I had a crisis which involved a short inpatient stay. While at the hospital I realized that I had neglected learning coping skills and had been relying on medication alone, which is not sufficient. Since then I have been thinking about it and figured out that my main coping skill is preparing my own food (rather than eating out) and eating before hunger sets in - eating proactively, so to speak.
Other skills are:
- Listening to classic music. Chopin works especially great.
- Drawing
- Coloring
- Writing stories
- Recording ideas for stories to develop them later
- Writing longer, detailed emails about the little things in my day
- Going for a walk
- Thera-putty that was given to me at the hospital
- I think embroidering would be great, but I have not bought the supplies yet
- Making bead jewelry
- Keeping myself well hydrated
- Remembering that it is an episodic illness and each state shall pass
- Swimming
- Biking
- Interval training by walking on a treadmill
- Prepping vegetables
- Washing dishes ("luckily" the DW in the apartment can only rinse)
- Scrubbing the kitchen sink
- Taking a hot shower
- Foot massage or a foot soak
- Going to bed at the same time and having an alarm set for the same day each day
- Shopping for groceries and making shopping lists (rather than eating out)
- Walking outside in the rain or when the weather is windy
- having a thermos with hot tea on hand and sipping the hot tea slowly
- never having an empty fridge or cupboard
- photography, if I can learn it
- reading, if I could regain focus to pursue it
- putting away laundry or groceries
- meditation for those who can (I cannot)
- focusing on the breathing
- yoga
- social interactions
Please add on. At the end of the thread I will make a master list and post it as a separate message.