Coping Skills
Whether you’ve been asked for a divorce, having an panic attack, or you’ve had a rough day at the office, having healthy coping skills can be key to getting through challenging times. Coping skills help you tolerate and deal with stressful situations in life. Managing your stress well can help you feel better physically and emotionally.
Healthy Coping Skills
- Care for yourself: Aromatherapy, spend time in nature, drink tea, hot/cold showers.
- Engage in a hobby: Coloring, drawing, bee keeping, photography, wood working, genealogy singing, fishing, cooking, or listening to music.
- Exercise: Yoga, go for a walk, take a hike, play sports, go to the gym- anyway to get your energy out!
- Focus on a task: Clean the house, garden, or read a book.
- Practice mindfulness: An active mindset of non-judgmental observations.
- Use relaxation strategies: Play with a pet, practice deep breathing exercises, squeeze a stress ball, meditate, progressive muscle relaxation, or write in a journal.
Unhealthy Coping Skills
- Drinking alcohol or using drugs: Substances may temporarily numb your pain, but they won’t resolve your issues. It’s like putting fuel to the fire.
- Overeating: Trying to “stuff your feelings” with food can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and health issues. This can lead to overeating, “emotional eating,” anorexia and bulimia.
- Sleeping too much: Sleep can be a way of escaping but it also prolongs the issue at hand and can make it worse if you have neglected things.
- Overspending: While many people say they enjoy retail therapy as a way to feel better, shopping can become unhealthy and costly.
- Avoiding: Even “healthy” coping strategies can become unhealthy if you use them to escape, you never resolve the issue and prolong the suffering.
