Long before I had the amazing support network I have now, there has always been something that has been there for me. It has stood by me during my toughest challenges. When all was lost, it was there to support me.
Of course, I’m talking about WWF Wrestling.
Whenever I am feeling at my lowest, and feeling like crap, I have this urge to binge watch WWE Raw – Attitude Era from the late 90s and early 2000s. The heyday of guys like The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, and Undertaker. Maybe it’s the stereotypical guys’ version of eating ice-cream and watching soap operas. I don’t know what it is about muscled dudes in spandex wailing on each other, but it takes my mind off everything that is wrong in my life at the time.
I can watch it for hours, I’m not exaggerating. Musically, I find I will go back, time and time again to Type-O Negative. The Goth Elvis that is Pete Steele really gets me, as he talks about women leaving him for other women, the trials of a goth woman leaving the house without dying her blonde roots, and the difficulties of having a small penis.
Food wise, I go for KFC Wicked Wings. Spicy, greasy, goodness. This for me is the cycle of coping. Wrestling, Pete Steele, and greasy chicken. Before I had the amazing support network I have now, or if I’m by myself for whatever reason, or even if I just want to treat myself – they are the holy triumvirate of mood enhancers. Any psychology majors please don’t psychoanalyse any of that.
While this shows a rather depressing insight into how easy I am to please or how white trash my tastes are, it also highlights an important process that can be useful when experiencing low mood or mental health issues. Developing your own coping cycle, distraction, escapism, whatever you want to call it, can help you get through a rough patch. Especially if your coping cycle involves something that’s easy to hand, that you have easy access to. That way if you’re in Student Accommodation, you can just roll over in bed and grab your phone or turn on the TV.
If your tastes come in a bucket or a paper bag like mine do, you can call UberEats. Whatever it is, it’s got to get that dopamine going, and take your mind off whatever is happening for you. Whatever you’re going through, hopefully it will pass. You’ve just got to find something that will help you do it. Especially if The Rock loses and you can have a good cry in the process.
Take care.
