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

[bluenight]

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?

[quirkywords]

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?

[romantic_thi3f]

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.

rt

[batticus]

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!

[Bomber77]

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 😞

[Lilith16]

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.

[Guest_1643]

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.

[Learn to Fly]

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.

[Here2Talk]

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....

[Learn to Fly]

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.