so recently things have been getting a bit harder again. i can normally tell when this happens cuz i stop eating, i get easily irritated, i get overstimulated, and i isolate myself and all thats been happening and worse. intrusive thoughts have been getting wayy too loud. i considered relapsing the other day but i luckily was able to get a grip on myself. im trying to remind myself everyone has ups and downs, but it matters most how we react to them. any tips for ways to destress and self care?
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Welcome to Heart Support, d4nyy87
Thank you for posting here, I hope writing made it feel a little bit better. You’re absolutely right that everyone has ups and downs, and it’s the reaction that counts. Also, I’m really happy for you “getting a grip on yourself” and not relapsing, keep it up, you got this. It’s not the luck, it’s your strength.
My tips are going to revolve around one thing: small things, but not nothing. If thinking about getting through one day is too hard, try getting through just the next hour, or the next minute. If fully caring for yourself is too hard, that’s fine, try focusing on the bare minimum. And even if you do end up doing nothing, that’s okay as well, forgive yourself, but come back the next day with the will to do something.
For de stressing, I find that all forms of art is a good way to let everything out. Personally, I started with a small doodle, which got bigger and became a piece I worked on whenever I was stressed.
“The most important thing is an unbreakable heart” -DRX Deft
-Gremlin
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TYSM! i enjoy art a lot and im an art major but sometimes i feel too exhausted to draw, do you have any other tips?
Hello @d4nyy87
Welcome to Heart Support and thank you for posting.
First of all … way to go on getting a “grip” on yourself! I’m proud of you!
You’re right when you say everyone has their ups and downs. Our reaction to our emotions and urges is what counts. I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard about Urge Surfing, but it’s something I use a lot and helps me. If you wanted to check that out, you could. Also, are you in any type of therapy?
Gremlin gave some really good tips and so I will echo them. I’m still learning about self care for myself, so those were really good ideas we can all try.
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yeah i have a therapist! but im a bit needy so im working on that haha
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That’s great! I hope that you’re talking to them about what is going on, so they can help you thru it too.
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The exhaustion is real, drawing can be a lot of work for sure, especially since you’re an art major.
Here are some other things I do to help with stress:
-listening to music
-working out (with a friend makes it more fun)
-just being outside and enjoying the outdoors
-cooking
-playing chill, unranked video games (personally recommend Bart Bonte’s color games if you’re on mobile, rhythm games/aim lab if you’re on something that can run that)
-balancing chemical equations, feels like you’re making sure the universe is working as it should
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ill try them all out! thx for the help (:
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I’m so glad you found this useful, makes me do little happy dances 
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Hi Friend,
welcome to Heart Support. thank you for sharing your worries and thoughts.
what you are going through, what you are experiencing is being human. we all have good and bad moments,
ups and downs like you said. feeling drained and exhausted has become our daily life. far too often we need to
motivate ourselves.
to find things that you like, that you enjoy will take time often. for myself what helped a lot is building up routines.
things that i like to do, that i kind of build in my daily life.
what sometimes helps, is just a moment for yourself. a little moment of joy. when i come home, i usually get myself
a coffee or tea, sit somewhere, even in winter i tend to sit outside on my balcony, just with the coffee and breath
the fresh air. let that moment be a moment of peace for myself. our daily life is often to stressed, to hectic that we do
things in a hurry. also with no device. just a moment for myself.
a walk also can do wonders. enjoy our nature, the outside. those little things can have a huge impact on yourself.
you have written all that down, that is also a way to cope. keep that.
thank you for doing it. take care of yourself, you matter most ! you are loved and you are worth it.
feel hugged 
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Hey, welcome to HeartSupport!
I’m in a recovery program right now and every week I run through an exercise called the FASTER scale. The states of mind that you’ve described are all phases in the FASTER Scale. I find that tracking it weekly helps me identify patterns and raises awareness of where I am, which helps me feel less lost and out of control. I’ve posted it below. Give it a try!
For each phase, circle or highlight the examples that apply to you and answer the questions on the third page. Do it phase by phase. I’d recommend printing it out or writing it out for maximum impact. Typing puts a barrier between you and your emotions. For this form, replace Regression with Relapse. Let us know what you find.
Thank you for sharing your struggle. A lot of us on this forum are struggling with various addictions, and we all feel a lot less alone when we share our struggles and successes. Good luck, and hold fast 
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