Healthy Coping Mechanisms

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

So, how do ya'll like to cope with stress, anxiety, depression, and debilitating poverty? =o

...asking for a friend.

[Yukaphile]

I eat. Or, you know, engage in personal... "pleasure" activities. So sorry for that, but had to be honest. I also play games or read books or download videos and comics to add to my collection. I've downloaded all of Babylon 5 and next it's onto Crusade and Doctor Who.

[Robovski]

A creative outlet helps, helped me loads when I was suicidal, as was talking with some who's opinion you trust.

Frugality helps with the poverty, but that's kind of a whole separate thing as what makes you broke is often particular to oneself.

[LittleRaven]

Stress: Apparently I need a few pointers on this myself. Recently went to the doctor for a few issues and he pretty much thinks its stress from my job, which is strange, cause I don't generally consider myself to be stressed and I'm pretty sure stressed is the LAST word most of my coworkers would use to describe me. But there you go. I honestly have no idea what I'm supposed to do about it. I'm a good 10 years from retirement in the absolute best case scenario, and it's not like getting old makes anything any easier in IT.

Anxiety: I haven't had to deal with this one in a long time, fortunately. Keep reciting the Serenity Prayer, I guess. More practically, most of my friends who really struggle with this have gone the pharmaceutical route.

Depression: It's going to be super important to determine if your depression is environmental or not. If it is, and your mention of crushing poverty suggests that's a possibility, then you need to change the environment, which is easier said than done. If it isn't, then we're back to pharmaceuticals. At least in my experience.

Poverty: Hoo Nelly. This is probably THE big one. Poverty is massively stressful, and produces anxiety and depression in spades, so if I were you I would focus on this one. I don't know enough about you to offer personal advice, but the statistics suggest that the 2 best ways out of poverty are developing a skill and attracting a partner. Both of which are, of course, incredibly difficult when you're stressed, anxious and depressed, but there you go.


youtu.be/LO1mTELoj6o

I gave this video to one of my friends once. I think it helped.

[Darth Wedgius]

Exercise can help deal with stress for some people. I find a nice, long hike (6 hours or more) to help with both depression and anxiety, and it's pretty inexpensive as recreation goes.

And if electronic media is the cause of some of that anxiety, depression, and stress, a hike that gets you out of range of the interwebs for a few hours may have a benefit from just that.

[Admiral X]

Booze and anime. Oh, sorry, guess that isn't really healthy.

[Riedquat]

Are you searching for what you really need to be happy and stress-free? Not having to worry about the basics (poverty hits you hard there - not being at all wealthy shouldn't be a problem on its own, being destitute definitely is, even having unreliable income so whilst you may be very comfortbale now you've no idea next month can be very stressful), then good company and pleasant surroundings are what I generally reckon are what you need for happiness, and happiness is the one thing that's really worth having. Anything that doesn't contribute towards it (even if it's very indirectly) isn't worth having.

A lot depends on the cause, as has been said, and some are easier to deal with than others. Work going badly? Yeah, I can get very stressed there but it's usually gone by the time I'm half way home - I'm out, it's fundamentally not a problem I've got (I'll strenuously resist any attempts at getting me to work from home for this reason). If it's something more intimiately tied to your personal situation then that's rather harder.

Depression - I don't cope with it, and spend a significant part of my time feeling rather sick and angry.

[Independent George]

Depression and anxiety are fundamentally neurochemical - so if it's severe enough, the only thing that will really help are drugs... assuming you have diagnosed the correct condition, have the dosage right, and are lucky enough to not get the really bad side effects. It is terrible to go through, and you can't be reasoned, shamed, or snapped out of it. Unfortunately, we are just barely escaping the dark ages of neuroscience - we have treatments that work, but they are very blunt instruments that cause a number of other problems in the process.

If it's mild, then the boring answer is the right answer: get outside (vitamin D is good for you), eat better (fresh fruit & vegetables are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants which help with brain chemistry), get some exercise (it's as good for your brain as your body), go pet a dog (the endorphin release you get from it is similar to what you get from hugging Mom), and get a good night's sleep.

Escaping poverty is simple - not easy by any stretch, and especially hard if you are depressed - but simple: earn more money and spend less. You can either stick with a low paying job and cut all your expenses to the bone (which will not help, or be helped by, depression), or you can find a higher wage by looking outside of your comfort zone. Give manual labor a shot - skilled labor shockingly pays better than unskilled labor, so use your (current) low wage demands as an advantage and find an apprenticeship somewhere. Plumbing, welding, machining, heating/furnace repair - these are physically demanding jobs that pay relatively well once you've payed your dues.

[Karha of Honor]

Booze and anime. Oh, sorry, guess that isn't really healthy.

anime...

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Escaping poverty is simple - not easy by any stretch, and especially hard if you are depressed - but simple: earn more money and spend less. You can either stick with a low paying job and cut all your expenses to the bone (which will not help, or be helped by, depression), or you can find a higher wage by looking outside of your comfort zone. Give manual labor a shot - skilled labor shockingly pays better than unskilled labor, so use your (current) low wage demands as an advantage and find an apprenticeship somewhere. Plumbing, welding, machining, heating/furnace repair - these are physically demanding jobs that pay relatively well once you've payed your dues.

Oh, why didn't I think of that? Just get a better paying job! Instead of being poor, I should try to Not Be Poor!