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Healthy Coping Mechanisms to Get You through Sad Girl Winter

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at MUJ chapter.

What is life if not a series of random (and severe) bursts of emotion that seem ready to drown you the moment you give in? If you were to take me to a room filled with fifty people and point to one who hasn’t felt this way ever in their life, I’d really think you’re lying. Emotions get overwhelming. It’s common, it’s everyday life. That doesn’t make these times any easier to deal with. So what do we do when the Big Sad hits us? Of course, we bottle everything in and devote our lives to the biggest tubs of ice cream available in the vicinity! Jokes aside, it is understandable to feel mind-numbingly alone in a way that you might not feel comfortable enough with anyone to open up. You might feel as if talking to your friends is just burdening them and so you build up walls that take ages to tear down. While hiding away from any and everyone might feel like a good prospect in your blue state of mind, it isn’t what you can call particularly healthy.

When these sudden surges of emotion are left undealt with, they can end up bringing a great deal of distress to your life. You lose the will to interact with anyone and everyday life activities become harder to tackle. So, it is important to have a bunch of healthy coping mechanisms that can help you function even when you feel like the emotional equivalent of a truck is hitting your heart every few moments. Here are some of them that you can check out when it’s just one of those days!

Clean up your room

Your surroundings affect your mental state a lot more than you might believe. An untidy room might harbor feelings of exhaustion: both mental and physical. Clearing your room out can not only help you with getting the negative energy out but it also is a fun change of pace. It distracts you from your thoughts and doesn’t take up too much work too!

Go for a walk

Nature is beautiful, my friend. There is a reason why so many great poets chose to make it their muse. Best part? It’s everywhere, and that too for free. So instead of brooding in your closed-up quarters, go take a walk and explore the great outdoors.

Invest in a new hobby

The movie Dune might tell you that fear is the mind killer but you have been misinformed. The true mindkiller is boredom. When you’re bored, it is inevitable that you mind traverses to darker areas. So, picking up a new hobby might actually be beneficial to your mood and who knows you might learn a thing or two too!

Write in a journal

Verbally expressing your thoughts can be really stressful. But a lot of the times, keeping it all in isn’t a practical option because you find yourself being suffocated under the weight. In such times, writing your thoughts in a diary or journal can benefit you greatly.

When times get hard, it’s easier to find yourself alone. But you need to remember that your loved ones truly care about you, and you don’t have to carry that weight alone. It is by staying together that we win these longterm battles. And when you set your mind to it, nothing can stop you. Not even your mind.

Vrinda Kohli is an eighteen years old Computer Science Engineering student at Manipal University Jaipur. She likes to binge read in her scarce spare time.