Coping skills, continued

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Click on the below article link to obtain background information to this blog post:

Examiner article

I’ve written many times about life being a series of recoveries. We suffer, we persevere and recover and, if we’re conscientious about our life, we learn from all that we’ve experience, good and especially bad. When you look at life like this, you understand the need for healthy coping especially if you are practicing purposeful living.  

I mentioned that I work with incarcerated women in my article and I find this work really fulfilling. The material we use in our groups is based on Feministic theory, which I believe to be extremely empowering.

I’m happy to be part of a group that offers education and skill-building activities to women who are open minded about bettering themselves while they are serving time.

I am giving a presentation on Feminism this month at school; the foundation to this approach encompasses a belief that culture, stereotypes, objectification, social oppression, discrimination and/or basically any type of inequality impact us. Our worlds are full of barriers and we must realize these barriers and empower ourselves to overcome and persevere. Counselors create a safe place for client’s to explore internal scripts (things that have been told to them growing up that eventually they believed, such as “You will never be any good”), and self-talk, improve self-care and skill building with education and activities. We want to understand the client’s perception about the world, help them identify irrational beliefs, reframe them and then replace them with good ones. Much of the same can be done with coping mechanisms. It is important we turn to healthy channels in our times of need otherwise we’re hurting ourselves further instead of helping ourselves.

You may have been surprised by some of the coping skills I included in the article such as crying. This process actually physically detoxes the body so when we allow ourselves time to cry, it can soothe our spirit and it physically releases toxin.

My healthy go to when I’m hurting is anything creative. I will research and write an article, draw, or create something of some sort. If I’m not thinking healthy, I seem to get a short-term fix from sugary foods but this hurts me in the long run because I usually feel guilty afterwards. It isn’t a healthy choice for me but I am getting better at minimizing this choice!

How do you handle hardship? Leave me a note and let’s talk about your coping skills and options!