Lived Experience Forum

[Miss-wish]

Hi everyone, 

My coping mechanism is humour, laughing always makes my family feel better after a bad day. When my kids seem a  little down, I give a little roar and within seconds I have 2 little, big ROAR's back 😊

When my 24yo was younger the only thing that worked with them was humour, as they got older it was a punching bag in the corner of their bedroom. 

What coping methods do you use? 

does anyone scream into a pillow? play and instrument? paint? kickbox or swim? game?   

I would love some more idea's to try 😊

[Acanthiza]

Hi @Miss-wish 
I have a lot of coping mechanisms, all I do is cope!
Nature is a big one for me, walks on my own out in the bush or along the beach when I used to live near the coast. Easier to find a bit of perspective and calm, or if it doesn't work at least I am having a bad time in a nicer environment. Oh! Related to that I used to love freediving, being on the bottom of the ocean is so relaxing to me, I used to do it before tests at uni.

Other than that... exercise to switch the brain off, video games for similar. But playing music has to be the biggest one, to express emotions, to try and build confidence, to burn energy. It has helped me through depression where all I could do was lay crying idly plucking guitar strings and helped through hypomania, keeping me in one spot playing wildly and staying away from trouble. I really recommend it, along with painting and sculpting and writing and drawing and... I have tried a lot of things haha

[nula_ray]

Love this topic! Video games have become a fairly regular coping mechanism for me. I regularly search for games with mental health storylines as sometimes they help me process and cope with some of my lived experiences through the beautiful art and storytelling. Some games that come to mind are Spiritfarer, Mutazione, and Gris - if anyone's interested! There's some great humour in the first two as well. 🙂

[Xibon]

Hey @Miss-wish!

Thank you for the topic starter.

Its great to hear about the coping mechanisms yourself and your family have used, and I love hearing about how people support their kids!

For my kids I agree that laughter is the best medicine. I will often play a game with them where we each take turns drawing body parts, but each part is of a different creature that we have kept secret in our minds - and I always get told that the resulting creature 'looks just like me' hahaha.

Personally, I enjoy running, making art, and playing video games. It doesn't have to be a lot; even a short jog, little doodle/sketch, time painting miniatures, or 5 minutes playing Mario Kart can work.

Our little family has also started going for walks if we're collectively a bit flat. Spontaneously getting out can do wonders for the mind.

[Shaz51]

Hello @Miss-wish , @Xibon , @nula_ray , @Acanthiza 

My coping mechanisms is playing " words with friends 2" on my phone 

Having a coffee ☕️ in my garden,  outside under the trees or on the patio 

How about you @Jynx , @Dimity , @StuF , @Jacques , @Appleblossom., @PinkFlamingo , @lavenderhaze @@Zoe7 , @LoveandHope , @Glisten 

[PinkFlamingo]

Hey there @Shaz51  🙂

This is a really interesting topic, Miss-wish (sorry - ‘@‘ isn’t coming up as a hyperlink for some reason🤔). 
I like to drive, preferably at night on winding roads and during heavy storms or thick fog, which is relaxing 🙂

I used to ride a motorcycle up until relatively recently in the same conditions as that was very much like a rain drop massage at high speed..sounds like popping bubble wrap really quickly inside the helmet when rain lands on the visor ☺️

Otherwise, I get into study, documentaries/books on astrophysics/theoretical physics, or messaging some friends to say hi 😊

[Miss-wish]

Thanks everyone for the support, 

It's great to see so many ways to cope, reduce stress and hopefully add a little joy into our lives.

Having mental health struggles isn't easy, but if this post help one person feel even a little better, I think it's worth it 😊

I am definitely using some of these ideas 

[MermaidHair]

Great topic @Miss-wish, thanks for starting it 🤗

My go to coping strategies are writing, particularly journalling and poetry. I like to just let the words flow pen to paper and let it all out. 

My next favourite is spending time at the ocean. Whether gazing upon it, swimming in it, or taking a walk on the beach. There's something so soothing about the waves and staring into the deep blue, the unknown, it's next best thing to outer space so it's magic to me 🥰

@Xibon that drawing game you play with your kids sounds so funny 😂 and that sounds like something mine would say lol 

[Jasper_123]

Hi @Miss-wish I have tones of coping mechanism that I use regularly.

Currently the winner of the season is cold water swimming! Lucky to live a ten minute drive to the beach and have been going fairly regularly. When I'm unable to but feeling activated turning the cold water on my hot shower has a similar effect (and there's tones of science behind this)

Other things I use are some of the basics: getting enough sleep, journaling, calling a friend, social sport. I've done boxing in the past which was certainly helpful for the angrier side of my mental illness.

[Glisten]

@Shaz51 @Miss-wish @Jasper_123 @MermaidHair @PinkFlamingo 

My coping mechanisms:

When sh!t hits the fan immediate go to is: tidying & cleaning

Bad anxiety, depression and no sleep: Sauna 40 minutes 2 ltrs of water

General anxiety: Pushing weights in the gym and sauna 

Peaceful place: Amongst the timber in the Women’s Shed

If that is closed, straight to the beach

I’m freaking out: Straight to the beach only stop for red lights, throw myself in the water fully clothed if necessary.

TaDaa

G