Bending Reality Magazine October 2015 | Page 16

How to Develop Good Coping Skills

By Brandon Morningstar

Coping skills are personal medicine tools that can help you manage your mental health challenges if you feel that medicine doesn’t work or that you’ve had not much success with potential medicine changes frequently. Coping skills can be various different techniques and/or strategies to minimize the effects of a sudden down turn in mood even if it’s just a brief moment or a lengthy episode. Over the years, I’ve developed quite a few of my own but what works for me may not work for you necessarily.

My coping skills include:

•Using a journal

•Candlelight/Incense Relaxation by focusing on the smells of the candle or the incense

•Meditation

•Prayer/Focus on Scripture

•(shockingly enough) video games

•Exercises both of mind and outdoor activities such as walks

•Indoor exercises both of mind and body including daily exercise regimen (stretches, relaxation, upper and lower

body muscle maintenance and household responsibilities

•Listening to music no matter if mood is bad or good

•Usage of my WRAP plan (WRAP- Wellness and Recovery Action Plan)

•Taking all prescribed medicine on time

•Paying attention to tone of voice and how it sounds to me

Now if you’d like to learn more about my

experiences or would like to discuss developing

a plan with me you can email me at

[email protected] and I’ll be sure to

respond to you in a timely manner.