How Do You Cope With Distress?

Our coping behaviors help us move away from distressing feelings -they save us from distressing feelings.

However, reacting or coping with distressing feelings can sometimes make things worse.

Distressing feelings can become more intense when we avoid them, numb them, or run away from them.

Also, numbing feelings don’t allow us to heal from the pain of those feelings.

What is it you do to cope with your feelings? Every time you feel your theme, what do you do?

Or working backward: When you are doing the thing you find solace in, what are the feelings that preceded it?

If you are binging on food, alcohol, or TV, for example, what were the feelings that preceded it?

Or, if you are dying to do something that gives you a lot of peace or joy, like sex, going out, or exercise, were there any feelings that preceded this?

Remember that things like excessive thinking and obsession are ways we soothe our distressing feelings.