My coping mechanism

[acaiblueberry]

My main coping mechanism, while it doesn't always work as you can see from my little crisis earlier, usually helps a lot so I thought I might share it. I try to find something, even if it's small to look forward to. It can be a concert, or it can be that I'm planning to go to my favourite restaurant. I tell myself I can't do it until then. And then I immediately look for the next thing to start counting down towards. It doesn't always work, sometimes it feels like there's no point. But it helps me because I get excited kinda easy.

 

[CandyK__]

Thank you for this. Will try it.

 

[VioletNight]

Gonna give this a shot, thank you. Really glad it helps you :)

 

[BornHated]

I'm financially not well off, but every once in a while I can pick up something small. Particularly online; The delayed gratification upon first purchase and then the moment I finally get it gives me 2 instances positive emotion, even if fleeting.
Extra points for stuff that streamlines the day or encourages/facilitates me to do stuff more often: If that cute pen grip or hand rest staves off my carpal tunnel a little better, I feel way less guilt indulging in it. Decoration counts. It's a healthy display of self-love and control of your possessions. Looking at nice things can make you feel good. (Though I realized I also need to present it in a way that's easy to clean in my room...)

I used to look forward to playing video games growing up as my only allowed leisure- luckily nowadays there's a lot of nicer Free-to-Play gacha games with regular updates for pretty much any platform.

 

[guayabas]

this is one I've used before as well. I would try to have one little thing to look forward to everyday. I was broke af bc I couldn't work so often times it was something like a new episode of a show I liked. or having a treat. or texting a friend. or snuggling my kitty. or getting to a certain point in a game I'm playing. but it helped. glad you're taking care of yourself and finding coping skills that help you <3