It is not easy to live with a psychological illness. For one, the symptoms are often not physical, individuals could and tend to live with the sickness without even noticing it. But, once diagnosed, prescribed medicine and therapy go a long way in terms of coping and managing such illnesses. However, healing may come in waves – some days you are okay, and are able to deal with things, while on others, you are not so okay, and tend to overcompensate in order to feel adequate – sometimes even just… human.
Finding the correct coping mechanism requires energy and tolerance – from the person affected, as well as those around them; because it can affect how the person feels and reacts to everything.
If you are looking for new ways of managing or coping with psychological issues, or are hoping to add a couple more to your toolbox, here are five coping mechanisms as suggested by emotional well-being expert and mental health coach, Vannessa Seleka, that are worth testing.
- Deep Breathing
Breathing is an irritating buzzword now, however that is on the grounds that the most ideal approach to quieten nervousness truly is to just breathe. While fighting her own nervousness, Vannessa used the “2 4 6” relaxing method:
- Inhale for 2 seconds
- Hold your breath for 4 seconds
- Exhale for 6 seconds
This delicate redundancy makes an impression on the cerebrum that all is well (or will be soon). In a little while, your heart will slow its pace and you will start to unwind —sometimes without even noticing it.
- Inverse-to-Emotion Thinking
Inverse to “emotional thinking” is exactly how it sounds: You act contrary to how you are feeling. Let us assume that you are feeling vexed and you have the desire to seclude, inverse to-emotion thinking advises you to go out and associate with people — the contrary activity to seclusion. When you feel restless, battle that with something quieting like contemplation. When you feel hyper, do something that balances you out. This strategy is most likely one of the hardest to place into play, however in the event that you can oversee it, the outcomes are unimaginable.
- Emotional Awareness
The longer you ignore your feelings, the longer and more difficult it will be to deal with the outcomes. Once we perceive how we feel, we easily handle things, or the causes a lot better. Thus, if you find yourself feeling restless, acknowledge it for several minutes, and then stop to think about how you are feeling. If you find yourself furious, let yourself be irate – and at that point, acknowledge it, and do what will calm you down. Be in contact with your feelings. Acknowledge that you are feeling a specific way, let yourself feel that way and afterward make a move to lessen unfortunate emotions.
- Acceptance
Acceptance is “completely and totally accepting something from the depths of your soul, with your heart and your mind,” according to Marsha Linehan (creator of dialectal behaviour therapy). Included in this definition is the idea that no matter what, you cannot change a situation.
The equivalent applies to dysfunctional behaviour. You cannot change the fact that at times, your behaviour is dysfunctional. So, attempting to “dispose of it” or imagining that it does not exist, is just depleting you of significant vitality. Acknowledge yourself, acknowledge your condition; and once you have, find a proper way to manage and deal with it.
- Reframing your Perspective
Reframing your perspective includes taking a feeling or stressor and looking at it in an alternate manner. Take for instance, being fired from work. You could go into depression, be bitter and angry, attract all the negative connotations associated with the feeling; or you can look at it like this: “I need to look for another opportunity, I need to update my CV, maybe it is time I started that business.”
Perfecting this procedure can actually change your point of view during times of predicament. Yet, as you may envision, this expertise requires some investment and practice.
Mental health is a personal journey, what works for others might not necessarily work for you and vice versa. The key factor in the journey is to search and find the technique that works best for you.