coping

Life presents variables; learning how to cope in order to master, minimize, or tolerate what has come to pass.

Tales from an OCD Mind
I do not like the person that I have become, I don’t even know what I like or don’t like anymore. Who am I, as a person? What do I value? It seems as if everything has been stripped away from me. Nothing makes sense anymore, and the things which aren’t supposed to make any sense in life are those that plague me day and night with a horrendous intensity.
By Lumos Leviosa5 years ago in Psyche
How Twerking Saved My Life
I began twerking as a way to come out of my depression. I was sitting on a couch for almost six months straight and felt like someone would after sitting on a couch for that long. My body ached, I was overweight, and I was tired all the time. I was hurting and I needed a fighting chance. I needed inspiration because I was battling constant suicidal thoughts and ideations.
By DMTakeshi5 years ago in Psyche
Now, Where Do I Belong?
There's a part of chronic illness that no one ever really talks about. It lingers in the downtime, inbetween pain medicine and days spent managing symptoms. It's not something a doctor will often talk about - they've got bigger problems - or perhaps, may even go overlooked by your well meaning support group, all who utter that they're for you, and whilst you've no doubt that their intentions are pure, not even they can help when it sets in.
By Jade Hadfield5 years ago in Psyche
Mental health Changed my life
In August 2012, I achieved my childhood dream of becoming a Police Officer. From 2012 to 2017, I was working in the community I grew up in, Lindsay, Ontario, Canada.
By Jon Perrin5 years ago in Psyche
You Can Heal From Narcissistic Abuse Even if You Can't Afford a Therapist
I've had a rough past few years. Bitten by a toxic job and an even worse relationship, there were times when I didn't know if I would make it through.
By Caro Violet5 years ago in Psyche
Clouds: a story on Mental Health and a better outlook on it
As some people like to consider them "off days", and most people do, what most people don't discover is the fact these off days are important moments in mental health that we have normalized to push away. But how do we change that?
By lillie koch5 years ago in Psyche
Facing Change Caused by Mental Illness
Many things can cause change in life. Illness, injury, loss, pain or triumph/success to list but a few. We can add to that list the experience of living with mental illness. A life can change enormously due to the need to find methods of coping with the day-to-day symptoms, managing medication and therapy etc. It’s not always easy to deal with these changes, especially when it feels like you have no control over what’s happening to your body or mind.
By Alicia Brunskill5 years ago in Psyche
All the world's a stage
My daughter climbed in bed with me the other morning. So nice to know my seventeen year old still feels comfortable doing that. I started chatting and became quite animated about something and she said. ‘Are you sure you have selective mutism (SM)?’, jokingly.
By Jania Williams5 years ago in Psyche
Talk Elixir
A few years ago I stumbled upon the term selective mutism (SM)on a social media page. I sat there, dumfounded, mouth agape as I read the words on the screen. ‘Selective mutism is an acute anxiety response’, ‘vocal chords become paralysed’, ‘unable to talk’, ‘often mistaken for shyness’. I could not believe it. I was reading….. ‘me’. With urgent intrigue I read on. ‘The inability to talk in certain situations or environments — typically school’.
By Jania Williams5 years ago in Psyche
My Breaking Point
I have always been strong and independent. At what point in my life should I have realized this was my breaking point? When you are young your biggest concern is getting good grades or dealing with your parents and their rules.
By J.W. Baird5 years ago in Psyche
Yarn-Over Matter
Arts and Crafts have never seemed like a good fit for me. I have never been good at any kind of creative pursuit that requires sitting still or closely following instructions. My apartment is filled with IKEA furniture that looks like it was assembled by Picasso (this includes an armchair that definitely can’t be trusted and a bathroom cabinet I suspect will collapse like a Jenga tower if I were to ever breathe too heavily on it). I’m a chronic knee-bouncer with a short attention span, who will jump from one task to another leaving a trail of half-finished work in my wake. Loved ones will generously refer to me as a multi-tasker. In truth, this nervous energy is a symptom of my chronic anxiety, something I have struggled with since before I even knew what it was. Over the years many well-meaning friends have recommended a variety of coping techniques from meditation to mountain climbing. And one after one I have tried and failed; feeling a little more defeated each time. The number of adult coloring books in my possession with half-finished pages is frankly embarrassing. Long had I marveled at the artisinal projects of my friends and family; my mom has never met a Pinterest craft she couldn’t conquer, a number of my close friends are supremely talented graphic designers and photographers, and at family holiday parties there is no shortage of homemade jams and embroidered dish towels.
By Katherine Elizabeth5 years ago in Psyche
Inside out
Out there it’s a hot Australian summer, but in here it’s freezing. I’m in the staffroom at work, listening to Dave shout over the coffee grinder about the problem with kids these days. The air-conditioning is set to arctic freeze, but crew keep barging in and out through the door, bringing blasts of tropical humidity that confuse the thermostat and make it colder still. One crew stomp in, hot and dishevelled. They’ve been at a road accident where the bitumen melted onto their boots, and some people died. Another crew are laughing and talking about the hoarder who lost their false teeth down the back of the armchair but called the ambulance because he was certain he had swallowed them. Nobody’s seen the other crew since logon, they got sent straight out to a seizure and were last heard asking for police backup. An out-of-town crew roll in, bitching about being sent so far away to cover.
By Aki Lark5 years ago in Psyche