Life likes to throw us curve balls, and how well we are able to cope with them often depends on the state of our mental health.
The smallest things or events can set me off, or sometimes I just feel sad and depressed for no real reason. The first step for me is always recognising that I’m not feeling too good, because only then can I try to make positive changes.
Sometimes I try to ignore the fact that I’m not feeling great and I push it away and bury myself in a tv show or something. It’s sometimes a strategy that works, but more often than not it just pushes back me having to face my emotions and that can mean they build up.
So, once I’ve recognised I’m feeling down, I can start to use some of the strategies I’ve built up over the last few years to cope. Mostly I have found that challenging the thoughts doesn’t work for me, I usually find techniques which work on accepting my feelings and thoughts a lot more effective.
Here are a few of the things I like to do to help me cope:
Colouring. Now this is something I enjoyed doing to pass time whilst I was on a mental health ward and I started to realise that it’s actually very therapeutic. Although colouring is usually seen as a kids activity, adult colouring books are becoming more popular and they are a great way of relieving stress.
Warmth. I often like to be in bed, because it’s one of the warmest places and it also makes me feel safe and secure. I sometimes make myself a cup of tea purely so I can hold something warm in my hands and a hot shower can be very comforting.
Allowing thoughts to pass through my mind. I try not to argue with myself too much, because it often means I’ll end up not being very nice to myself. Instead, if I have an upsetting thought, I will simply remind myself that it’s not true or its not very nice and move on, not dwelling for too long on the thought.
The only way to cope is to break this cycle.