Take Three

I cry, make a tea, get in bed under the blanket and stay there until it's hard to breathe. Then I pull the blanket off, drink the tea, probably cry some more.

No, it doesn't always help.

Bed. I can usually just go to sleep when I'm really upset but I'm happy to just lie in bed and watch comforting things for hours.

Yeah bed as well. That's the place I feel most comfortable. Usually a nap helps too. Up until about a year or so ago I'd just get drunk. Not anymore. I've realized it's unhealthy on so many degrees. If I was still using alcohol as a coping mechanism there would've been a lot of embarrassing drunk posts by me here still like back in the old Drank Funk days.

Getting really upset tires me. I tend to nap when I'm really sad. If I'm numb though, I tend to watch tv or play video games just to forget for a little while that life sucks.

I'll just drive somewhere that's decently far away to get something to eat that I don't normally have, like a gyro in Freehold or go down to the shore in the offseason and get an italian sausage sandwich, and I'll chain smoke. Sometimes it helps but honestly sleeping and time are the only things that really seem to do any good.

It depends on how bad it is, whether I'm angry, or sad, or both.

Bed is definitely one of the options.

When I had my car I would take off and drive nowhere really or to the beach.

The beach always seems to comfort me no matter what season or time of day. I can go there and walk or sit for hours just not thinking about the inevitable occurrences of life.

Writing was another mechanism I would use to get out my frustrations and I've written down some pretty horrible things but it was one of the few ways that would completely relieve me of whatever thoughts plagued me.

These days I go through those journals and read them when I get sad or depressed to remind myself how far I've come. Certain entries make me sadder and I cry but I realize that it doesn't hurt like it did before.

Currently working out is what helps me feel better about a lot of things. Back in my high school days, sports were what helped me cope with what I was going through. Batting cages were my favorite because I could just smack the hell out of something for hours without hurting anyone.

I have a hard time dealing with my anger(I've mentioned this before) because I've seen how people get when they are in a rage and I feel that inside of me and it freaks me out. The few times I lost control I broke a window, my mom's pager, and took a chunk off of our garage with a baseball bat. I also wrecked a car once(not my dui) this was sober, I was 14/15 years old. That was a bad day.

A few times I would cope by drinking and there were a couple years where I would just avoid going home as much as possible and hang out with friends to get my mind off the bullshit.

I'd like to think I have a come a long way from those days and have learned to cope a lot better than before. I still have more to work on and it's a forever healing process but seeing the progress makes me hopeful that there will come a day when I will no longer feel chained to these old wounds.

Wow. I can't sleep when I am upset. Not at all. I will stay awake for days if something is really bothering me.

I usually play games or read a fantasy book. Sometimes I will sit in a dark room and listen to very loud music. Usually Tool, the Mars Volta or Rage Against the Machine.

When I didn't have kids I drove aimlessly and usually ended up on the Parkway. If there was a beach nearby, I'd probably end up there too, like Jaz.
Nature. It's just so therapeutic for me to take a hike or walk and be surrounded by natural elements, especially some type of water source.

I never sleep when I'm upset I just lay in bed and yeah nature is definitely one of my favorite ways to calm down, feel at peace.

One of the many houses we lived at, I used to like sneaking out at night and go into one of the neighbor's backyard. This older lady who lived across the street had this real pretty backyard with weird flowers and beautiful roses. I feel kind of bad about sneaking back there now but I don't know, it just felt so magical in that little area. I felt like I was in a different world and I would imagine being rescued or starting a journey to some far of magical place.

When things get to be too much I isolate myself. I don't want to talk to anyone. I'll either sit on the porch with a drink and cigarettes, or I'll go to bed, or if it's especially bad I'll go to the shower.

Naps usually fix everything.

Oh and, as AudreyThirteen said- writing. I journal a lot. I like to go through old ones sometimes and my past problems seem not as bad as they used to be. I suggest a keeping a journal to anyone.