Write down on a piece of paper everything that makes you happy or smile. There should be 10-20 points at least. Carry the list around with you. When you feel really down take it out and start from the top to do *everything* on the list- until you feel better. When you have reached the end start again at the top- as long as needed.

Example:

1. reading funny comics
2. eating creme caramel ice cream
3. watching funny tv shows
4. hugging my stuffie
5. eating agedashi dofu
6. writing an article
7. drawing
8. etc. pp.......

Close your eyes and imagine a creature that helps you: that might be an animal, a person from a tv series or film, or from history, a real life person, a scientist, whatever comes to your mind. It can even be a thing like a pea or stone. You can have one or more main helpers that are always there and specialists for certain topics: One for being brave (Xena, for example), one for relationship problems (a goddess), one for job problems. Or create guardians to protect your sleep etc.

Close your eyes and imagine the perfectly safe place: How would it look like? Where would it be? Are people there? etc... When you feel unsafe, sad, lonely you can go there and take a rest. Maybe there are also helpful creature to answer your questions.

Maybe you can find a picture of your helper or safe place or draw it.

A good book on image work: Life Choices, Life Changes by Dina Glouberman

Ss:
Something I have done before is go into a dark quiet room and curl up into a little ball under the blankets. I can't visualize the **safe place** but I can make things physically seem safe to me.

I meditate often in an atempt to find peace, so this is actually the beginning steps to my mediataion but I find that it is very good when I am feeling overwhelmed or beginning a flashback, also good after waking from a nightmare.

When everything begins to overwhelm you, stop, close your eyes and take a deep breath. If you can, go off by yourself for a few minutes to breath. With your eyes closed (or open if you want) breath in filling your lungs from the bottom up. Try to count your breathing.
eg. IN 1,2,3,4,5,6,7- HOLD 1,2,3,4,5,6,7- OUT 1,2,3,4,5,6,7

Variation One
As you are breathing out visualise all of the negative energy or emotions that are bothering you leaving your body and floating up and dissapearing as you exhale and postive energy from the entering your body as you inhale.

Variation Two
As you breath in, imagine all the tension in your body being drawn into your lungs, as you hold your breath, the tension is condensed, and as you breath out, the tension is expelled from your body.

Put your feet on the floor or the ground and imagine they are growing roots deep, very deep, growing and spreading through layers of earth, even through stone, drinking from deep springs, feeding from rich soil. The nutrition feels like pure white light as it comes up into you. Meanwhile the top of your head (or anything on top of you really) grows beautiful branches that spread and bear vigorous leaves and soak up the sunshine, strengthening you, filling you with white light. You are like a big tube with light shining through the middle. Anything that seems impure gets the light shined through it, and the light, gentle though it is, burns it away and turns it ALL into light.

One step further: the light flows down through your arms and sprays gently out the palms of your hands. Cup your hands anywhere on your body that feels good, maybe over your heart, or the base of your throat, or your belly. Keep them there, showering that part of your inner self with that nice clean light as long as you feel like it.

(That's how I do Reiki. Technically you can learn symbols and positions and such, which I have, and I use them, but you can certainly do it without learning those or taking classes.)