Coping Skills

I had a picture-perfect childhood: fit with loving parents, a nice house, a big yard, and plenty of toys. My only concerns at the time were going to school and playing with my Barbies; running off to soccer practice and riding my scooter; bugging my brother and watching Dragon Tales….

My anxiety has felt… closer, lately. It used to be this distant threat that I could close the door on or swallow deep down. Now, it’s a heaviness that sits in my throat and weighs on my mind. Sometimes, it hits me like a baseball gone rogue. Most of the…

Instead of facing painful emotions, I used to swallow them as far down as they would go. I’d insist that I was fine, assuring concerned friends and family with a forced smile. I’d go about my life and tell myself that I was okay despite the breakup, the setback, the…

Breakups are tough—but the following weeks, months, sometimes years, are even tougher. You’ve given a little bit of yourself to this person and this relationship, and then it’s all suddenly gone. And you’re left to either pick of the pieces or leave them scattered on the floor. Which do you…

I’ve let my temper get the best of me—and my guess is that you’ve let your temper get the best of you too. We’ve all been there, in times of extreme frustration, irritation, or outright anger, when all of the negative feelings bubble to the surface and over the rim…

The past few days, my dad has been telling me to have more patience. He’s a slower moving individual (both physically and mentally), as he’s reached his late 70’s, and finds my fast pace incredibly annoying as well as exhausting. And I, of course, hold the opposite to be true—always…

No matter how hard you try or how badly you wish you could, you cannot control every single aspect of your life: the flat tire you got this morning, your unraveling relationship, the sudden mass layoffs at work. Sure, you can hope for the best, but I recommend instead preparing…

When a pet dies, it is a loss that feels just as big and real as losing a friend or family member-sometimes it is bigger and more real. Pets and animals give us a type of love that humans usually don’t. When a dog follows us around, and waits on…

We all have a pet peeve that involves disturbing or annoying noises: whether it’s loud, obnoxious chewing, constant foot tapping, or one’s quiet, yet ever-present mumbling. Some of us suck it up and just deal with the noise or drown it out by putting earphones in and others…well, scream. Flashback…

She was the glue that held the whole family together and everyone knew it. So when she passed, it was more than just the loss of a member, it was an earthquake that shook their entire world. The eldest son couldn’t accept the news, he wouldn’t. He insisted that his…

He sits at the bar with a drink, careful not to shift too much to his left or his right. He knows if he does, he’ll meet the gaze of a woman—trouble. It’s hard enough that the bartender is a beautiful blonde, with a great smile, and just about his…

For six years, all I knew was him and us. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t see him, talk to him, laugh with him, or fight with him. We even sent those annoyingly sappy text messages and emoji’s back and forth and had nicknames for each…