Alternative coping – a tough sell

I thought that these quotes would be especially appropriate after my series on coping skills.

Dr. Meredith Grey: In the hospital, we see addiction every day. It’s shocking, how many kinds of addiction exist. It would be too easy if it was just drugs and booze and cigarettes. I think the hardest part of kicking a habit is wanting to kick it. I mean, we get addicted for a reason, right? Often, too often, things that start out as just a normal part of your life at some point cross the line to obsessive, compulsive, out of control. It’s the high we’re chasing, the high that makes everything else fade away.

Dr. Meredith Grey: The thing about addiction is, it never ends well. Because eventually, whatever it is that was getting us high, stops feeling good, and starts to hurt. Still, they say you don’t kick the habit until you hit rock bottom. But how do you know when you are there? Because no matter how badly a thing is hurting us, sometimes, letting it go hurts even worse.

I’ve talked about this before, but I think that wanting to want to recover is a big roadblock in eating disorder treatment. Meredith explains it very well — we get addicted for a reason. The ED plays a role in our lives. You don’t go seeking an eating disorder… but for whatever reason (I’m sure largely biological), coping via food / exercise works for you. Restricting did give me some kind of a high, but more importantly it did make “everything else fade away.” Of course it didn’t SOLVE any issues… but it did somehow mask them and make them less important to me.

The eating disorder doesn’t “work” for me like it used to. It doesn’t give me that relief that I’m looking for. It doesn’t make stressors go away. 10 years ago, I felt some kind of sick accomplishment from restricting. Like somehow not eating made everything better. These days, maybe it deadens things a little bit, but largely it throws off my blood sugar and makes me feel like crap.

I’ll admit that for whatever reason, in many situations it’s still my first instinct to use the ED to cope. All the coping mechanisms I mentioned are attempts to replace the disorderedness with something healthier. But really, it takes three “healthy” coping mechanisms to offset one unhealthy one. The kudos chart is an everyday thing and a bad day might require coloring AND card shops.

I think a lot of people struggle with feeling like they still need their ED. Even if it is kinda ruining their lives and not working like it did in the past, they still feel like they won’t be able to deal without it. If you’re trying to replace that disorderedness with bubble baths and crafts — well, that’s a tough sell.

I’m not saying it’s not worth it or that EDs are just unhealthy coping skills… I’m just saying that recovery takes a lot of coping skills.  You burn some of them out (for instance, reading does not help me like it used to) and have to be creative and come up with new ones.  And sometimes they feel ridiculous.  Heck, I’m in my mid-20s and googling “print complicated coloring pages.”  My kudos chart is remarkably similar to the sticker chore chart that I had when I was seven.  I’m not sure any of this is “normal,” but hey, it helps.  Ridiculous or not — just go with it.

Underrated coping skill: DVDs

This is the sixth post in the Grey Thinking series, Five of the most underrated coping skills.

This isn’t going to come as any surprise to those of you who have followed Grey Thinking for any length of time…. but watching DVDs of TV series is one of my favorite “coping skills.”  I may be stretching the idea of a “coping skill” a little bit here, but anything to justify my House marathons…

I like to watch four hours of old Grey’s Anatomy episodes (especially during evenings that I’m depressed) because I can check out.  I can focus on Meredith’s dark and twisty issues and secretly hope that Meredith and Derek get back together (clearly I’m in the middle of season three right now).  And it’s not that House’s misery or Meredith’s really screwed up love life makes me feel better about my own or anything.  I just like relationships.  And sarcasm.

Checking out like this is probably not THE healthiest coping mechanism – but it’s much better than the eating disorder.  Sometimes I am overwhelmed and I need to check out.  It’s hard for me to turn off my brain, in a sense.  My mind can wander while I read a book, exercise, walk the dog, clean, etc.  For some reason though, my mind doesn’t wander when I’m watching House.  Things seem so still and the chaos of my life is put on hold.

I say “DVDs” rather than House / Grey’s Anatomy because I have friends who use movies to cope.  Personally, I get really impatient with movies and spend a lot of time thinking “is it over yet?”  They’re more frustrating to me than soothing… but to each her/his own.

photo credit: holamun2

Underrated coping skill: crafting

This is the fifth post in the Grey Thinking series, Five of the most underrated coping skills.

I’m not sure that “crafting” really encompasses the coping skill that I want to mention, but it’s the best term that I could come up with.  When I say “crafting,” I mean any of the following:

1. coloring
2. making collages
3. sudoku /crossword puzzles
4. word searches
5. computer solitaire
6. kitting
7. drawing / painting
8. origami

…see my point?  Semi-creative (and low-stress) activities that keep your hands busy.  I don’t know what it is about keeping my hands busy, but it really helps with the anxiety.

Personally, I prefer coloring & sudoku… mainly because they don’t really require any thought.  I can stress out about drawing because I don’t know where to start or I am worried about screwing it up.  With coloring… it’s way harder to screw up and limited decisions have to be made.  I know people who really get a lot more out of art than just being distracted and it can really be therapeutic for them.  I have days like that, but usually I’m just looking for a good, basically mindless activity.

Underrated coping skill: kudos charts

This is the fourth post in the Grey Thinking series, Five of the most underrated coping skills.

If you don’t know what a “kudos chart is” – it’s a sticker chart.  You know those charts that your mom made when you were five that had actions like “make bed” and “brush teeth” on it?  Yep, those.  I heard someone refer to them as “kudos charts” on twitter several months back, and since my current chart is not actually using stickers, I’m going to go with that terminology.

My explanation is simple: a kudos chart worked for me when I was five, and twenty years later it is still a helpful tool.

What kind of things do I have on my kudos chart?

1. Follow meal plan
2. Take calcium supplement
3. Get 7+ hours of sleep
4. Go through the mail
5. Blog

That’s not all, but you get the picture – it’s a mixture of eating disorder goals and regular life tasks.  I never have more than 7 goals, for three main reasons:

1. then I’m not really focusing on the important tasks
2. it gets cumbersome to remember and record too many things
3. only seven fit on my chart

Not only do I get satisfaction of checking off items each day, but at the end of the day / week I add up all my “kudos” for my “kudos score.”  It’s a quick and satisfying way to motivate myself… and I think that other people could definitely benefit from such a tool.

Underrated coping skill: bulletin boards

This is the third post in the Grey Thinking series, Five of the most underrated coping skills.

Out of sight, out of mind.

This idiom definitely proves true for me.  I get so wrapped up in everything going on in life that I forget about all these health / self-care / positive affirmations / you name it that I’m trying to convince myself of.

I wrote about this in a previous post, I’m going to need that in writing, but it’s definitely worth mentioning again.  I have a bulletin board above my desk with little things on it – quotes, pictures, etc. – that mean something to me.  For example, there’s a fortune cookie fortune that says, “Remember there are people who care deeply about you.”  There’s also a copy of my meal plan and clips from meaningful emails.  Granted… there are also pictures of my dog, a yearly calendar, and sometimes a to-do list… but my point is, I put stuff up there that I need to remember.  And it helps, a lot.

I know that in treatment and recovery, I need to hear the a lot of the same things over and over.  Seeing some of these concepts concretely and being reminded of them regularly has proven to be very helpful.

photo credit: kitchenknife

Underrated coping skill: card stores

This is the second post in the Grey Thinking series, Five of the most underrated coping skills.

I don’t know why more people don’t hang out in card stores.  Just think about it… when you have a friend that’s upset, it’s not uncommon to send them some kind of “cheer up / feel better” card.  So, if you’re upset… doesn’t it just make sense to spend an hour in a card shop and read 100 of those?

I know that there is more to getting cards than the card itself (say… the thought behind it), but funny cards make people feel better.  I scan the aisles at Barnes & Noble nearly weekly for new stickmen cards and can’t help but laugh at Hoops & Yoyo.  Card stores are just a win-win for everyone.

Five of the most underrated coping skills

…according to Grey Thinking, at least.  I’ve seen so many coping skills lists full of bubble baths, deep breathing, positive affirmations, etc, and really am just bored with them.  Someone needs to come up with some creative and new alternative coping mechanisms!  I might as well start.  Here’s a list of some of my favorite / most-helpful coping skills, that I’ve never seen (or very rarely seen) on any “learning to cope” list.

Five of the most underrated coping skills:

1. card stores
2. bulletin boards
3. kudos charts
4. crafting
5. dvds

I have a lot to say about each one of these, so I’m going to break them up into different posts.  However, I’d love to hear you feedback and any alternative or underrated coping skills that you might use.