How do you cope?

Do you have coping strategies for when things become too much for you?

What do you do?

Are you a yeller? Or do you go for a walk?

Care to share?

You make some of the best posts, Dethas!

I am (ashamedly) a serial wall-puncher. It usually ends up hurting my own hand worse than anything else...but that's a bit of the point lol

I have lost MANY deposits on account of putting holes in walls.

I stutter in life and it gets quite bad when I am upset, so yelling is more like dog wailing on this end...so it usually ends up that I will hit something or throw something. If nothing else, I sometimes just sit down and cry.

Much to my frustration, when I get really really angry, I choke and cry.

Mind you, depending on the situation. If it's confrontational and in my face, my voice actually becomes very very cold and sharp. I sound dangerous apparently.

Otherwise, or even afterwards, I cry.

I went for a chakra reading once, and I was told that I don't allow myself to speak my truth, that I close my own truth down. This is apparently the choking and the pain in the throat I experience when angry.

I've tried a few things since to ease it with some success - I'm getting deeply into chakras just lately.

When I was younger I just let fly at anyone and anything that got in my way. If I was angry you ran!

I'm soo glad I've mellowed with age and am more considerate of the people around me. yes I can still get annoyed and angry but what I do now is sit down and take a few deep breaths and say to myself. I have 2 choices. 1 Choose to stay annoyed and angry 2 Choose to be in a good mood.

This is not easy but it is acheivable and I try and use it everytime this happens.

Plus I use EFT which I've spoken about in the Self Help thread.

My philosophy now is people can only come from the knowledge, awareness and understanding they have in life, myself included. I'm really glad I've changed. I used to have a massive chip on my shoulder.

Love and Hugs
Aleia

Dethas wrote:

Do you have coping strategies for when things become too much for you?

What do you do?

Are you a yeller? Or do you go for a walk?

Care to share?

My coping strategies so far are:

If it's not so bad I -

- play Nintendo DS, it's mindless. Hoorah for levelling up Pokemon
- read Garfield
- distract myself by watching some TV
- binge eat (sad, but true).

If it's very bad I -

- cut as many ribbons into my skin as I feel is safe
- re-open scabs
- try and trigger a dissociative state by head-pounding.

Well, that's about it really.
I mean there's more, but they're the mainstays.

(((hugs))) moonvoice - I had no idea you self harmed.

I wish I could reach to Oz cuz I have a really strong urge to hug you.

Dethas wrote:

(((hugs))) moonvoice - I had no idea you self harmed.

I have something like 2 metres of surgical scars on my body.

But the metres of very thin self-harm scars that I've got (and some thicker ones)... I wouldn't want to imagine.

I started when I was quite young, approximately 9, I think. I would grasp barbed wire and then rip my hand along it as fast as I could, and shred the skin. Back then I wouldn't usually draw blood, too scared, but eventually I came to depend on the pain and the blood to distract me from the reality of my environment.

I also used to punch my stomach / upper thighs.

I'm sort of grateful I discovered knives, in that sense.

I usually cry, and scream into my pillow. When things are really bad though ... I break things.

When my kids are home and I have that anger pent up and reach for something to break, mostly I can pull back and just tend to dig my nails into my palms or bite the inside of my mouth or sides of my tongue. I do this too when I am in public and there is nothing that belongs to me that I can break.