What are your go-to coping mechanisms?

When you find yourself in a negative emotional space what do you tend to do?

What thoughts do you tend to think?

What activities or actions do you take?

Be honest. Write them all down.

I know my thoughts used to go to worst case scenarios and I’d imagine that I’d become depressed or anxious forever.
I used to immediately withdraw from life and activities and the world.
I used to tell myself I was broken and I needed rest.

I used to try to numb out the feelings with alcohol or food! Of course, these only ever made me feel worse in the long run because I ended up with hangover anxiety and I became overweight.

In the last 18 months, I’ve created an alternative action plan for when I’m hit with a negative mood.

1. I don’t panic. It’s ok to feel negative emotions sometimes.
2. I don’t rush into taking action to correct your mood. No matter how strong the desire is to get rid of the emotion.
3. I don’t withdraw from the world. If I can, carry on with my day/week as if I was feeling fine it keeps my routine which is vital for my brain.
4. I do some Exercise, even if it’s a short walk. Exercise creates natural endorphins.
5. I make sure I eat wholesome foods. I learned that overeating to avoid a feeling isn’t treating myself but deferring the problem.
6. If the feeling persists longer than a day, I have a list of things that I love to do that I know will boost my mood. Like listening to music, singing, doing crafting activities, writing, reading. I try to do something from this list even if I don’t feel like it. I know tapping into our passions will give a natural mood boost.
7. I tell myself that this is a feeling and feelings will pass as long as I let them and don’t get trapped in them by imagining that they won’t.

This is my coping action plan. What does yours look like?
Write it down because next time you feel down or anxious you can’t trust your brain to be in a state to remember these things clearly.
Feel free to share your list!