Coping Mechanism Thesaurus Entry: Self-Medicating

When a character suffers emotional pain, the brain’s response is to stop the discomfort, and often this results in a coping mechanism being deployed. Whether it’s an automatic response or a learned go-to strategy, a mechanism helps them cope with the stress of the moment or escape the hurt of it.

But if the character develops an unhealthy reliance on that mechanism, problems will arise. Long-term, certain coping behaviors will impair their connections with others, their ability to achieve goals and dreams, and their resiliency in handling life’s pressures.

At some point, they must have an Aha! moment where they realize their coping method is holding them back and they need to seek other ways to deal with stress. Namely, they’ll have to adopt healthier mechanisms that enable them to manage difficulties and ultimately have a happier future.

To help you write your character’s growth (or regression) journey, we’ve created The Coping Mechanism Thesaurus, which contains a range of coping methods. The one we’re highlighting today can be damaging, and we hope this entry will help you show your character’s struggle in a way readers can relate to.

Self-Medicating DEFINITION

Self-medicating is the use of substances or soothing behaviors to handle (or avoid) unwanted emotions, stress, and circumstances.

WHAT IT MAY LOOK LIKE

Using drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, shopping, gambling, sex, exercise, or other substances or activities specifically to numb physical or emotional pain
Medicating at the first sign of discomfort
Loosening the guardrails around usage (medicating at work where it is prohibited, for example)
Defensiveness when asked about the activity or usage
Always “using” after the same triggers (at bedtime, after fighting with a spouse, etc.)…

BASIC HUMAN NEEDS IT COULD COMPROMISE

Love and Connection: Hiding a habit from loved ones, or prioritizing it over them, will create bad feelings in the character’s important relationships. Friction will also arise when friends and family are honest and confront the character about their concerns with the activity.
Safety and Security: In extreme cases, the character may sacrifice personal finances, healthy boundaries, and their physical or mental health to engage in their self-medicating activity…

FALLOUT (AND POSSIBLE TURNING POINTS)

Missing important family events
Becoming less productive or reliable at work
Finances becoming strained as the usage increases
Feeling isolated from others
The character’s physical health deteriorating…

COMMITMENT TO CHANGE

Recognizing what triggers the need to self-medicate
Minimizing time spent with bad influences
Creating a plan for when the temptation to self-medicate is strong
Learning how to have difficult conversations rather than avoid them
Being accountable if a slip happens (rather than letting their progress be derailed by it)…

Need More Descriptive Help?

While this thesaurus is still being developed, the rest of our descriptive collection (18 unique thesauri and growing) is accessible through the One Stop for Writers THESAURUS database.

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