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Little Things That Can Get Us Through Shitty Days
Your mileage may vary.
I can’t be the only one who asks God to please get me through another shitty day. Coping skills are needed. Why do the damn things hide when we need them the most? Are some coping skills better than others? What happens if we use the same one over and over again?
Coping skills are mind games.
Don’t over-analyze them. It’s kind of like curing hiccups. When I was a kid and my hiccups wouldn’t go away, Mom told me to write my name backward seven times on a piece of paper. You try writing Diane Cukovich backward seven times. It took my mind off of my hiccups, and they mysteriously went away. Plus, it was better than someone blowing air in a paper lunch bag and popping it over my head. That loud noise sounded like an explosion and scared the shit out of me. Every damn time.
But, once I knew the reason why I was writing my name backward, it stopped working. The magic was gone.
As my husband’s dementia caregiver, I had to learn a new set of skills.
I’m a creature of habit. There really is comfort in routines. But dementia made me give up that comfort zone, and it sucks. Now I’m trying to learn new coping skills, and I’ll share them with…
