Unhealthy coping. Wednesday check in January 27th 2021

Hiya peeps welcome to the Wednesday check in with your friend 🔥

Hope you're doing pawsome today, but if not that's ok too, feel free to say hi or drop off or pick up a hug or 2.

Today's icebreaker: If a friend described you, what would they say are two of your qualities?

Today I thought I'd change things up a bit. Ima always trying to find ways to deal with trauma. Instead, today I thought I'd talk a little about what not to do in dealing with trauma.

To cope is to make a specific alteration physically, emotionally, or mentally so that you can manage or adapt to something that is causing you distress.

HSome coping mechanisms are positive ones. They are beneficial, useful and constructive, producing a positive outcome. However, other coping mechanisms are negative, with damaging, unhealthy and harmful mechanisms which produce a negative outcome.

Although a positive coping mechanism is a good way of overcoming a problem, many people choose negative coping mechanisms instead. This is because, while they don’t offer long-term solutions to problems, negative coping mechanisms do produce an immediate effect, one that reduces your stress in the short term.

Sadly, using a negative coping mechanism only masks the stress and difficult emotions for a short period of time. They actually cause the dysfunction to increase over time by maintaining and strengthening it. Negative coping does not allow you to learn healthy ways of coping with stress, trauma, and PTSD.

Some negative coping techniques.

Avoidance,

Avoiding others can make you feel isolated. Isolation is when you tend to be alone a lot, rather than spending time around other people. Social support is critical to healthy coping.

Hypervigilance Staying always on guard.

After going through a trauma, it may seem reasonable to try to stay extra alert. You may be on the lookout for danger at all times. This is called hyper-vigilance. However, this way of coping doesn’t work. You end up feeling stressed, fearful, and fatigued. The Brain is in an hyper alert state~ Fight-Flight-of Freeze. Good news, the brain can be re-hardwired to calm down into Stay and Play mode. Gotta love play mode lol!!

Dangerous behavior

You also may cope by doing things that are dangerous. For example, be quick to start a fight when someone upsets you. You may end up hurting yourself or someone else.

Substance abuse

Taking a lot of drugs or alcohol to feel better is called substance abuse . You may try to use drugs or alcohol to escape your problems, help you sleep, or make your symptoms go away.Substance abuse can cause serious problems. Drinking or using drugs can put your relationships, your job, and your health in jeopardy. You may become more likely to be mean or violent. When you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, you may make bad decisions.

Avoiding others

Certain situations may cause you stress, make you angry, or remind you of bad memories. Because of this, you may try to avoid other people at times. You may even avoid your friends and family. Avoiding others can make you feel isolated. Isolation is when you tend to be alone a lot, rather than spending time around other people.

When you distance yourself from others, your problems may seem to build up. You may have more negative thoughts or feel like you're facing life all alone.

Working too much

Work is a good thing. You learn new things, interact with others, and gain confidence. But working too much can be a form of avoidance. You may be working to avoid memories or to help yourself forget about the event. This is dangerous because:you may not seek help for your trauma

You're not spending time with your family and friends. Being with them and getting their support may help you recover and deal better with trauma. You may work so much that you eat less and get little sleep. This can hurt your health, so you're more likely to get sick.

What can I do?

Changing how you cope with trauma is part of your recovery. Here are some things you can do.

Talk to a doctor or counselor. You may need help changing your behavior.

Get involved with a support group for PTSD. You can find out about support groups from your doctor, from some friends, or on the Internet.

Talk to your family and friends about things that bother you. They can offer you emotional support as you change your habits or behavior.

Get involved with social and community events. Volunteer at a sporting event or holiday festival. Connect with other people through clubs or religious groups. Find hobbies and interests that bring you in contact with others.

Question: Do you use negative coping techniques?

How do you think you can overcome them?

As always these questions are optional, feel free to say hi or drop off or pick up a hug or 2.

Hang tough stay pawsome we'll get through this together ur friend and forum supporter 🔥

https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/October-2020/7-Tools-for-Managing-Traumatic-Stress

https://info.nhanow.com/blog/the-ultimate-list-ofhealthcare-awareness-dates

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