Discuss with Depression - Coping Mechanisms with @MyNameIsNicole

hi depression community!

i'm super excited to start off this month with a really awesome interview on coping mechanisms. the lovely @WarmLightXO has interviewed the amazing @MyNameIsNicole - let's see what nicole had to say!

Interviewer: WarmLightXO

Interviewee: MyNameIsNicole

Question 1: Hi! *waves* How are you today? I'm excited for the interview 😊

Answer 1: Hello, thank you so much for your time today.

Question 2: Let's get right into it- what is your favorite coping mechanism for depression?

Answer 2: I like to go outside and sit on the floor of the balcony. I listen to the leaves on the trees sway against each other, and the calming breeze pass through my ears. Sometimes I play some ambient sounds and listen on my headphones, or I journal. But whatever I do, I do it outside and I feel peace like I have never felt before in my life.

Question 3: What's a coping mechanism that didn't work for you?

Answer 3: Meditation. I keep trying and trying, but I don’t like to sit still and keep quiet.

Question 4: What suggestions do you have for people dealing with unhealthy coping mechanisms?

Answer 4: Remember how it makes you feel. All unhealthy coping mechanisms make you feel good for a short while (or secure) and then make you feel worse as time goes by. So why put yourself through more pain in the long term? You deserve to deal with your emotions in a way that does not affect your physical, emotional and mental health. Because at the end of the day, you’re all you have <3

Question 5: How has the way you cope changed over time?

Answer 5: I didn’t really cope in a healthy way before. I bottled my feelings, and I broke down regularly. I listened to my intrusive thoughts, and basked in the satisfaction of bringing own self down (and sometimes other people). I don’t do that anymore (or at least I try not to), there are other ways that I can cope, and don’t rob me of my sanity and peace.

Question 6: What's been helpful to learn as you tried new coping mechanisms?

Answer 6: I learned to listen to what my soul really needs. Not what everyone says I need.

Question 7: And finally- How does being on 7Cups change the way you cope?

Answer 7: 7 Cups provides me with community. I don’t have to share what I struggle with, to be heard. Just talking to these people help. So 7 Cups has become a getaway place for me, a place where I feel safe.

wow, this was such an incredible interview to read and i found it super insightful!

warm, your questions were so amazing! i really loved the detail put into them.

nicole, it makes me so happy to hear that 7 cups is a safe place for you and that you have found some healthy coping mechanisms that work for you. you're totally right - unhealthy coping mechanisms may help us on the short-term, but can definitely be detrimental long term. sitting outside on your balcony sounds so peaceful!

i'm so grateful for both of you and the support you have given to both yourselves and our community members!