What do Mormons do when they are sad?


Guest powerja
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Guest powerja

Dear Team Mates,

I have a question. I am an active single, position & recommend holding mormon but I do not yet have the coping skills of long-term mormons. I am a professor who studies how people cope with stress but I don't know how to do it myself. What is the mormon equivalent of coffee & alcohol? What do you do after a really bad day at work or finding out that you failed to get a job or made a bad mistake? I need some ideas of how to cope without drinking! Any suggestions most gratefully received! No chocolate or food suggestions though!

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I have found that confiding disappointment and seeking comfort can be done in a couple of ways...reaching out to those that the Lord has provided for me...holding to the iron rod when the winds blow and the rains come...and seeking refuge from the world in the temple

1 my hubby, who is a priesthood holder, and presides in my home

2 my home teacher/ visiting teacher

3 I use the scriptures a lot: they help comfort me, give me instruction on how to forgive others/myself and help me to remember that it really could be much worse

4 prayer

5 sometimes prayer in the temple, if it is a big one...It is important to keep an eternal perspective, remembering that this too shall pass, this moment is only the blink of an eye and that I should behave in a way that will help me to prepare to live in God's presence. Also, the temple helps me to feel loved by HF even if I don't feel that from others around me. When I do initiatories especially, the blessings are so numerous how can He not love me?

6 put on the Lord's yoke, and let Him have yours.

7 service, It's really hard to feel sorry for yourself when you are feeding the homeless, double that for the homeless kids

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Dear Team Mates,

I have a question. I am an active single, position & recommend holding mormon but I do not yet have the coping skills of long-term mormons. I am a professor who studies how people cope with stress but I don't know how to do it myself. What is the mormon equivalent of coffee & alcohol? What do you do after a really bad day at work or finding out that you failed to get a job or made a bad mistake? I need some ideas of how to cope without drinking! Any suggestions most gratefully received! No chocolate or food suggestions though!

Chocolate and ice cream.

Bad day = Basket ball for many men, and FB for most women I know. Also, a good movie that makes you cry, so you have an excuse to cry it out. :)

Of cousre prayer, ans scriptures do wonders when the day is really bad! :D

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Either golf (nothing like beating the crap out of a little white ball) or I go for a drive (and enjoy the sound of my Hemi poluting the atmosphere :P).

Seriously though, everyone is different. My wife will scrapbook or paint, and my brother will supress it until he can no longer take it. We are waiting for him to explode any day now.:D

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Dear Team Mates,

I have a question. I am an active single, position & recommend holding Mormon but I do not yet have the coping skills of long-term Mormons. I am a professor who studies how people cope with stress but I don't know how to do it myself. What is the Mormon equivalent of coffee & alcohol? What do you do after a really bad day at work or finding out that you failed to get a job or made a bad mistake? I need some ideas of how to cope without drinking! Any suggestions most gratefully received! No chocolate or food suggestions though!

I would slam doors and cupboard doors. Have to watch out though, cause the cupboard doors ALWAYS come back and smack you in the face. Also the interior doors on mobile homes, if slammed too hard, are next to impossible to open again. So be forewarned- you could get stuck in the room until someone kicks the door open to unjam it.

I throw things. Now that I no longer have an acre and a half, I can only throw dirt clods at my shed. Really isn't therapeutic enough because I am only 4 feet away from it and again I get hit by the dirt flashing back at me. I used to scream and stomp my feet - again, I have real close neighbors now, so can't do that.

I cry. I put Josh Corban and/or Jim Brinkman CD's on and listen to them as I cry. I open up Word on my computer and write the nastiest, foulest letter to the person who "Did Me Wrong" - save it, reread it a few times, then when I am over my mad, delete it.

There is no Mormon equivalent to alcohol. As for coffee- Pero. Pero Caffeine Free All Natural Beverage Fred Meyer & Walmart sell it.

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Sometimes I let my feelings run rampant and have a one person (myself) "pity party". I'll sit and mope for awhile and think about my woes, maybe even cry, and then I get on with my life. Reading my Patriarchal Blessing, scriptures, and praying will usually help me feel better. There are a few problems and feelings that I bottle up inside of me (sometimes for years) and then my poor husband gets the brunt of the explosion! I'm usually even-tempered, so for me to get upset, means something pretty drastic has happened.

After the death of my 19 year old daughter, grief was a constant for a number of years. As long as I stayed busy, I was okay. It would be in the quiet moments--like driving to and from work, right before falling asleep, that grief would consume me. I would just have to take my mind to a different place and do a lot of praying.

Every individual is different, so you just need to find out what works for you. It'll probably be a combination of things. Good luck!

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Pray and then ponder. Really, turning it over the the Lord works!!!

When I'm just angry of course the Holy Ghost runs for cover...oops, I mean leaves.... along with hubby and kids and any other living thing in the vicinity. So..... hot bath. Lavender. Myrhh candles. A hug from a 3yo works. If I'm really really stressed highly energized housework. :)

There have been times when I have been in so much physical pain and emotional distress that I've had the thought " why not a drink?" or "Why not get drunk?" Then I answer my own question. If I give into temptation Satan wins. And then I can't go where I find the most peace and that is the temple.

Back to Pray and ponder!

A priesthood blessing always helps too.

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Hello Powejay. this is my first time on this chat think. im also a new member. What i do when im feeling blue (wich is oft) is pick up my book of Mormon and read. it may sound simple and typical but it does really help me. I think drinking a cup of coffee of having a smoke is more about the process than the substance. It's the action and soothing patern of taking the time to lift the mug and sip the coffee or light the smoke and take a puff. Reading the scriptures is relaxing and just going through the motion of opening the book of Morom and flipping the pages is calming. That's my stress reliever. You could always paint the inside of your house green, I hear it is a calming color. I hope you find your Mormon cup of joe!

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Coping skills of long-term Mormons? What are those? Did I miss a class or sumthin'?

It's okay to acknowledge that life is hard. Yes, there is a lot to be happy about. That does not preclude difficulty and pain. Like anyone else, Mormons (long term or new) find ways to manage disappointments, pain, grief, and anger. I'm a fan of the Suppression/Distraction method, but it's not for everyone.

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Prayer

Meditation/Alone time

Mindless Videogames are great, anything from solitaire to the newest game

Going to the range helps a lot, I find that trying to put hunks of metal through a little paper circle ant various distances helps me gain focus and clarity and learn to ignore the other, more depressing, things in life.

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I do what I've done since High School.

When I feel sad, I go to the cinema. I take my jacket off and put it in the seat next to me, then I put my popcorn in the other seat.

The lights go low and I just watch and let my brain go blank. After a few hours of mindless entertainment, I always feel better.

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1. prayer

2. prayer

3. prayer

4. prayer

5. If I'm still sad and stressed, I pray.

Seriously. Prayer is the best tool ever. I'll pray out loud at home when I'm alone, or I'll go on a drive and pray out loud in the car (eyes open, of course).

God knows when we're stressed, upset, ect. and he want to help us. All we gotta do is talk to him about it and ask for help.

Edited by RipplecutBuddha
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I do what I've done since High School.

When I feel sad, I go to the cinema. I take my jacket off and put it in the seat next to me, then I put my popcorn in the other seat.

The lights go low and I just watch and let my brain go blank. After a few hours of mindless entertainment, I always feel better.

"Cinema." :D

I'm not making fun, I like to hear the way people say things, from different places. Do you also say "Kaft Dinner" for mac & cheese?

I don't say anything cool. darn it!

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