Contents
Mental health is not about feeling good. I mean, it’s nice to feel good, but that’s not how we define mental health as psychologists. It’s about having feelings that fit what’s happening, and then managing them well. (Lisa Damour)
Coping
The problem is not the problem. Coping is the problem. (Virginia Satir)
…are how we deal with unpleasant emotions or feelings. Healthy coping brings relief without causing harm to ourselves or others. Unhealthy coping harms us or those around us. A notable kind of unhealthy coping is avoidance or numbing, which harms us indirectly by preventing us from dealing with the source of the unpleasant emotions. For example, someone who suffers at work from an abusive boss but comes home each day to escape into fantasy fiction might reasonably say their coping isn’t harming anyone, that it’s just helping them get through the day. But “getting through each day” without trying to address the causes of one’s suffering is a kind of harm to oneself.