Recently, there have been posts all over social media about unhealthy coping mechanisms. Basically, people are revealing what they tend to do to cope with stressful situations.

Although it is unclear whether or not this is brushing over the subject and making it seem more of a joke than it is serious, this trend is shedding light on the desperate approaches we take to try to make our lives better.

We all sometimes behave irrationally when it comes to trying to deal with our feelings. We try to fill our emptiness by occupying our time with things or activities that are potentially hurting ourselves.

Mental care is just as important as physically maintaining oneself because, eventually, our bodies become our brains. This means that the more we are avoiding our responsibilities or bottling up our feelings, the more havoc it is causing on our bodies.

Referring to Twitter, the top 10 self-harming techniques are: (no specific ranking)

1. Doubting, i.e. making jokes, and shutting down

2. Eating unhealthy food or barely eating at all

3. Isolation

4. Bottling up emotions

5. Sleeping too much

6. Smoking and/or alcohol abuse

7. Underestimating and overthinking

8. Buying material things

9. Being angry at loved ones

10. Sex

I can vouch for myself, that I have done and still do most of these things to try and cope with the stress and anxiety in my life. I'm aware that these techniques are dangerous but yet, I still abide by these tendencies.

Without thinking, we do these things to temporarily relieve the tension without considering the long-term damage. Even though it's an unfortunately normal phenomenon, we do need to take action.

We need to do more things that benefit ourselves, such as reading, writing, working out, painting, etc. These are hobbies that allow us to express ourselves and fill the holes in our lives without the self-affliction.

Our coping mechanisms are a reflection of our society.

We need to break our habits and start to live our best lives by treating ourselves nicely, loving our bodies, and expressing our wants and needs wholeheartedly.