Healthy Coping Mechanisms During A Pandemic

Our world is facing a severe health issue. The COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading across 185 countries, with more than 2.8 million infections and counting. As confirmed cases continue to rise, leaders around the world implemented extreme measures to help contain the disease. From strict lockdowns, travel bans, and social distancing measures— people’s lives changed abruptly.

As establishments close down, we are suddenly disengaged from society. Forcing to adapt to this new way of life in self-isolation can be challenging. These unexpected events can lead to stress, fear, and anxiety. With our daily routines disrupted, the activities that usually help us destress or relax may be temporarily inaccessible.

The pandemic and how we react to it can vary widely from one person to another. However, we must keep an eye out for ourselves, ensuring that we are managing our life in pandemic through healthy coping mechanisms.

How The Pandemic Can Impact Your Health

The pandemic has put our mental health is at risk, making us prone to stress, anxiety, fear, sadness, and loneliness. As we adapt to our new daily routines, we are at risk of adopting unhealthy coping mechanisms such as lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating habits, increased consumption of tobacco, alcohol, or drugs, and changes in sleeping patterns.

To manage these negative impacts, some people may result in unhealthy coping mechanisms. Dr. Navya Singh, PsyD, said, “Definitely, I can foresee a spike in all these different means of coping instead of engaging in positive coping mechanisms.” It is essential to watch out for these occurrences, especially for those who are recovering or have pre-existing mental and physical health conditions.

Healthy Coping Mechanisms During A Pandemic

As different quarantine measures resulted in the closure of establishments, cancellation of gatherings, and lockdowns, the usual activities that help us cope may no longer be accessible. Doing our hobbies, enjoying leisure and entertainment activities, or even seeing our friends and family may be temporarily not possible.

We must learn how to effectively manage stress, anxiety, and other adverse effects of the pandemic. As our usual coping mechanisms become unavailable, we must keep ourselves in check to avoid getting lured into unhealthy coping mechanisms. We have suggested below some healthy activities which can help you cope.

Explore New Hobbies And Talents

Being idle at home can leave us with a lot of time on our hands to dwell on negative thoughts. Instead of resulting in unhealthy coping mechanisms, we can use this time to explore new hobbies and talents. It can help us entertain ourselves and even develop some new skills.

Take Care Of Your Body

Feeling great on the outside can help us manage our stress and anxiety better. Directing your focus on taking care of your body is a healthy coping mechanism. You use this time to prioritize yourself by taking lots of rest and eating healthy. Taking good care of your body can also help you strengthen your immune system to fight off illnesses.

Exercise And Stay Active

Being confined indoors could leave us with a lot of unreleased physical energy. This energy can be unloaded by exercising and staying active. Exercise is also a great stress reliever as it boosts your endorphins. It can also benefit your physical well-being as it helps improve blood flow and develop your body.

Go Outdoors Once In A While

Depending on your location and imposed quarantine measures in your area, go outdoors once in a while. Confinement and seeing the same things every day can be detrimental to our well-being. Get some fresh air from your balcony or backyard. Even if you have no reason to go outside as establishments are closed, take a walk around your area if it is permitted.

Connect With Others

Whether staying in touch with friends and family or connecting to new people – having someone to talk to during life in self-isolation can help you cope with the pandemic, it can also distract yourself from any negative thoughts or urges for unhealthy coping mechanisms. This activity can be both beneficial for you as well as for them, drawing strength from each other.

Despite all else, if you still need guidance and reinforcement to help you move past life’s challenges, you can always reach out to one of the professional counselors at BetterHelp. Their team is ready to work with you 24/7, anytime and anywhere with just one click. Check out their app today.

Final Thoughts

Although we temporarily live in self-isolation, coping with the pandemic does not have to be a lonely fight. Technology can help you seek comfort from friends and family, or even connect you to your community around you, forming new relationships. Seeking professional help also remains an option.

We live in a truly challenging time. It will test our resilience, but hopefully, we all come out of it better. We must remember that unhealthy coping mechanisms will not help us cope in the long run as it can be detrimental to our overall health.

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Subtle Hints to Alarm Parents if Their Teens Are Drug Addicts

Parents beware. Your teen might be a victim of drug addiction.

It’s quite a rare occurrence for teens to approach their parents and honestly admit that they are taking drugs or are struggling with substance abuse. Therefore, it’s up to the parents to be wary and observant for subtle, insidious clues that their children might be engaging in inappropriate substance use.

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Is Your Husband A Recovering Alcoholic?

Do you have a husband who is recovering from alcohol addiction? Do you struggle when it comes to taking good care of him? Are you interested in learning how to ease the inconvenience and pain? What you need to learn as early as now is the truth: that dealing with a recovering alcoholic is not going to be a walk in the park. There are times when you would want to give up especially if the other does not cooperate in the recovery process. Do not fret because you can handle it well by doing these things:

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How To Motivate Your Husband To Quit Smoking

Smoking has adverse effects on one’s health. It is considered as one of the sources of illnesses in several individuals. The sad reality is that smoking affects not only the smoker but even the non-smokers as well. When you are living with a person who enjoys puffing sticks of cigarettes, there is a high possibility that you can have smoke-related illnesses such as lung cancer. Because of this, it is essential to take some measures to help your husband quit smoking for good.

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3 Types Of Abuse In A Marriage

If there is one thing that you need to know right now, it is the fact that abuse comes in many forms. A person can become abusive for several reasons. This is why abuse is considered as a complex concept. You may know its definition, but there is no easy way to understand what it means. A great example of this is experiencing abuse in the marriage. It is clear that a married couple loves each other, but no one can explain why either of them can become abusive towards the other spouse.

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What You Can Do To Smash Your Spouse’s Gambling Addiction

Accepting that your spouse rarely comes home to you due to his gambling addiction can be as challenging as recognizing that he has another woman. You cannot sleep whenever he’s still out at night. Even though he’s snoozing next to you, you don’t dare to shut your eyes in fear of him sneaking off to the casino.

Hence, once your man acknowledges reason and says that he’ll stop gambling, you should not wait for another minute to pass. Take every piece of advice you can get to make sure that the addiction fades away completely. In fact, here are some for you:

Be Strict With The Cash Flow

First, you have to ask yourself, “How did my husband’s addiction get this far?”

You can say that it is no thanks to his stressors or depression. Such things can indeed enable a man to go astray. Despite that, you should grasp the truth that your better half got to gamble for so long because he has free rein over your finances.

From the get-go, therefore, it is a must to limit your husband’s access to money. Get rid of his credit cards, to be specific, and only place a particular amount on his debit card for gas and food. Assuming your spouse’s company knows of his addiction too, you may arrange it so that only you will be able to encash his paychecks until he’s ready to spend wisely. While it may feel like high school all over again for your significant other, enforcing this level of financial strictness may be more beneficial for him.

Allow Your Spouse To Face His Problems

If your husband has been gambling for years, it is possible that the issues that the managed to create are still unresolved. For instance, your children may be upset with him since he only has time for roulettes or cards. He might be subject to getting fired from the job he once loved as he no longer comes to work often and completes deadlines. Worse, your spouse may have outstanding debt from a loan shark.

In case you genuinely wish to revive the man that you fell in love with, it will be wise if you don’t fix such problems on his behalf. He seems too frail to handle them on his own for now, yes. However, what you are about to do may only spoil him and derail his path towards recovery.

Seek Counseling

Considering your better half decides to get some form of therapy, try to go with him to every session. He may not be outspoken, but your constant presence there may give him more strength to keep on fighting the addiction. Not to mention, it will help you understand your spouse’s ordeal better and how close he is to restore himself.

It may also be a great idea to seek marriage counseling at this point. Gambling, for sure, did not merely affect the finances of the family. Your husband’s compulsion to gamble undeniably has caused arguments to erupt here and there. Thus, his recovery may speed up if your relationship heals too.

Have A Gentler Hold On Him

The last thing any recovering addict needs is to have someone – especially a special one – say, “I told you so.” It is not advisable either to stop your significant other from getting a haircut or even going to the supermarket alone. That can eventually suffocate him, to the extent that he gets depressed and finds comfort in gambling once more.

Instead, what you should do is let your husband live his life normally. If he tells you that he’ll be in the office the whole day, believe him. In case he wants to hang out with his relatives, give him that opportunity. Though your husband is still not entirely sober, proving your complete trust and faith in his words may encourage him to clean up his actions for real.

The fact that you are here, reading this post rather than getting a manicure or pedicure with your girlfriends, speaks volumes about how much you love your husband. His addiction to gambling may be rocking your marriage boat now, but it isn’t the time to give up on pulling him away from that direction. At least, not when you already know a trick – or four – to smash the main problem to pieces.

Good luck!

Are You Married To A Sex Addict?

Are you aware that there is such a thing as sexual addiction? Do you think that your wife is a nymphomaniac? Is her addiction to sex making your marriage challenging? If you answered the affirmative, then be sure to read the rest of this article. The primary focus of this write-up is to discuss a woman’s sexual addiction and how it can affect any marriage.

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Therapy For Substance Abusers

The issue of addiction is dangerous, and it needs immediate attention from different people all over the world.

This mental condition affects several aspects of the lives of those who have it. At the same time, it can also lead to the creation of problems concerning finances, personal relationships, and even careers. Because of this, it is essential for you to know the significance of therapy when it comes to treatment. Below is a list of the forms of therapy that are essential for treatment:

Solutions To The Addicton

Behavioral Therapy

This kind of treatment is directly focused on setting up goals that have a link or connection with the present life of the client involved. In this setup, the professional therapist will have a closer look at the undesirable behavior of the client. After that, he will use his observations or records to determine what causes such unhealthy behavior.

Person-Centered Therapy

In this kind of treatment, the therapist believes that every person has goodness within himself. However, drug abuse is creating a cloud about the client’s good intentions. Because of this, the primary goal of the counselor is to see to it that the innate goodness of the person is shown to the world. He will inspire the client to let good intentions and deeds emerge.

Source: pixabay.com

Motivational Interviewing

This is a type of person-centered therapy wherein certain specializations are added to prevent or cure substance abuse in people. The therapist’s objective here is to allow the client to discover his desire to make better and smarter decisions in his life. This is resorted to so that the client will not feel that he is forced into changing his mindset.

Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing

Another common term for this is EMDR, which was created to deal with the trauma experienced by persons with addiction specifically. Under this mode of therapy, the professional will help the client recall relevant information about the trauma so that the latter could start to think about it and master some calming or relaxation skills.

Family Therapy

From the name itself, it can be implied that this kind of therapy involves members of the same household. The therapist will talk to each member of the family so that he can elicit essential data or information that could help the non-sober individual. This form of therapy is grounded on the fact that every person belongs to a broader family, which could have contributed to his addiction or other mental condition.

Also, online therapy through BetterHelp can provide you with additional information on how to tackle it and keep your mental health at bay. By clicking the app, you can reach out to one of their credible and experienced counselors who will discuss with you ways in which you can make your life better. Getting connected with them is easy and convenient.

Final Thoughts About An Addict’s Journey To A Life Of Sobriety

Understanding Addictiing Treatments

Remember that the kinds of therapy listed above are not exclusive. There are still other kinds of treatment that are not included in the list. What you need to do is to find out which among these modes will be perfect to address a particular case of addiction. Take note that each kind has different effects on the patient or client. Be sure to select the right form of therapy to use. If you are unsure of what to choose, the best thing to do is to talk to a professional therapist about it. Wait for his recommendation or order to ensure that you will not commit any mistakes.

Alcohol Addiction Signs And Therapy

Do you have alcohol addiction or do you just simply love drinking? Do you find it helpful to just drink alcohol to drown away your problems and overcome sad experiences in your life? Let’s go deeper into an addiction to alcohol. What causes people to abuse alcohol and be addicted to alcohol? Does too much alcohol consumption have any effect on one’s mental health?

Alcohol Problems And Mental Disorders

This goes without saying, but excessive alcohol consumption can lead to alcohol addiction. The negative effects of alcohol consumption could result in disorders for both the individual and their family members, who may require treatment and emotional support.

Another common term for this mental health condition involving the excessive consumption of alcohol is alcohol abuse. Alcohol affects brain function, personal relationships, and the way you process health information and your feelings. Research shows that the effects of alcohol are similar to those of other drugs. Excessive intake of alcoholic drinks, especially among young people, can impair brain activity, disrupt nerve function, and pose risks to mental health, potentially leading to long-term mental health problems. In fact, individuals diagnosed with mild to severe mental illnesses or those who have attempted suicide before have a higher risk of developing alcohol dependence.

A person who is struggling with alcohol abuse is engaging in regular heavy drinking and has a high likelihood of encountering problems in their daily life – including mental health issues (e.g., bipolar disorder) and other health risks, such as high blood pressure, liver disease, and breast cancer, among others. Most individuals with alcohol use disorder also have a family history of excessive alcohol use and alcoholism. Additionally, the age and severity of alcoholism contribute to the risk of trauma. Access to appropriate health services is crucial for individuals dealing with alcohol abuse.

Consuming alcohol, including fetal alcohol, is not necessarily a bad thing, especially when people with alcohol use it in moderation. However, it becomes dangerous when individuals engage in alcohol consumption to excess, leading to binge drinking (five or more drinks) and the development of dependency or long-term alcohol use disorder. In many cases, those struggling with alcohol abuse may also involve themselves in other forms of substance abuse, such as drug abuse, resulting in serious consequences. Over time, individuals with early alcohol use disorders may ultimately experience liver disease and other mental health problems. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides valuable resources to help individuals better understand the risks associated with alcohol consumption and how to make informed choices about their drinking habits.

Additionally, if you have an alcohol use disorder and some mental disorders, you must not stop abruptly or else your alcohol withdrawal effects will be detrimental to you.

Alcohol Addiction And What To Do About It

The best way to find out if you have an alcohol-related problem, such as alcohol abuse and alcoholism, is to seek professional treatment advice from a certified professional. They may encourage you to initially join support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or refer you for alcohol treatment in a treatment facility.

Relapse is a common occurrence in adults with mild to moderate substance use disorders, and various factors can contribute to it. Avoid making any self-diagnosis, as there are potential health consequences for abruptly stopping without help from medical professionals. There are uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms that a person suffering from heavy drinking, which is alcohol-related, cannot easily manage.

As much as possible, book an appointment with a treatment provider or support groups so that the treatment provider can start the recovery process appropriately by first explaining what this addiction entails while minimizing the withdrawal symptoms as well as other negative consequences that might arise.

Some Of The Most Common Signs That Indicate The Presence Of Addiction To Alcohol

A kid saw his drunk dad passed out on their table. — Source: pixabay.com

- You are ashamed or guilty about your drinking habits.
- You start to lie, hide, or conceal all your alcohol use and binge drinking.
- You seek more liquor to make you feel better or to relax, and then experience anxiety, high blood alcohol levels, long-term health risks, and other mental health issues when you are sober.
- You usually black out after drinking too much liquor.
- You make it a habit of engaging in excessive drinking – a few drinks first and then eventually too much.
- You cannot control your consumption.
- You fail in some aspects of your life because of your drinking habits.
- If you try to stop suddenly, you start having severe withdrawal symptoms and need to get into a treatment facility.

There are several ways that can help you deal with alcohol abuse and alcoholism. First of all, if you’ve decided to stop drinking alcohol, you need to begin seeking treatment and reach out to a professional who can guide you throughout the process of detox and recovery. The assistance of a specific treatment provider allows you to have a better understanding of your developing alcoholism and early alcohol addiction management. At the same time, treatment providers also give you a chance to find the cause. Keep in mind that finding what causes this is necessary for a fast recovery.

Peers meeting with their counselors seeking help online. Too much drinking of liquors is considered the worst drinking problem. A person who is a liquor dependent has a high likelihood of encountering problems in his daily life. Taking liquors is not a bad thing, especially when it is taken in moderation. It becomes dangerous only if the person starts to become dependent on it. — Source: pixabay.com

Even if you are too busy at work or in your business, it is essential to seek early treatment for your alcohol addiction. Fortunately, there are the latest improvements in the way sessions are made by treatment providers with their patients. Nowadays, you can easily try online counseling, even with long-term alcohol use disorder. This method may be useful and efficient on your part, most importantly if you prefer to have online interaction with your treatment providers. All sessions will be made in a virtual environment, which is why you need to have a good Internet connection. It also offers access to mental health treatments to people in remote areas as well as those with physical limitations. Research has shown that this has had more or less the same effect as going to treatment centers.

Seeking Advice Through Online Counseling In BetterHelp

If you’re concerned about a family member, friend, or neighbor who is under a long period of alcohol dependence, call human services to help you. BetterHelp is a great example. It’s an online application that caters to people who want to know more about their mental health illnesses, including alcohol misuse. It has a team of therapists who are experienced in providing essential information on how to tackle mental illness and successfully manage life’s challenges. Learn more about it here.

The issue of dependence is dangerous. In order to cope with daily life stressors, you must be responsible with your behavior patterns. It involves making sure that you do everything you can to save yourself, which is an important role you must extend to others.

FAQs

How Many Drinks A Day Is Considered Abuse?

According to NIAAA, heavy drinking is consuming 4 drinks or more on any day or reaching 14 drinks or more in a week for men. For women, it would be drinking more than 3 drinks on any day or reaching 7 drinks or more per week.

SAMHSA, on the other hand, says that binge drinking for five or more days in the past month can be defined as heavy alcohol usage.

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