10/21/2025
š§ š„ COPING MECHANISMS
(aka āWhy you deep-clean the tack room, scroll TikTok till 2am, or suddenly decide to move to the Outer Hebrides and start an alpaca farm.ā)
Letās make it pony simple. š“
Because coping and keeping ourselves safe isnāt weakness , itās your nervous system doing its best. Every behaviour once made sense, even if it doesnāt fit your life now.....
Meet the Five Ponies of Coping:
š¤ The Functional Pony ā does the job, stays busy, looks fine. Keeps the yard spotless while quietly avoiding eye contact with emotions.
(This oneās the āIām fine!ā text when they are definitely not fine.)
š¤ The Flight Pony ā runs. Changes stables, jobs, partners, entire continents. The emotional equivalent of a thoroughbred mid-spook.
(Itās not avoidance, itās strategic relocation.)
š¤ The Freeze Pony ā stands in the field, blank stare, brain buffering. No energy for fight or flight, just⦠stillness.
(If youāve ever sat in your car after work for half an hour doing absolutely nothingāhi, thatās this one.)
š The Fawn Pony ā people-pleases to stay safe. Nods, smiles, says āno worries!ā while quietly disintegrating inside.
(The emotional service ponyāadorable, exhausted, and due a week off.)
ā¤ļø The Fight Pony ā kicks the stable door when scared. Looks angry, but underneath itās just panic in a saddle. Fierce loyalty, quick temper, heart of gold.
(This is why you argue with your loved one when you really just need a hug.)
š”Coping mechanisms and trauma responses arenāt bad. Theyāre clever adaptations that once kept you safe.
The goal isnāt to get rid of them.......itās to recognise when the dangerās passed and the pastureās finally calm.