Coping

Playlist

Prof as he speaks... HAHA.

Was reading this online, courtesy of HJ, and found this amusing. I guess the person I am now can easily identify and relate to these measures taken. After all, I happen to be more self aware than I was, say, a year ago. This matters a lot, as we grow the most when we’re under 21. Every year, you learn a lot more interesting things. Similarly, I’d also come to appreciate more things that I couldn’t really grasp previously.

Below is the said amusing thing that I stumbled across, directed by HJ. Ladies and gentlemen, a brief idea of the means humankind employ to cope with our horridly cold world. I apologise if the examples are a wee bit biased and if the font is peculiar. I typed it out in Word and now the formatting is completely screwed up. Disgusting how sites can't agree on some nice fonts fro all of us to use. I use Trebuchet usually, but Word's Trebuchet and Blogger's Trebuchet is different. Ridiculous don't you think so?

Here is a full list of coping mechanisms:

* Acting out: not coping - giving in to the pressure to misbehave. In plain English, you succumb to pressure and start fangirling over Cloud with all the 10001 other fangirls even though you HATE Cloud and his ridiculously spiky hair and think Sephiroth with his silky hair is AWESOME GODLINESS.

* Aim inhibition: lowering sights to what seems more achievable. In plain English, since you can’t get Atobe-sama, you settle for oogling at the life-sized poster of him in the bookstore.

* Altruism: Helping others to help self. In plain English, you help your friend and yourself queue for the limited edition Gackt calendar, while she helps the both of you queue for the limited edition hyde poster.

* Attack: trying to beat down that which is threatening you. In plain English, flaming on online forums when you see someone trying to overflame and usurp your position as THE GREAT AND HOLY FLAMER.

* Avoidance: mentally or physically avoiding something that causes distress. In plain English, you stop going to the thread where people are flaming you, as you can’t overflame THE GREAT AND HOLY FLAMER.

* Compartmentalization: separating conflicting thoughts into separated compartments. In plain English, you worry about your costume in the left part of your brain, your school work in the right side of your brain and daydream about Sebastian of Kuroshitsuji with your ENTIRE brain.

* Compensation: making up for a weakness in one area by gain strength in another. In plain English, if look fugly, you learn to be a fantastic make-up artist.

* Conversion: subconscious conversion of stress into physical symptoms. In plain English, you stalk the idiot who flamed you and beat ‘em up cause you can’t outflame them. Kids, don’t try this at home.

* Denial: refusing to acknowledge that an event has occurred. In plain English, you refuse to acknowledge that you cosfucked by denying that you ever cosplayed at EOY 20XX. But we all know you were there :D

* Displacement: shifting of intended action to a safer target. In plain English, if you can’t defeat the number one in school, you bully number zero simply because he/she was there and cannot fight back.

* Dissociation: separating oneself from parts of your life. In plain English, you have some form of minor split personality. You are Melissa in school, Mel at home and Ah Jie with your after school biker gang.

* Emotionality: Outbursts and extreme emotion. In plain English, you start deconstructing you room, crying, screaming and punching meanwhile, when you realise that Gackt is coming to Singapore. And you do the same when your best friend betrays you. And when you wake up late for school. ‘Nuff said.

* Fantasy: escaping reality into a world of possibility. In plain English, COSPLAY. Disneyland relies on this for the big bucks.

* Help-rejecting complaining: Ask for help, then reject it. In plain English, you ask for advice from your friends, but reject all proposals simply because you can’t decide if you want their help or not, but you feel good that they offer you help. If you’re like this, please go jump off some high-rise building.

* Idealization: playing up the good points and ignoring limitations of things desired. In plain English, you only see how Kurei is hot/amazing/handsome/cool/talented/smart/rich/flamboyant/nice/sweet/refined etc is, completely ignoring that he is a mass murderer/ bastard/cold-blooded/sadistic… You get the drift.

* Identification: copying others to take on their characteristics. In plain English, you see how cool Lacus Clyne is, and you COPY. So that for that 10 minutes in costume, you’re not mean and bitchy, but nice and sweet and kind and lovely…. Let me leave to hurl up my pitiful lunch.

* Intellectualization: avoiding emotion by focusing on facts and logic. In plain English, you rationalise that the $600 lolita dress is worth the money because it’s a) Designed by Mana-san, b) Only 500 pieces are made, c) No one else in Singapore would buy it (No one else is as crazy.) and d) Its got a 0.5% discount!

* Introjection: Bringing things from the outer world into the inner world. In plain English, after cosplaying a lesbian, you realise you have a sudden interest in girls…

* Passive aggression: avoiding refusal by passive avoidance. In plain English, you know your boyfriend/girlfriend wants to break up with you, so you turn off your phone.

* Performing rituals: Patterns that delay. In plain English, you have to listen to Vidoll’s XXX song first thing in the morning every day to make your day better. Personally, I think it’d just make you later if you woke up late, but oh well!

* Projection: seeing your own unwanted feelings in other people. In plain English, you think that girl that is a bitch, when you’re the actual mean bitch.

* Provocation: Get others to act so you can retaliate. In plain English, you give people a reason to complain and then you shoot them down. I love this method of coping with stress. Cause its FUN :D

* Rationalization: creating logical reasons for bad behavior. In plain English, it is a lot like idealization. I think she can be a bitch because she’s young/ inexperienced/ silly/ immature… Or just plain stupid, so I cannot fault her behaviour. Right. Who am I trying to delude here?

* Reaction Formation: avoiding something by taking a polar opposite position. In plain English, I love Atobe-sama so much that I try to decrease the number of fangirls by complaining about him… While I secretly have an Atobe shrine in my room. Man, I should learn to do this…

* Regression: returning to a child state to avoid problems. In plain English, you speak and act like an immature baby so that people will not expect much from you. More importantly, you THINK like a baby too!

* Repression: subconsciously hiding uncomfortable thoughts. In plain English, even though you think that girl next to you is a fat, talentless, heavy, whiny and irritating bitch, you hide all these under the cover of TEAMWORK and continue working with her.

* Self-harming: physically damaging the body. In plain English, you cut your wrists when stressed. ‘Nuff said.

* Somatization: psychological problems turned into physical symptoms. In plain English, you’re so stressed by your report, that you get stomach flu, fever, the cold… Yeah.

* Sublimation: channeling psychic energy into acceptable activities. In plain English, you’re pissed, so you start cleaning the house, packing your room, washing your clothes… Cool huh? This is of course, a POSITIVE example.

* Substitution: Replacing one thing with another. In plain English, you stop being angry at your mom for not allowing you to go out, and instead, get angry at your sister for borrowing your skirt.

* Suppression: consciously holding back unwanted urges. In plain English, you really really want to strangle that **** but you hold back. Yay for self-control.

* Symbolization: turning unwanted thoughts into metaphoric symbols. In plain English… I can’t put this in plain English, most unfortunately. Its an abstract concept to begin with. But think of it as having a nightmare of books falling on you when your library books are due. A little extreme though…

* Trivializing: Making small what is really something big. In plain English, you may have just run over someone in your new car, but you just treat the person like normal roadkill. Okay. Not funny. How about this, you were rejected by the guy you like, and you brush it off by saying he liked you first. Delusional much eh?

* Undoing: actions that psychologically 'undo' wrongdoings for the wrongdoer. In plain English, after you have a huge argument online with your friend, you meet up with her with a box of Junjou cookies, lots of BL drama cds and… VOILA! All is forgiven! You don’t even have to apologise! Cause the boys of Junjou does it so well, no?

Wow. I’m impressed by myself. I think I’m less stressed after doing this actually...

"Let's all sing and dance and celebrate... Even though we all know its a LIE."