topic I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies? in Depression

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

bluenight — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 08:54:10 GMT

Hi,

I've had depression and anxiety for years and years now, most of my adult life. Anyway, as you all know, having mental health issues effects your life in so many ways, for example it can cause problems with your

career, finances, friendships, romantice relationship, obesity, addictions, could go on and on.

Over the years I have used different unhealthy ways to cope, an example is alcohol. Whilst in the moment it's good, it' never really benefited me like healthy coping mechanisms have.

Just wondering whether other people have habits or vices that they rely on and what's been your experience with it, has it helped? has it made things worse?

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

quirkywords — Sat, 19 Jun 2021 11:57:37 GMT

Blue night

thanks for this thread.

I have coped when down by overeating and when high by overdoing most things especially spending.
Not sure if they were coping tools or just the behaviours I did. They did not help but made things worse.

I had to have the insight to see what I was doing before I reached out for help.

How did you realise your coping tool was not helping?

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

romantic_thi3f — Mon, 21 Jun 2021 00:36:46 GMT

Hi bluenight,

Thank you for your post and your question! You are definitely not alone in having unhealthy coping strategies.

For me personally, it's probably been a mix of overeating, vomiting and self-harm. Like you I think it felt it helped in the moment, but overall it is very unhealthy and pretty harmful. I think it's taken a while for me to let go of a lot of them even though I still relapse at times.

I hope this answers your question? Would love to hear about some of the healthy coping strategies that you have too.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

batticus — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 03:45:05 GMT

Yes I'm guilty of having unhealthy coping strategies.

The main one is alcohol. I feel better initially but the next day I pay for it. Someone once told me that drinking alcohol is like borrowing happiness from tomorrow. They couldn't be more right.

The other that is less frequent is smoking. It might only be once a fortnight or so but it's still bad.

I also overwork myself; keep myself as busy as possible to the point that I am completely and utterly exhausted.

What is working well and is healthy has been running.
Running has made a huge difference. I'll do a 10k run and I'll feel so much better for the next few days at least.
I've never been athletic but it's been very helpful for my depression and the more I run, the better I get at it!

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Bomber77 — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 04:47:40 GMT

I also use alcohol and food. To the point that since january i've managed to gain 10kg! so just in case i don't already feel down add alot of extra weight and it just compounds it.

unforunately i really feel in a downward spiral at the moment and its just so hard to lift the crushing weight of this disease and climb out 😞

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Lilith16 — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:24:12 GMT

So many. I’ve tried just about everything over the years. Some are better than others but it’s a tightrope walk trying to keep things in control.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Guest_1643 — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 10:10:05 GMT

hi there, i self medicate with food, both starving and binging.

See that's common here, which makes me feel seen.

in the past i used sleeping to cope. i guess that was one of the safer ones, as it did nurture and heal my body but i used to nap a lot to get through hard times. Now that i rarely sleep I almost miss that time.

Other things I've used to self medicate involve things that harmed my body and health, and also toxic relationships and lots of drama.

A healthy coping strategy i used was excercise. I used to enjoy going to the gym. I also find colouring quite helpful and calming for my brain, and group work when focussed on common goals, eg art classes etc. I did not personally find group therapy helpful, otherwise, but like working in groups with ppl on learning a skill.

The worst coping strategy was probably food as it was isolating as well, and led me to feel more alone and disconnected. I also neglected supplying my body with healthy food, when i was struggling with eating too much or too little, which was hard for my health and caused other health problems eg pre-diabeties, skin issues, and disrupted periods unfortunately.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Learn to Fly — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 10:44:27 GMT

Hi bluenight,

Thanks for starting the topic as this can be quite a ride for each and one of us.

I work and work and during that time I already think of what else. It’s exhausting. It’s a bit of a layered thing as I like to have things in order. Nothing wrong with that but I know that at times, I overdo it. I know about it but still can’t help myself and kick back and relax.

My healthy coping thing is an exercising app. It’s convenient as I don’t have to waste my time on driving and use it any time that suits me. I push myself to spare at least 15 minutes a day. On good days an hour. It’s a life saver, both: mentally and physically.

What are your positive coping mechanisms?

Take care there.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Here2Talk — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 10:51:48 GMT

Overeating for me. sweet or salty things... has resulted in me being unable to overcome being overweight and in general not as healthy as I could be..

i think all these things help - in the short term, but not the long term, food and alcohol alike. i find alcohol expensive and usually dislike the feeling..

Just the alcohol for you? Or other coping mechanisms?

also for me since technology has improved- YouTube videos on my phone have been a coping thing. That’s sort of good and bad at least: I’m often learning things from the videos- but it takes up time that means I don’t get other things done that I should....

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Learn to Fly — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 11:07:30 GMT

Oh, and when it comes to eating... I have my treat nearly every day with my morning coffee. A muffin or a danish, whatever I feel like. It’s not little but it’s not too big either. In general, it does the job.
I do love salads, though, especially mixtures of greens and grains and pulses, and on most days have plenty of those, too.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

romantic_thi3f — Tue, 22 Jun 2021 23:51:07 GMT

Hi,

Just wanted to give a little welcome to Bomber77 since I saw that this is your first post. I'm glad that you decided to join the forums! Feel free to start your own thread if you like if you want to chat about how you are going too.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

bluenight — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 08:28:19 GMT

Thanks for all the replies everyone..

I think everyone uses something to change their mood, ie. alcohol, sex, drugs, food, etc etc.

None of these help long term, there's no denying they help for a few hours days, weeks, months though.. but when you get off these/stop using, which you will eventually have to do, mental is the same as it was or even worse.

Wish I didn't use unhealthy coping mechanisms when I feel like it

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Guest_1643 — Sat, 26 Jun 2021 09:05:53 GMT

hi bluenight

love ur input, and thank u for ur post

a few years ago i went to a talk on SH

a mental health practioner spoke, as well as someone who had SHed and was in recovery

The MH practioner said that often ppl feel that by harming they are in a way protecting others. They can't fathom sharing their pain with someone. They think if they speak out they will make ppl scared, upset, and in some way hurt them. From a kind-hearted perspective, they don't want to hurt another human, and so they hurt themselves. Deep, deep, under layers of pain and inflicted damage, I believe our coping mecahnisms are a messed up way of dealing with pain. It doesn't work. But it resonated with me how ppl were acctually trying to protect and be sensitive to others in their cycle of SH.

Addictions and unhealthy coping strategies don't work, but are in some ways a form of self soothing. It's a deep topic that I am fascinated by, and try and understand.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Guest9337 — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 03:28:52 GMT

I got to wonder what is unhealthy about coping.

If that's what one needs, then that's what one does.

We don't have to be perfect.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Here2Talk — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 04:31:00 GMT

This is true in a way.. But for eg overeating can lead to obesity or at least weight gain which is bad for self-esteem, regulation of body physiology which can cause long term health problems, and disregulate the mood anyway (which is what it was employed to fix in the first place). Same with alcohol and drugs - obviously they help only in the very short term, and in long term cause health, financial, relationship and even sometimes legal problems... sex, well that can sometimes hurt other people who can be treated as objects to create pleasure in the seeker, cause stds and etc etc....

But still, they are all understandable, given the immediate pain people can feel, as well as the desire to get rid of that pain.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Guest_1643 — Sun, 27 Jun 2021 08:45:45 GMT

hi here2talk and all reading

it's definitely true, overeating etc and harming oneself through damaging coping strategies always have a cost

we often lose friends, confidence and opportunities because of our coping strategies

altough i am proud that i've survived this long, i have had a lot of issues with unhelpful coping strategies and addictions. We all have addictions, wether it be to screens or chocolate, i think everyone uses something to numb certain feelings. But at times it can be really harmful

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

Learn to Fly — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 11:34:56 GMT

Hi Sleepy21,

Thank you for your post. Such valuable thoughts. Thank you for sharing.

I would probably also add: comforting, numbing, making “fake” happy for awhile, helping to forget the reality, helping to pretend the reality doesn’t exist etc

You are so right about it.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

*Marie* — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 11:42:23 GMT

Hi! 🙂

Yes, my unhealthy coping strategies are are few different ways of self-harming.

Basically, anything that will distract my mind.

I wanted to know if any of you have unhealthy coping strategies?

LJpd81 — Tue, 06 Jul 2021 05:45:42 GMT

Yes. Today even though I know I shouldn't, I reached for wine. It's bad, but I did.

It doesn't help. Although it does at the time. I end up listening to sad music crying. And being emotional.