![]() ![]() If you’re not sure how to get started, check out the Headspace app.įrame thoughts and words into positive messages as much as possible. Check out this video by Oxford Sparks that discusses how being around people can help you cope. ![]() This includes reading a book, drawing or making art, writing in a journal, doing a puzzle, playing an instrument, gardening, counting down from 100.įind the things and people that help foster positive thoughts and feelings about yourself and the world. In fact, any form of exercise (especially if you’re doing it outside, in nature) is good for self-care and can help you cope.ĭo something, anything that makes you focus on something else. Using headphones can be especially helpful. She is the creator of The Ignite & Rise Academy and Releasing the Phoenix. She works as mental health specialist, author, empowerment coach and bibliotherapist. Living with this illness can often be difficult, but there are ways to manage the symptoms and live a joyful life.Īshley Nestler, MSW is a survivor of multiple mental illnesses. But more importantly, I hope that my experience will provide people living with schizophrenia with tools to help them cope. My hope is that learning more about my coping mechanisms will help people without a mental illness to understand schizophrenia from a lived experience perspective. Schizophrenia is a severe - and often debilitating - mental illness, but I have discovered small actions that can aid me through many of my episodes. I also discovered that focusing on the plot of a show and the feeling of the music can help to drown out the voices and grounding me in reality. I experience auditory hallucinations that cause me a lot of irritation and distress, but I have found that watching comforting shows or listening to music that I enjoy often helps to bring me some relief when I am having an episode. In times of severe distress, I typically need strong measures, and this particular coping mechanism has helped me on many occasions. The introduction of an extreme temperature allows me to reset and pay attention to what is happening in my body. When I am experiencing strong hallucinations and severe anxiety, almost nothing can relieve me from the distress however, dunking my face in a bowl of cold water helps to “zap” me out of what I am experiencing. This coping mechanism, while seemingly contradictory to the coping mechanism above, can be just as helpful. #4 Dunking My Face in a Bowl of Cold Water Heating pads (or warming stuffed animals) with lavender bring me a sense of comfort and stabilization that allow me to function on tough days. ![]() Often, my hallucinations - and resulting frustration - interrupt my ability to stay present and evaluate my reality. Like the putty and dough, having a heating pad helps when my hallucinations become irritating or debilitating. Using putty and dough also help me when I am experiencing intense anxiety, as the use of my hands allows me to direct my energy toward a specific task. But when I have some putty or dough to fidget with, I feel more securely rooted in my body, and I am able to stay present and grounded. When I am hallucinating, I often feel like I am floating or that I am not completely in my body. I have a collection of different “fidget putties” and dough that help ground me when I am hallucinating. This coping mechanism might come off as simplistic, but I’ve learned that even the smallest tasks can be lifesaving. I fully understand that Fat Louie has been a lifesaver in helping me live a manageable life - and I hope animals can bring a similar comfort to others. Without Louie, daily struggles would feel almost insurmountable. When I am struggling, I have the joy of experiencing complete and unlimited love. And if he doesn’t, this can be a strong indicator that I am experiencing hallucinations.Įqually importantly, he helps to comfort me when I am experiencing major depressive episodes. If Fat Louie acts like he can see what I am seeing, then I know can know that it is real. Owning a cat has some strictly practical benefits having a living creature around helps me understand whether the hallucinations I experience are real or not. One of the best steps I have taken to improve my mental health is to get an emotional support animal, a cat named Fat Louie. My hope is that if you struggle with schizophrenia yourself, the following coping mechanisms might give you some relief from your illness as well. Fortunately, I have developed certain coping mechanisms that make the days easier and allow me to find some reprieve from my illness. I find that often, my symptoms dictate what I am able to do in my daily life. Schizoaffective disorder - a disorder that is a combination of schizophrenia and, in my case, major depression - is a big part of my life. ![]()
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