Non-Food Coping Mechanisms and Rewards - Halp?

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  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    Daily - bubble bath, or a new kindle book. Maybe just an hour on the couch with my aromatherapy eye-mask on in the dark.
    As a weekend thing - mani/pedis, a massage. Something fun from Groupon.

    Once a month stuff - if I am going out to something, splurge on a rent the runway dress or nice shoes and make up. Maybe I'll get new running clothes or a piece of gym equipment I wanted.

    All are generally things that focus on me and my enjoyment, and make me feel good about myself
  • rnroadrunner
    rnroadrunner Posts: 402 Member
    I have to commute to work also for 2hrs each way. one of the things I have done is make a deal with my spouse to do all the cooking on the weekends and she cooks during the week. Having to come home and cook after that long commute is too stressful. How long is their commute? Just saying. Also I always pack fruit for the ride home to knock off the edge.While were at it I work out in the morning so it is done and over. Good Luck.
  • Raevyns
    Raevyns Posts: 91 Member
    running seems to help me relieve stress. Getting p***ed at something, then taking out my frustration on the upcoming hill or long straightaway feels pretty dern good.

    As for non-food rewards, perhaps a new piece of exercise gear? New shoes, some weightlifting gloves, a new dry-fit tee, things like that. Works pretty well for the wife and me. So far, at least :)


    Yanno, if I didn't have arthritic knees I would so take up running. Everyone and their mom is running these days and i remember how it used to feel to run before my knees busted. That second wind that made me feel like I was flying...I can see how that would work well.
  • Raevyns
    Raevyns Posts: 91 Member
    What do you do after a hard day or during a anxiety-spiking week?

    Tai Chi - Its my reset button
    Listen to music and dance crazy around my living room, so I get loose
    Lie on my floor and Sing really loudly
    Stomp around
    Go for a walk
    Go swimming
    Blog/Journal
    Meditate
    Pray
    Burn some sage
    Have a cup of tea
    Take a shower and imagine all of the stress going down the drain
    Put lotion on my feet
    Pluck my eyebrows and the stray dark hair in my woman stache' lil bastids.
    Read something meaningful - even if it's just a quote
    Wrap up in a blanket and comfort myself
    Call a friend
    Watch something funny or silly on you tube
    File my fingernails
    Make it about me
    Stretch
    Clean my car
    Go outside and cloud watch
    Go fishing - rare nowadays tho
    Do the dishes - it relaxes me
    Check my attitude if it needs adjusting I change it except PMS times I just ride through that as it comes
    I try to be mindful, sometimes I'm good at it, sometimes not so much

    How do you reward yourself for the little accomplishments?
    Rewards for the little stuff, I do a gratitude journal
    I realize that I'm frickin awesome and tell someone face to face what I did that I'm proud of.
    The things I do to manage stress from the list above are all rewards to me - I keep it simple
    I buy myself cut flowers, but it's because I love & appreciate myself and how far I've gotten in life
    Go to a concert or where there is live music

    LIST. I LOVE LISTS.
  • Raevyns
    Raevyns Posts: 91 Member
    Sometimes I engage in avoidance activities (internet, lol, this place).

    Best planned relaxation (imo):
    - yoga: great for those who can do it, it just feels amazing. a class is best because you've paid, signed up, have to go
    - swimming at night. forces you to take deep breaths. (the yoga does too)

    Chewing gum for immediate oral fix (my other choice in that direction has been smoking :( )

    GUM! I need to remember that one! BRILLIANT!
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    I have some deeply-ingrained habits that are quite common, but desperately need changing.

    Like many I grew up in a culture where treats and rewards were food. Good grades equaled ice cream, a good concert was a dinner out. Along the same lines, food was set as a coping mechanism. A hard day was rewarded with tea and my favorite cookies, or a whole bottle of soda.

    Unsurprisingly, these are still my methods of self-soothing and self-rewarding, even though I'm no longer a puckish little thing. (Well, I might still be puckish, but I'm not little!)

    When I'm wracked with stress and decision fatigue I grab chocolate. After a long day and an extended commute, I make myself a cocktail and decide that I can blow my calories during dinner. If I check something off my to-do list, I get sushi and sake.

    This needs to change, stat.

    I need examples because all I can see after a hard day at work is that beer and that sammich. Mustering the reserves to try and be creative takes energy that I usually don't have. I need references. Ideas. A brain-crutch for the hard days.

    So...Halp?

    What do you do after a hard day or during a anxiety-spiking week?

    How do you reward yourself for the little accomplishments?

    HOW I MINE FOR LIFESTYLE CHANGE!?

    1. I fantasise, not about the beer and sandwich, but about the stirfry I'm going to make tonight, and the veges. it takes so little time to make, I recommend it. That and curry.

    2. I tell myself, when I think about chocolate and lollies (I have issues with chocolate and lollies) "I'll have it later" I trick myself into thinking I'm still going to get it, just not now. When? Well, when I've finished my diet of course. In moderation so I don't end up a big fat heffalump again.

    3. I used to think I had it tough. Now I'm a solo mother working long hours lugging ladders around, climbing trees, pruning or whatever. Boy. Now I really DO have it hard. I used to find life difficult with kids in the house. By jiminy, working 14 hr days during harvest, coming home, still having to cook dinner and do the laundry? It stuns me that I manage. It blows my tiny mind. 10 yrs ago I would not have considered it possible. So when you find yourself feeling like it's all a bit tough, think about starving biafrans walking 15k a day to get 2 litres of worm-infested water. I know it's trite, but it's good.

    4. Do more exercise. Even 1/2 hr extra. Just to prove that you CAN do it and show the monkey on your back who's boss.

    5. "Run fat *****, run!" Read it. Very funny. Very effective. :D
  • Raevyns
    Raevyns Posts: 91 Member
    also, maybe move closer to work if that's something you can do, horrible commutes are the worst

    Aye. I explain away the commute as it gives me time to read, but on the days that I get a ride home and two hours becomes 45 minutes (I take public transit) my energy levels are through the roof.
  • Raevyns
    Raevyns Posts: 91 Member
    I have to commute to work also for 2hrs each way. one of the things I have done is make a deal with my spouse to do all the cooking on the weekends and she cooks during the week. Having to come home and cook after that long commute is too stressful. How long is their commute? Just saying. Also I always pack fruit for the ride home to knock off the edge.While were at it I work out in the morning so it is done and over. Good Luck.

    My partner works from home, but he does all of the laundry and dishes and a lot of the incidental cleaning, so dinner is on me every night.
  • Bubblywendy
    Bubblywendy Posts: 32 Member
    I don't yet have a long term reward (maybe smaller clothes) but to reward myself for excercising I bought star stickers and made a chart. 5000 steps in one day means a little star, 10000 means a big star. If I ran/did couch to 5k, I get a gold star. If it was just walking, I get a silver star. My chart is next to my bed and it's nice to get the instant gratification. It also means that I have to excercise - if I don't, I'll have a gap! My 13 day streak would be ruined! Also, if I do loads of steps I can get multiple stars! :) It worked when I was a child, it works for me now.

    This sounds like a good idea

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