Coping Mechanisms

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Kyle Wright

Kyle Wright

Active member
Just a heads up, this post may be a little heavier than some.

I counsel at an inpatient, substance abuse facility. We contract with the VA to provide services for veterans. Many of those veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD.

I would guess that some members of the Society battle similar demons. Other than drugs and alcohol, what coping mechanisms work for you?
 
I'm not sure what you're asking Kyle. Are drugs and alcohol considered coping mechanisms or means of avoidance? From what I thin you're asking, I would say that exercise and camping are two coping mechanisms I use. In addition to alcohol
 
Yes, sorry if that wasn’t clear. Drugs and alcohol are common coping mechanisms. They just present other issues. Camping and exercise are much healthier options.
 
I think this topic could be expanded upon without end... but I think a foundational point is understanding that no two people are psychologically/socially identical.

From a military standpoint, you can see guys that wanted to be soldiers since they were kids, go through half a dozen "deployments," and manage their lives well afterwards. Then you might have another that has one very specific disturbing experience on only one operation and it haunts them for their entire life. Even then, things like this are not unique to just the military...

But that being said, I think an important general idea is for people to do what they can (I say this non-cynically) to keep their lives moving on an overall "positive trajectory"... If someone is using a "negative" to counter/cover/cope with another "negative", it almost always seems to only cause more "damage" in the long run. Life can compound positively, or it can compound negatively - and I think it's important for people to drive their lives in a positive compounding direction.
 
Kyle Wright said:
Just a heads up, this post may be a little heavier than some.

I counsel at an inpatient, substance abuse facility. We contract with the VA to provide services for veterans. Many of those veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD.

I would guess that some members of the Society battle similar demons. Other than drugs and alcohol, what coping mechanisms work for you?
Click to expand...
The lowest I ever got was when I was boozing hard and had nothing to really live for. Due to injuries my military career came to an abrupt halt and I used those as an excuse to be a piece of shit everyday. Drinking heavy at night, waking up whenever I wanted, I just...physically existed and that was about it.

What helped me the most was finding hobbies that either I was super passionate about, or were intense enough to demand 100% of my attention. The passionate hobbies were a great way to burn hours speed-running down rabbit holes, and the more involved activities gave me an outlet where I could actually focus and be present in the moment. Jumping and racing were great for that, whereas woodworking and tinkering on things in the garage gave me new things to obsess over.

There have been a few homies who got out after me and struggled and I gave them this same advice. Just off the top of my head we have a ceramics/glass blowing guru, a fishing guide, and a desert racer. Just find something that you love and let that drown out the bad stuff.
 
I like group fitness classes because someone tells me what to do and I don’t have to really think about it. It allows me to shut off my brain for 45-60 minutes.
 
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