Pandora's Aquarium: How do you cope? - Pandora's Aquarium

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How do you cope?

#16 User is offline   2ndchance 

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Posted 07 July 2010 - 10:11 AM

I'm not much of a writer,talking about it takes up more energy than anything it seems, so my coping technique is to work with my animals and spend time with them. The first few days afterwards the only things that saved me were going out to do chores and riding my horses. They are the only things I'm not afraid to get close with and the only ones I still trust. Even if you don't live somewhere where you can have pets go down to a local shelter or pet store you may be amazed at what the healing power those animals have. I hope this wasn't to much of a cliche.

#17 User is offline   MelK 

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Posted 07 July 2010 - 12:30 PM

View Post2ndchance, on 07 July 2010 - 10:11 AM, said:

I'm not much of a writer,talking about it takes up more energy than anything it seems, so my coping technique is to work with my animals and spend time with them. The first few days afterwards the only things that saved me were going out to do chores and riding my horses. They are the only things I'm not afraid to get close with and the only ones I still trust. Even if you don't live somewhere where you can have pets go down to a local shelter or pet store you may be amazed at what the healing power those animals have. I hope this wasn't to much of a cliche.


I'm glad you have your animals. I would love a dog but am not in a position to have one, but just imagining/planning having a dog can calm me down.

What bad feelings do you experience? Are you dealing with anger, sadness, depression? Can you say why?

Grief, grief, grief at everything I lost and missed out on.

Depression... this one I don't understand properly. I had depression for years when I had amnesia about what happened but after I remembered I thought that was due to the effort of keeping the memories squashed down. Now I have it again, but I have the memories too.

Anxiety. Working a lot on this.

More importantly, what positive attributes and strengths do you bring with you as you cope with your experience? Are you a good communicator? Are you able to simply sit and feel your emotions? Can you ask for help when you need it?

I don't give up. I don't know why, but I just won't give up.

On a good day, I'll try to look at the emotions instead of blocking them. On a good day, I'll try to see myself with compassion.

In what positive ways do you deal with your emotions? Do you paint, draw, write or talk?

I make collages with magazine pictures, or draw, or cut out a picture that expresses how I'm feeling and stick that in my sketch book.

I write (journalling and writing from the subconscious). I keep a dream diary and write about my dreams.

I post here on pandys :dancingpanda:/> . There's a healing exercise thread where you write about a feeling - what's it like, if it made a noise what noise would it make etc. That really helps me.

I do little symbolic rituals, like lighting a candle for myself when I'm overcome with sadness.

#18 User is offline   guilty79 

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 01:19 PM

I cope by exercising it really helps the harder the better

#19 User is online   tinyrabbit 

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Posted 18 May 2013 - 06:08 PM

What bad feelings do you experience?  Are you dealing with anger, sadness, depression?  Can you say why?

Right now it's like all these old feelings are leaking out of me. Anger, sadness, grief, frustration, feelings I couldn't feel at the time, trickling out bit by bit. I feel really hopeless and miserable at times, but it has to come out.

More importantly, what positive attributes and strengths do you bring with you as you cope with your experience?  Are you a good communicator?  Are you able to simply sit and feel your emotions?  Can you ask for help when you need it?

Carrying on even when it's hard. I'm some kind of trooper or something. I think I'm kind, too, and I ask for help sometimes from my closest friends, and I offer help as well. When I'm feeling low, sometimes I reach out to my friends, ask how they are, and remind myself that I'm not just a pointless, useless nothing but I actually mean something to people.

In what positive ways do you deal with your emotions?  Do you paint, draw, write or talk?

I write and play guitar. I also use a lot of distraction, like Sudoku which is great for occupying the mind, and I read a lot. I do Zumba, and I also like to play music loudly and sing along while washing up, cheers me up no end for some reason. My cat helps as well, it's very therapeutic sitting stroking him and the pure, innocent joy of watching a kitten chase a ribbon is really something.

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