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Life is hard, and to deal with it, many people use unhealthy coping mechanisms such as those listed below. Luckily, there’s always a way to take control and turn it around. Read through these five harmful coping mechanisms and how to change them for ideas to transform your own life.

Overeating or Not Eating Enough → Meal Planning and Healthy Diet

If you find yourself turning to food–either too much of it or not enough–to cope with the stresses of everyday life, it’s time to adopt a “diet.” We don’t mean a miserable, restrictive eating routine that feels like punishment, but rather a healthy and balanced meal plan that incorporates your favorite foods.

Start by browsing recipes and making a grocery list. Incorporate three meals and three snacks, and make sure to include indulgences like brownies for an afternoon snack and that expensive cheese you love for dinner.

Procrastination → Realistic Planning

First of all, severe procrastination can be a sign of depression, so you may want to talk to your doctor if that’s you. But if not, buy yourself a planner and break large tasks into small and manageable bites. Stay on top of it and watch it transform your productivity and mood.

Drinking Too Much → Self-Care Routine

Drinking takes up a lot of time as well as is bad for your body. Instead, develop a self-care routine that involves drinking tea and delighting in your evening snack, taking a bath, reading a book, or anything else you might do to take care of yourself.

Media Binges → Join a Book Club

Too much Netflix or Instagram? Join a book club and read in the evenings and your spare time instead. The club will keep you accountable for following through, and you’ll feel accomplished and happy with yourself as well.

Overworking → Invest in a Hobby

It may seem counter-intuitive, but a lot of people use their jobs to numb out by overworking. If this is you, find a hobby instead. Set goals for yourself and use what should be spare time to work on them. You may see that your productivity during regular business hours goes up.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a detrimental effect on many people. One of its most lasting legacies is social isolation, and many people are still suffering from its effects. Let’s look at ways you can help mitigate social isolation, even if in-person gathering is still at a minimum.

“See” Friends and Family Over Video Chat

Millions of people stayed connected to loved ones through the pandemic by utilizing platforms such as Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype to keep in touch and “see” each other. Although it’s safe in most places to gather in person, health concerns, careers, extra caution, or whatever else may still make it hard.

Join an Online Community Such as a Book Club

One of the best ways to connect with new people online is through a common interest. Book clubs, which are often moderated and controlled, are just one example of a kind of hobby-related online community. The chances are good that there are many for whatever phase of life you’re in, from parenting to retirement to travel.

Work from Home Somewhere Else

If you’re going a little stir-crazy staring at your own four walls, and you feel safe doing so, try working from somewhere else in public. Many coffee shops have re-opened their cafe seating areas, including bars, restaurants, libraries, and more. Try to interact a little bit with staff and other patrons.

Volunteer in an Essential Sector

Even if you don’t have an essential job yourself, there’s lots of need, even more than before the pandemic began. Consider volunteering in a soup kitchen or at a non-Covid hospital. You can even look into volunteering through your church or religious organization, a political cause you’re passionate about, or with children at a before or after school program. 

The best part is that you’ll meet other people in the same boat as you, with similar passions and values.

Stress is an unfortunate part of all of our lives. Sometimes, though, stress levels can skyrocket, causing disruptions to our ability to function and our daily lives. If that happens, it’s essential to take some critical steps to reduce your stress. Let’s look at four basic coping tips.

Maintain Boundaries Between Your Work and Your Life

While work can be rewarding and enriching, it is a significant source of stress for many people. If and when this happens, it’s crucial to take breaks. You can do this by unplugging or disengaging from your job outside of business or work hours.

Try not to check email or take calls when you’re not in the office. If you work from home, create a separate workspace that you can physically leave at the end of the day. Spend your time with family or enjoy your hobbies rather than working on professional projects.

Take Care of Your Body

Stress isn’t all in your head. If your body isn’t getting what it needs to thrive, it will trigger a stress response in the body. Get enough sleep and rest, eat a healthy and enjoyable diet, and get a little exercise every day. 

Spend Time Outdoors

Experts aren’t totally in agreement on why spending time outdoors reduces stress, but one thing is clear: it’s enormously effective. It boosts your endorphin and dopamine levels and lowers cortisol (the stress hormone). Find something you enjoy doing in nature and devote time to it regularly.

Seek Professional Help

Sometimes, life’s stressful circumstances leave us feeling hopeless and helpless. If you’ve tried some home remedies for feeling better without results, it might be time to seek counseling. Certified therapists and mental health professionals can give you space to talk out what’s bothering you, as well as provide proven methods for coping.

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted everyone worldwide. Aside from the obvious public health crisis, a second catastrophe has become apparent: the mental and emotional toll of loss, isolation, and uncertainty.

It’s critical to acknowledge how difficult things have been, but it’s also up to us to take control of our physical and mental well-being. Let’s look at some basic tips for doing that.

Take Care of Your Body

Your mind and body are intricately connected, which is why doing the basics physically can help your mental state. This entails getting enough sleep, eating a healthy, well-balanced diet (which includes occasional indulging in your favorite foods), and getting some exercise every day.

Keep Up with Your Hobbies

When we’re depressed, it can be challenging to find the motivation or desire to do anything, even things we enjoy. However, it’s more crucial than ever to make time for these things. Doing so boosts the positive-feeling hormones in your brain, and those benefits carry over into everything else.

Stay In Touch with Loved Ones

Even if you have to be apart physically, you don’t have to be apart emotionally. Schedule time for phone or video chat dates with people you would usually see in person. Share meals over video chat with people. There are even apps and programs where you can host a game night or hang out with friends.

Maintain Work-Life Balance

Many of us worked from home for the first time during the pandemic. If you’re among them, it’s essential to separate work and the rest of your life. Try to have a different space in your home for work that you can leave at the end of the day. Take your allotted breaks away from your desk, and try not to check email or do other work projects outside of business hours.

The sad reality is that there is a serious stigma against seeking counseling when life gets tough. But the truth is that it can be tremendously transformative. 

Let’s look at five reasons you should consider it to change your life.

1. It Can Revolutionize Your Relationships

Whether you go to counseling alone or with a loved one, qualified therapists can help you improve your communication skills and be more circumspect about others’ behavior. 

2. Become More Resilient

Whether it’s little things like getting cut off in traffic when you’re late or big things like a loved one’s devastating diagnosis, counseling can help you learn how to weather the squalls and storms. 

Therapists allow you to talk through your troubles and have the education to equip you with tools to handle them.

3. Live in the Moment

If you find yourself spiraling deep into sadness about the past or worries about the future, then counseling is a must. Therapists tout the benefits of mindfulness, and for a good reason: it’s been proven time and again to be a powerful tool against both anxiety and depression. 

Meeting regularly with a therapist can help you get there.

4. Understand Your Thoughts

It seems counter-intuitive that you’d need someone else to help you understand your thoughts, but it’s true. Humans are amazingly poor at self-objectivity. By getting help from counseling, you benefit from an expert’s perspective on your thoughts, especially those that trouble you the most.

5. Love Yourself (and Others) Better

One of the most fundamental reasons to seek mental health care is to feel better toward yourself. Eventually, those feelings can transcend into behaviors that allow you to take better care of yourself, which is amazingly beneficial for your overall physical health. 

Not to mention, becoming a more whole and happy person means you have a better capacity to care for and love others.

Improving your mental health can feel challenging, if not impossible. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are six tips to help you improve your mental health. 

1. Exercise Regularly 

Even if you don’t feel active, exercise can significantly improve mental health. Not only does the activity force you to mentally change gear, but it releases endorphins that boost your mood and break the cycle of anxiety or depression.

2. Create a Safe Space 

Another essential part of improving mental health is having a safe space to retreat to. 

This is particularly vital for people with anxiety or who easily feel overwhelmed. 

Safe spaces take many shapes and may take the form of a group of friends or an actual space. 

If your safe space is physical, be sure to fill it with things you find comforting. Favorite colors, music, and weighted blankets can all help improve mental health and decrease stress. 

3. Know What Upsets You

A crucial part of improving your mental health is understanding what causes it to spiral. 

Triggers that cause mental health difficulties are individual and vary from person to person. They can include:

• Anniversaries of deaths
• Loud noises
• Excessive time alone/isolated
• Family tensions 

Once identified, not only can you strategize ways to avoid your triggers, but you can further improve your mental health by finding ways to avoid them. 

4. Talk With Someone You Trust 

If having a safe space to recuperate in and learning what causes your distress isn’t enough to improve your mental health, talk to someone. 

Talking in confidence to a friend or family member. Not only does this help you sort through what is causing your mental health challenges, but it raises awareness around you. 

That means that when you need it, you have a network to fall back on and don’t have to be alone as you might feel you are. 

5. Make Connections 

And if your mental health suffers because of isolation, getting to know new people can make a difference.

Reaching out, whether to strangers or acquaintances, is another way to improve your mental health. It reduces feelings of isolation and increases your sense of belonging, drastically improving your mental health. 

6. Sing

Last but not least, another way to improve your mental health is to sing. Incredible as it sounds, singing makes you happier. Singing releases endorphins, and they reduce stress and boost your mood. 

Not a confident singer? It doesn’t matter. Endorphins don’t care about tuning or ability. All you need to do is join in with your favorite song next time it’s on the radio.   

A substance use disorder, more commonly referred to as drug addiction, is a fairly prevalent disease that prevents an individual from being able to control their usage of drugs or medication. 

This disease, which heavily impacts a person’s brain and behavior, has affected over 23 million adults in the United States. So, it’s not uncommon for you to know someone struggling with it as well. 

Knowing the signs of a substance use disorder can save a life. Things like social isolation, weight gain, money problems, and hygiene issues may seem common, but they can be signs of a more serious problem. 

1. Sudden Weight Changes 

Someone who is abusing drugs or alcohol is likely to experience drastic fluctuation in their weight. This can mean losing or gaining weight. 

2. Increased Irritability 

The abuse of substances can often lead to increased irritability as well as sudden angry outbursts. The need for secrecy can also cause these individuals to become unreasonable. 

3. Odd Sleeping Patterns 

The use of drugs and alcohol can severely disrupt normal sleeping and waking patterns. Sleeping during the day or staying up all night can both be signs of a problem. 

4. Changes in Appetite

If someone is abusing drugs or alcohol, you may notice a significant change in their appetite. They may be eating much more than usual, or they could be eating a lot less. 

5. Money Issues 

Someone struggling with a substance use disorder could begin to have money problems, as they are spending their money to feed the addiction. 

6. Bloodshot or Glazed Eyes 

Bloodshot and glazed-over eyes are typically good indicators that someone is using a substance. They may also have enlarged pupils. 

7. Changes in Hygiene 

An individual who is addicted to a substance will often stop caring about their physical appearance and hygiene. They may wear dirty clothing, stop showering, stop brushing their teeth, and generally look disheveled. 

8. Changes in Social Behavior

You may notice a change in an individual’s social network. They may lose interest in their friends and suddenly begin hanging out with a different crowd.