Yes @Teej 👋
”Normal” people ...... whatever that represents ..... let’s just say people who are walking a bit closer to a middle line between extremes at this point in their life .... tend to have layers of self-care, rather than one go-to thing.
When I am totally overwhelmed and reeling, it was my car, my safety pod where I would drive off somewhere green and peaceful to have a big cry, or sit with those tight-chested feelings when you want to cry but can’t yet ..... and turn on some music ..... something that doesn’t jar on my already frazzled / fried nerves .....,. If not somewhere green, and more usually, somewhere with water, and dolphins or pelicans or swans.
Now I don’t have my safety pod, in that we work with public transport, and we are city-fied, and I wouldn’t know where to drive anyway, I think burying myself in art is doing it for me, and there are free galleries I can visit if not “arting” myself.
There is being mindful with a cup of tea.
There is standing under a hot shower.
There is phoning a friend and whinging about it.
There is posting what can be posted onto the forums.
One of my baby dragons, actually two of them, bake stuff.
Its all layers @Teej, like watering it down by delegating bits and pieces of the big thing to lots of little things.
Nice smelling hand-creme is a way of breaking into the he emotions or numb-out and helping it spill.
I hope some of this is helpful to you. Having reached beyond the plethora of small self-care choices to a directed sh behaviour takes some careful reshaping back into the spread of coping activities that can replace it.
Walking the dog is another, and watching chick-flicks, jigsaw puzzles, crosswords, soduko ...... it’s helpful to have a bit of a menu worked out.
My mr. will probably always exercise as a mood regulatory and emotional coping thing, once it’s been rebalanced.
