Help Yourself Be Happy
Everyone experiences sadness, stress, or anxiety at some point throughout their
lifetime. When faced with these feelings, many people will seclude themselves from
others, listen to sad music, and either binge-eat or not eat enough. Clearly, people must
develop good coping strategies to combat these feelings; however, many people do not
always use healthy coping strategies when faced with feelings of sadness. I used to be
guilty of using the various unhealthy coping strategies mentioned above, but I have
learned over the years that you cannot expect to be happier unless you take different
steps.
A prominent unhealthy coping strategy includes seclusion from others. When I
was sad, I used to stay in my bed all day with my bedroom door closed. I wanted to face
my battles alone. But facing them alone never worked; it worsened my feelings. It made
me feel lonely. It made me feel like I had no one in my corner to help me combat my
feelings. Of course, this was a lie. I always had people reaching out to help or offer
assistance in any way possible. My own worst enemy was myself. I have learned that it
is vital to surround yourself with people who love you and care about you the most when
experiencing feelings of sadness. Now, whenever I face feelings of sadness, stress, or
anxiety, I immediately turn to my loved ones. I can talk to them about all of my
problems. By allowing love to surround me, I have gained gratitude for others,
something I struggled with when in isolation. You do not have to face your battles alone.
You do not have to seclude yourself. In fact, when you choose distance instead of
comfort, humans have a tendency to not only isolate but also grasp onto other
unhealthy coping mechanisms.
Secluding themselves from others is not the only unhealthy coping strategy
people use when faced with feelings of sadness. For example, some people gravitate
towards listening to sad music. While this may not seem entirely unhealthy, it can have
detrimental effects. Music is so powerful that by listening to it your brain can reflect the
different feelings and emotions that are portrayed in the song. Listening to happy music
can reframe the feelings that the brain is telling you to feel. So why would people listen
to sad music instead of happy music when in a rut? If there is an obvious way to help
combat these feelings, why do people choose to reinforce the sense of sadness? No
one can fight the feelings of their sorrow if they continue to feed their brain with painful
stimuli. This is something that I still struggle with to this day. There are still times when I
want to stay in bed, put my AirPods in, and blast sad music. But I know that this will not
help me. It will only make my feelings of sadness worse. Now that I choose to listen to
music that is happy instead of music that is sad, I can face my feelings of sadness
head-on. I can try to reframe all the hurt I am feeling. I can try to stop the emotions from
getting worse. So the next time you are sad and look for a playlist, choose to put on
something happier for a change.
A final unhealthy coping strategy that numerous people turn to when faced with
feelings of sadness is binge-eating or not eating a sufficient amount. Our bodies use
food as a source of energy, so clearly one can see why it is terrible for us not to intake
food. A couple years ago, every time I felt sad, every time I was stressed, every time I
felt anxious, I would not eat. I would not eat for hours on end. Maybe it was because I
was sad about the way my body looked. Perhaps it was because I felt so anxious that I
might vomit if I ate even the tiniest crumb of food. But no matter the reason, I was still
not providing my body with the necessary nutrients. Again, I became my worst enemy-
not only experiencing sadness but also lacking energy and nutrients. By doing this, I put
myself in a worse rut than I was already in. Binge-eating or not eating a sufficient
amount are never healthy choices. Just like the previous unhealthy coping strategies I
mentioned, these “solutions” will not help. They will not get rid of the emotions you are
feeling. I know you may think such choices might help at the moment, but they will not.
So please, the next time you think of sitting on the couch all day and eating your
feelings away, or the next time that you are thinking of fasting an entire day, do not do
so.
I am by no means saying that everybody reading this persuasive essay right now
is guilty of using unhealthy coping strategies. I am not saying that you are a bad person
if you use the specific coping strategies referenced. I was there once. I used them. But
now that I do not use them, my life has only been filled with more happiness. I no longer
sit and dwell on my sadness; instead, I get up and face feelings of sadness head-on. All
of us need to take a deeper look into the coping strategies we are using. If we do not,
our problems are never going to get fixed. They will only continue to get worse. It is like
this: does a flower grow to its most ideal potential if you water it with salt water? No. It
does not. This is what happens when people use unhealthy coping strategies. People
may attempt to “water” themselves with what they think will help them combat their
sadness and grow to feel better than they currently are. But some coping strategies will
not help them at all. So, what type of water are you using? Fresh water? Or salt water?
Does the essay meet the requirements for the English Rubric and Persuasive Essay Requirements? Are there any grammatical mistakes?
