Skillz

One thing I’ve worked on in recovery is learning alternative ways of responding to life and stress (as opposed to just drinking over everything–I did give that a good long try though).  So learning some coping skills was key.  But I didn’t necessarily learn all/enough yet, it seems, or maybe it’s just that i’ve been dealing with some new kinds of stresses–icky memories, deaths–those are the big ones lately.  It seems that there are those who think I could work a little more on my coping skills.  I am sure they are right.  But I don’t always like this sort of suggestion, or at least I prefer to have my obstinate moment first.  So instead of a list of triggers/stressors and HEALTHY coping strategies, here’s a list of triggers/stressors and the oh-so-clever responses I’ve developed over the course of my life.  

This is how I roll–

 

trigger:  transitional times, change

how to handle it:  panic, become disoriented, or make pointless lists obsessively

 

trigger:  feeling like I’ve done something wrong

 

how to handle it:  suicide

 

trigger:  not enough rest

how to handle it:  lean back and let the moodiness take me where it may

 

trigger:  not eating enough

 

how to handle it:  keep up the good work

 

trigger:  feeling overwhelmed

 

how to handle it:  see what other stresses can be added to the mix

 

Okay, okay, enough self-indulgent perverseness.  Maybe, at least for a minute.  I often do manage to choose other responses these days (for instance, you may have discerned that I have not in fact committed suicide).  And I almost always can recognize an old, less-than-productive coping strategy pretty quickly.  That in itself is progress.  I’m a bit afraid of progress though.  But not as afraid as I am of standing still.  

Explore posts in the same categories: Anxiety, Change, Coping strategies, Failure, Fear, Living, Recovery, Therapy, Worry, perverseness

Tags: Change, coping skills, Coping strategies, Recovery, stress, triggers

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