Image: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.netAre you prepared for every situation that comes your way? If someone tosses a problem at you, do you know how to react? Maybe it’s your girlfriend, your husband, your mother, your buddy, your co-worker, but it’s someone who out of nowhere helps to make life tough for you, so what do you do? No, this isn’t a job interview, it’s a life interview. Okay, that’s lame, but something I noticed in my own life, and vacariously through other people’s lives, is that we all have different methods of coping with…uhh…life. Some people drink, other’s smoke weed, other’s hide within themselves, and even others pretend nothing wrong is happening. We all do different things to handle the everyday stresses of the everyday. Some people…err…like myself…don’t always handle life very well, and it’s bothersome.
Have you ever heard that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure? I mean, my tech is pretty valuable to me, but it’s just junk to a Shaolin Monk. Well that mentality can also go with problems. One man’s problem is another man’s “whatever”. For instance, earlier today I was reading a text message from someone who was upset because they couldn’t find the appropriate designer bag. I mean, they were cursing up a storm because what they were looking for wasn’t available, and well my first thought was “first world problems”, but also, just because I didn’t see what the big deal was, doesn’t mean it wasn’t a big deal to them. Yeah, that’s an extreme example, but you get my point.
So I cope with my problems in a different way. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t talk about his problems and what’s stressing him out. I just listen to other people’s problems, and try to help them out, which is very hypocritical of me, because I think that if you’re having issues, talk to someone about it, you’ll feel better. Hell, I think I was much better off when I had a therapist. They didn’t know my life, they weren’t there to judge, and they were only there to listen…for two hundred bucks an hour. Money well spent in my opinion. But now that I don’t have that unbiased third party, I bottle it up, and I know one day I’ll explode, more physically than mentally, because…I eat through my stress.
If it’s fatty and delicious, it makes me feel good, and I feel better for it. And then what do I do? I go for a run every other night. Am I messed up or what? Well, that’s how I cope with my problems is that I endulge in some good food. But like I said, others are shopaholics, others use escapism, like watching movies all the time, and others simply do podcasts that are aimed at trying to help people, but mostly ends up being (hopefully) entertaining. Yeah, these are my methods of trying to cope. But then there’s also opening up to people, recreational activities, hiking, biking, running (which I do), endulging in creativity through the arts, and hell, even seeking like minded people in gathers, amongst friends, online through forums or social networks. That avenue of being able to get through those problems are just wide open.
So why do I do what I do? I’m not saying what I’m doing is necessarily right, and it certainly isn’t healthy, but it’s one way. First off, most people aren’t even aware of their coping methods, and even if they are, it’s hard to know what’s bad for you and what isn’t. I know that at least the eating and the buying gadgets part is bad for me. I’m making the steps to be better, and so should you. It’s tough, but maybe this little blog post made you think about what you do to cope with the stress. How’s it working for you? The hardest part of all this is being honest with yourself, and when you have a blog, you’re way more honest than in your own mind. I know I am. This is my way of not bottling it all up, of releasing some of that pressure. I’m not saying you all have to write a blog, but you can post it on Facebook, or Twitter, or G+. We’re a social kind of people, you don’t have to do it all alone. Go and cope with someone, even if it’s to the entire interwebs.
