Coping skills

Wow! Drama can take a huge toll on the soul. Prior to 2019 I have not had the best coping skills. Sleeping, over eating, cheesecake gets its own recognition, and self mutilation (not as bad as it sounds). With this post I am asking for responses. Let’s practice better mental health together.

Sometimes knowing how to mentally deal with a situation is harder than the actual problem. One habit I despise is sleeping. When I am overwhelmed sleep is my go to comfort. My hope is that when I wake up things will be better or I will be refreshed enough to deal. This is rarely the case. Sleeping only prolongs the inevitable. Life is still waiting when I wake up.

Combining Oreos and Cheesecake should be a crime. I am a firm believer that when life hands you lemons, make lemon pie. The high one can get from an overload of carbohydrates has to be better than any street drug. The downside is when you are trying to be healthier and you have a setback of days to weeks, depending on how long you comfort eat. Unfortunately, this last dramatic episode of my life happened around my daughter’s birthday and we had fresh Cheesecake Factory Oreo Cheesecake.

Have you noticed how many teens are resulting to self harm these days? Seriously, it has become the thing to do when life beats you up. But little did I know I too practiced self harm. I get really dry calloused heels. The more stressed/upset I would become the more I would pick at those callouses. Sometimes until my feet bleed and it was hard to walk. Many times I had to wrap my feet just to get through the day. I never thought about this as self mutilation but it is and too many people harm themselves as a coping mechanism.

Over the last few months I have learned to find better strategies to maneuver through this life God has so graciously given. My favorite is exercise, particularly Orange Theory Fitness. Is it the workout or the commitment? Both, to have a coach  pushing you to give 100% of yourself for 60 minutes and knowing if I skip a workout they charge me extra. In this workout I am not giving the coach or anyone else that 100%, it is for me and me alone. It is my time to see how far and how hard I can go. My time to get out of my head. What better way to get your clients to show up for themselves than to charge extra money for not attending!

Secondly, prayer. I spend more time asking God to light me up with his grace and love. If I am living for him and him through me; I can’t go wrong. I have found a devotional app for my phone and when the social media world becomes too much I can switch over and read something worth my time. I actually try to read this before my social media. I find things annoy me less and honestly I see more positive posts.

Lastly, time. With time all wounds heal. They have to be mended and cared for but with patience they will heal. This works well with my marriage. Hurtful words said in the heat of the moment take much longer to heal than the time to say “I’m sorry”.  As a wife I understand sometimes he needs time to feel/see my love after a disagreement and the same for myself. Focusing on the good and realizing the bad is just a small part of the whole.

Comfort food will always be one of my coping mechanisms but now I make myself think of the long term consequences. Either way, knowing that life is way to precious to give in to the drama. Wake up each day knowing that today has to ability to be the best day ever. Wake up and be a better version of you than yesterday.