[Whit]

     We all cope with hordes of crap. No adult hasn't had to deal with some hellish situation or another. Be it the loss of a loved one or a relationship gone awry. Life often time does suck. This being the case means that we have to cope with it. So, what is your favorite way and what is the coping mechanism you hate the most? Oh, and if you don't mind, throw in your reasoning for it. Good and bad points are a plus too.

     My personal favorite, my emotional lifeline if you will, is humor. Make a joke. Family member dies, tell a funny story. Lose your job, make a good one liner. Cut part of your finger off and bleed everywhere, let 'em think it's a joke then surprise them with the actual damage, made me laugh anyway.
     The upside is combating the pain as well as getting you through it. In my case, at least, there's not a lot of nasty leftovers to deal with later. You ride it out with the help of a few chuckles then move on. Yeah, it hurts, often a great deal, but it'll get you by.
     The downside is that unless it's your own pain or the you are speaking to someone you are very close to who is in pain you can't do it while it's happening. At least not out loud. Let me clarify that. If someone is in pain and you crack a joke it can make things worse for them, and if you care about them it'll be worse for you too. If they cope the same way and are close to you or it's your pain you can get away with it. Feh, I hope that made sense...
     Also, it has a limit. I've been in enough emotional pain that laughter was a curiosity to me. It was like I couldn't quite remember what it meant. I was mostly shut down at that time, didn't feel anything for a while. Nasty business that. I did make a few very dark humor type comments after it was finished though

     My least favorite is not something I do, but rather something I've had to deal with a lot in my life. The habit some people have of just choking it down so they can go on. The plus is they can get through the day. The downside is that often times people will do this when something awful is done to them at a young age. They'll carry it around, somewhere under the surface then BAM! As soon as they are otherwise happy it'll reemerge as the most important thing in their life. Leaving some poor bastard (far to often me) to try to clean up the mess it makes of the person. I really hate that.

     So, I went first, who's next?