're upset.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Building Your Personal Regulation Toolkit, from The Neurodivergent Brain. The capstone: build a personal regulation plan around your wiring — name your state, match tools to it, catch overload early, design your space.
• Therapy, Coaching, and Skills That Actually Help, from The Adult ADHD Course. Why willpower fails and scaffolding works: skills that fit the ADHD brain, coaching, and self-compassion.
• Emotional Dysregulation & Alexithymia, from The Neurodivergent Brain. Why neurodivergent emotions hit harder, later, and longer; what alexithymia is; and how to build an emotional first-aid kit.