How do you cope with the bad days?

One of the hardest parts of dealing with a mental illness is when you are having a bad day and you can't get yourself back to a good place. When you're in the darkest part of your mind the best thing you can do for yourself is to find ways to get yourself back into a good place. I never really knew much about coping skills and how much they actually worked until I was in Pine Rest last year. While in treatment I learned all different ways of coping with the bad days.

Here are some coping skills I use to get me through the toughest days. I use breathing techniques when I am anxious and need to calm myself down. The way I do this is by breathing in through my nose and out of my mouth with my eyes closed until I feel my heart rate start to lower. Music is a huge coping technique for me too. I listen to songs that have had an impact on me like Warrior by Demi Lovato, In my blood by Shawn Mendes, Sober by Demi Lovato and really anything by Linkin Park. Another coping skill I picked up was exercise. About 2 years ago I started Crossfit and it has truly changed my life. Not only has my physical appearance changed, but my mental state has also been affected by working out. When I am in the worst of the worst in my brain and nothing seems like it will get me to a better place I go to the gym. As soon as I step into the gym my mind changes. My mind starts to focus on the warm-up, strength work out and the main work out which is called a WOD. Instead of focusing on all the life-ending negativity happening in my brain I am focused on how much stronger I have become since the last time I lifted weights, how much faster I will be at this workout compared to the last time I did it since sometimes we repeat workouts to see how much progress you have made. Working out has been a huge coping skill for me whether it's going to Crossfit during the week or it's going on a nature walk to calm my mind because let's face it nature is beautiful and calming. 

The key to getting yourself out of a negative space in your mind is finding things that you love to do when your head isn't as negative and force yourself to do those things when you are in that bad place because doing the things you love when your feeling low reminds you of the good days and can help you come out of the bad and into a good head space. One thing I love to do more than really anything is taking pictures. I mainly take pictures of nature because for me when I take a picture of the sunset or the beautiful flowers around me and I go back and look at those pictures when my head is in a really bad space it helps remind me that even when life is hard and even on days when I just want to end it all there are so many beautiful things in this world to keep living for. The pictures I take remind me there are so many things in this world that I still need to see, that still need to be captured by a picture, that I still need to live for. Somedays are harder than others, some days I want to throw in the towel and say "Screw everyone and everything in this world!" Some days I just want to look at those I love and say "I'm sorry I'm not strong enough to keep living anymore", but then I look at the beautiful sunset pictures I've taken or the pictures I've taken of my children and I realize if I was to end my life who would take these pictures for others to admire, who would be behind the camera capturing the amazing memories my kids are making while growing up. In those moments I realize I need to be the one behind the camera when my son learns to ride a bike with no training wheels for the first time, or when my daughter runs her first race because lets face it this girl of mine loves fitness and Crossfit as much as I do if not more than me. I need to be the one capturing the little moments my daughter and son share with each other on the days where they are getting along and loving on each other instead of fighting over something. I need to be the one to capture their graduations and wedding day memories. I need to be there for all of those moments no matter how dark my mind gets, no matter how many days I want to just go to sleep and never wake up I know that I need to wake up because my babies need me, they need me behind that camera capturing their silly moments, they need me to make memories with them and they need me to share in their accomplishments in life. 

Coping skills are hard to understand and sometimes hard to find the ones that work best for you, but I encourage everyone to try. Try different coping skills, research what others do, try any that seem like they might be something you'd like because if you never try your never going to be able to move out of that negative space. If you never find a way to cope with the bad then you will never find the good, you will never be able to move on from what is hurting you on the inside and you will never be able to see that there is good in this world even on the days where you just want to end it all. Just remember that there is good in this world even when everything seems like it's falling apart you just need to find the good in something whether that's pictures, children, music, meditation, working out or anything that once made you happy. Just try to find that happiness during the bad days and remember you are never alone in this battle. You are not alone in your struggles. There are other's out there struggling just like you are, but if we all ban together and support each other we will survive this battle because we are stronger than we think we are. We are fighters, we are warriors and we will survive! Just try and remember there are always other's out there willing to help you if you need them including me. Please if you are struggling and need help reach out to a loved one, a friend, me on here or find me on Facebook or call or text the suicide hotline. The number for the suicide hotline is 1-800-273-8255 or text Connect to 741741 and someone will answer you back in seconds and will be there to help you get through it. If we all stand together we will get through this and we will continue to survive because we are stronger than we believe we are. So here's to living another day because we are worth another day on this earth ; 

With love,

Brittany