Looking for Coping Skills

If you're able and interested, I've found that martial arts help me a lot. Using my body in an intentional and calculated way is great as a distraction and exercise is always good!

Art, music, outdoors, movies, etc are all great outlets :)

I got a dog. He’s is my ESA and my service dog in training. Keeping busy with him and going for walks every morning and throughout the day has been great in making me feel better in the moment. I always suggest going outside. Maybe planting a plant or just going for a walk. Having something to do physically takes your mind off of the bad things most of the time. Being outside is also great for those who struggle with mental health!

I'm a huge nerd, and I've found that learning really calms me down. Studying requires my attention and thoughts, so then I give my mind and body a break and chance to relax 💜

I REALLY like calm strips. They’re very helpful sensory wise and can be easily removed and placed on different surfaces hundreds of times (so long as the back stays clean). Weighted blankets when I happen to be home are also incredibly helpful.

I crochet and garden. I also have an emotional support snake. Studying botany calms me down alot, but I'm super into plants. If you can find something like that for you, maybe you can turn part of it into a coping mechanism!

I also crochet. I got an emotional support dog a while ago, and sometimes caring for her can help. It can also be helpful for me to talk to people. If you're really struggling, there are support lines you can call/text. That is a resource I've accessed when I'm really not doing well.

Meditations have helped me so much. Sensory videos, kinetic sand, art, puzzles, fidgets like a small metal slinky, or textures to touch. Also grounding activity’s aka: 5 things you can see around you, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can feel, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste 🤗

I do yoga and draw on procreate. Journaling with other people helped me too.

I found a hobby to do . I crochet or go walk on treadmill when I’m anxious.

I also find that journaling and breathing exercises don't do much for me since my anxiety has such an intense energy to it. So I've found that things that require me to focus not only my mind but my hands/body are very helpful. Stuff like building Lego sets, complex dot to dot puzzles (they sell huge books of them on Amazon with like 1,000+ dots per page!), coloring, making Spirograph art, or making stuff with clay. Anything that really demands more than just passive attention to perform seems to be more helpful. So far these are some of the only non-medication related ways I've been able to temporarily quiet the sort of intrusive, high energy anxiety I have.