Positive Coping Strategies?
Makingchanges17
Posts: 124 Member
Just curious as to how other people cope during high stress times. I just found out bad news regarding my dad's health (cancer spiked back in a big way) and my immediate go to for coping involves unhealthy behaviors - typically not eating much food. I'm trying to cope in a better manner but it is hard to break the biggest coping mechanism I've had my whole life (but I need to for my 7 week old).
Any good Strategies or even mantras?
Any good Strategies or even mantras?
3
Replies
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Pre plan, and/or pre prep, your day so you have your calories covered.
Make the food easy, and appealing to you.
You may find setting a timer to remind you to eat helpful.
Sorry, I'm not a mantra person. Just knowing I have to be strong to help support others generally keeps me on track.
Cheers, h.2 -
middlehaitch wrote: »Pre plan, and/or pre prep, your day so you have your calories covered.
Make the food easy, and appealing to you.
You may find setting a timer to remind you to eat helpful.
Sorry, I'm not a mantra person. Just knowing I have to be strong to help support others generally keeps me on track.
Cheers, h.
I appreciate those strategies Thank so much! I've been trying to do simple snacks like almonds and walnuts to at least have something that also has good nutrients. Thank you again!1 -
Download the Headspace or Stop, Breathe & Think app. They have a bunch of free meditations. Hang in there.2
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Thank you so much!! I will download those and try them out! I appreciate it!0
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I write a journal, every morning and every evening, work out, take a walk in the nature, drink water,stretch, meditate, read books to distract from stressful thoughts, take a shower or natural calming supplements.
Hang in there xx2 -
honestly the same mindset you get into where eating less calms you can be turned around. Its how i lost my weight and maintained my health, I used it to cope and put my focus on me and my foods and exercise and the math. The process was very calming to me, It gave me control at a time in my life i felt i had none. Just a bit of a mindshift. Took time for sure though to make the mental change1
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gymprincess1234 wrote: »I write a journal, every morning and every evening, work out, take a walk in the nature, drink water,stretch, meditate, read books to distract from stressful thoughts, take a shower or natural calming supplements.
Hang in there xx
Journaling is definitely something I used to do a while back and it let me release a lot of emotion, so that's something I should think about again. Thanks for mentioning that and all the other ideas too! I know lavender is a calming supplement/scent. What are some others?0 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »honestly the same mindset you get into where eating less calms you can be turned around. Its how i lost my weight and maintained my health, I used it to cope and put my focus on me and my foods and exercise and the math. The process was very calming to me, It gave me control at a time in my life i felt i had none. Just a bit of a mindshift. Took time for sure though to make the mental change
It's definitely that control aspect that I think I'm seeking and I'm afraid of going down the rabbit hole of an eating disorder again. I'll definitely try with setting goals and making them (instead of what I used to do - set a goal and stay UNDER it). It's worth a try to use the same process but in a different manner!0 -
JaydedMiss wrote: »honestly the same mindset you get into where eating less calms you can be turned around. Its how i lost my weight and maintained my health, I used it to cope and put my focus on me and my foods and exercise and the math. The process was very calming to me, It gave me control at a time in my life i felt i had none. Just a bit of a mindshift. Took time for sure though to make the mental change
P.s., thank you!0 -
This might not be useful.
I don't do stress.
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »This might not be useful.
I don't do stress.
Haha! Are you able to stay calm all the time? If you are, I'm jealous!0 -
Makingchanges17 wrote: »gymprincess1234 wrote: »I write a journal, every morning and every evening, work out, take a walk in the nature, drink water,stretch, meditate, read books to distract from stressful thoughts, take a shower or natural calming supplements.
Hang in there xx
Journaling is definitely something I used to do a while back and it let me release a lot of emotion, so that's something I should think about again. Thanks for mentioning that and all the other ideas too! I know lavender is a calming supplement/scent. What are some others?
Vanilla
Eucalyptus (I think so anyway, YMMV)
Rose
If I think of others, I’ll be right back.1 -
Makingchanges17 wrote: »gymprincess1234 wrote: »I know lavender is a calming supplement/scent. What are some others?
Ylang Ylang
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Makingchanges17 wrote: »gymprincess1234 wrote: »I write a journal, every morning and every evening, work out, take a walk in the nature, drink water,stretch, meditate, read books to distract from stressful thoughts, take a shower or natural calming supplements.
Hang in there xx
Journaling is definitely something I used to do a while back and it let me release a lot of emotion, so that's something I should think about again. Thanks for mentioning that and all the other ideas too! I know lavender is a calming supplement/scent. What are some others?
Vanilla
Eucalyptus (I think so anyway, YMMV)
Rose
If I think of others, I’ll be right back.
Thank you so much!!!0 -
Makingchanges17 wrote: »gymprincess1234 wrote: »I know lavender is a calming supplement/scent. What are some others?
Ylang Ylang
Ohhh I haven't heard of that one! Thank you!!1 -
- journal writing, as already mentioned. Lately I have just been making bullet points of everything that happened each day instead of writing directly about the things that bother me. Writing down what I did gives some mental distance from the day, isn’t super mentally taxing and sometimes I feel inspired to dig into issues in more depth.
- Honestly, taking a nap. I can’t really fall asleep during naps but just resting in my bed for a bit sometimes with music is nice and anyway I decided that a lot of the time when I am particularly down it is partially linked to being tired (or PMS, which I never thought I had before)
- Exercise of course
- Honestly (again!) I think it is valid to rely on food a little to make yourself feel better, if you don’t think it would be a gateway thing to falling off the wagon. I like to pick an item that I enjoy like a cookie and some tea, particularly if it gets me out of the house to a cafe for a bit. Combine with journaling and a walk...
Hope that helps! Sorry about your dad, hope it gets better2 -
Run, hike or cycling away from it for a while. Quite literally doing that and coming back home clears my head, mind. Takes If all else fails; hiding in a bath with lots and lots of bubbles for a while also helps to alleviate the stress majorly0
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radbikerchick wrote: »- journal writing, as already mentioned. Lately I have just been making bullet points of everything that happened each day instead of writing directly about the things that bother me. Writing down what I did gives some mental distance from the day, isn’t super mentally taxing and sometimes I feel inspired to dig into issues in more depth.
- Honestly, taking a nap. I can’t really fall asleep during naps but just resting in my bed for a bit sometimes with music is nice and anyway I decided that a lot of the time when I am particularly down it is partially linked to being tired (or PMS, which I never thought I had before)
- Exercise of course
- Honestly (again!) I think it is valid to rely on food a little to make yourself feel better, if you don’t think it would be a gateway thing to falling off the wagon. I like to pick an item that I enjoy like a cookie and some tea, particularly if it gets me out of the house to a cafe for a bit. Combine with journaling and a walk...
Hope that helps! Sorry about your dad, hope it gets better
Thank you so much for all of the ideas! I'm definitely going to be trying all of these! I super appreciate it!0 -
dutchandkiwi wrote: »Run, hike or cycling away from it for a while. Quite literally doing that and coming back home clears my head, mind. Takes If all else fails; hiding in a bath with lots and lots of bubbles for a while also helps to alleviate the stress majorly
Ohhh a bath sounds lovely! Unfortunately, I can't start running just yet (still coming back from having a baby and need to ease in exercise) but the cycling sounds like a good option! My husband has a bike down in the basement so I need to take advantage of that. Thank you for all of the ideas!!! Truly!0 -
Echo the prep/plan comments. Need to integrate relaxation techniques; prayer, meditation, presence what ever you prefer to call it. Exercise helps allot. You have to plan and schedule that too. Might mean finding ways to workout if you can’t get to the gym. Manage Stress, don’t manage you.1
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franklin5280 wrote: »Echo the prep/plan comments. Need to integrate relaxation techniques; prayer, meditation, presence what ever you prefer to call it. Exercise helps allot. You have to plan and schedule that too. Might mean finding ways to workout if you can’t get to the gym. Manage Stress, don’t manage you.
Scheduling is something I need to start doing!1 -
There are some really nice guided meditations. I particularly like the ones by Jason Stephenson. (Just Google him or "guided meditations for stress/anxiety", etc.)
Regarding the essential oils, a co-worker just bought a cool mist humidifier that you can add essential oils to AND it changes color (7 colors). We're loving it. She got it from Amazon for less than $20.
Walking, sitting in nature, sipping a cup of tea, taking a hot bath. Also, if you enjoy it, something like knitting, crocheting, coloring or jigsaw/word search puzzles can be relaxing.1 -
Zumba classes, and walks or runs outside. These activities get me out of my head and relieve stress. I totally have to disengage from the source of whatever is bugging me. I sometimes call my friend and we go for a long hike nearby, and chatting and listening to each other is pretty great, too.1
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There are some really nice guided meditations. I particularly like the ones by Jason Stephenson. (Just Google him or "guided meditations for stress/anxiety", etc.)
Regarding the essential oils, a co-worker just bought a cool mist humidifier that you can add essential oils to AND it changes color (7 colors). We're loving it. She got it from Amazon for less than $20.
Walking, sitting in nature, sipping a cup of tea, taking a hot bath. Also, if you enjoy it, something like knitting, crocheting, coloring or jigsaw/word search puzzles can be relaxing.
Thank you for all these ideas! I'm definitely going to Google him! And that's a good price for a cool mist humidifier that can use essential oils!
Ohhh, a both types of puzzles sound like a good plan! Thank you!!!0 -
DebLaBounty wrote: »Zumba classes, and walks or runs outside. These activities get me out of my head and relieve stress. I totally have to disengage from the source of whatever is bugging me. I sometimes call my friend and we go for a long hike nearby, and chatting and listening to each other is pretty great, too.
Once it gets warmer out (I'm in Minnesota and it's brutal at the moment lol) I plan on going on a lot of walks! Thank you so much!0 -
Let some friends know about your struggles, and ask if it’s ok to call them when you’re feeling stressed. Sometimes just a quick 2-minute chat with someone who cares about you and is rooting for you is enough of an emotional boost to push you past the need to eat for emotional comfort.2
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I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. I’m glad that you see that you need to find positive coping skills because that’s huge! I lost my dad to cancer when I was 17 and had all sorts of terrible ones, but in the opposite direction as yours! I ate and ate and ate. Anyway, working on that! What I found was healthy that helped are walking, gardening, and spending time journaling my thoughts. Hope this helps and if you need to talk you can message me. Best wishes and positive vibes!1
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PinkPaperHeart3 wrote: »I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. I’m glad that you see that you need to find positive coping skills because that’s huge! I lost my dad to cancer when I was 17 and had all sorts of terrible ones, but in the opposite direction as yours! I ate and ate and ate. Anyway, working on that! What I found was healthy that helped are walking, gardening, and spending time journaling my thoughts. Hope this helps and if you need to talk you can message me. Best wishes and positive vibes!
I'm so so so sorry for the loss of your dad! I've been searching for my journals to start back up again but I think I may need to just buy a new one to get going. Thank you so much for opening up and also telling me what worked for you!0 -
@Makingchanges17 Don’t let that winter weather keep you indoors! I lived in Alaska for 18 years so I understand wanting to avoid the cold. Cuddleduds brand long underwear for women was a great layer under my thick wind resistant tights or snow pants. Hat, scarf, gloves or mittens (I liked fleece lined wool felt ones). A good warm coat. SmartWool socks. Warm boots. Thirty minutes outside walking. You’ll probably find you’re overdressed but it’s so good to get outside!0
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