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Coping means to consciously take efforts to solve problems that you face in order to minimize or tolerate stress. Whether you've just received devastating news, failed a test or just had a rough day overall, healthy coping skills can help you overcome these challenges.
Coping strategies can help minimize stress or emotional distress and make them more manageable. Stress management is a valuable skill that can greatly improve your physical and psychological health as well as boost your productivity.
Coping skills can be used either reactively or proactively. When you come home after a stressful day at work and take a warm bath with your favorite strawberry scented shampoo and meditate to relax, it is reactive coping. Whereas if you study regularly everyday before a big test to avoid cramming the night before, it is proactive coping.
Here are some healthy coping strategies that you might find useful!
Diversions: Coping strategies that distract you from a problem momentarily can be helpful in reducing the immediate stress that the problem is causing. Some examples of diversions can be:
Engage in a hobby - Reading, painting, cooking, gardening, playing an instrument, it can be anything really. The possibilities are endless!
Get moving - Go for a walk or have a fun dance session. You could even take yourself on a long drive.
Indulge in some self care - Take a nice bath with those pretty candles you've been saving, or paint your nails and play some music. Cleaning and organizing your room also counts as self care.
Take a break - Your break can range from watching a quick compilation of adorable cat videos on YouTube to going on a 2 day trip to the beach!
Social Coping: Interacting with people you love can also be a great stress-buster. Sometimes all it takes to lift your mood is one long call to your best friend.
Set boundaries - Clearly outline your boundaries to everyone. It may seem rude at first, but it'll really help to avoid draining your social battery. Saying no when necessary is also an excellent way to reiterate your boundaries.
Talk - Oftentimes worrying about something can make it seem like a bigger problem than it actually is. Having a conversation with someone you trust and are comfortable with about the things that are troubling you can help to make your problems seem manageable.
Group activities - Being involved and actively participating in your community can help reduce stress. It gives people you a sense of belonging.
Cognitive Coping: All strategies that involve some amount of mental activity are grouped under cognitive coping. These are activities that reduce stress by giving you some perspective on the problem, as opposed to diversions that reduce stress by distracting you momentarily.
Brainstorm solutions - Brainstorming enables you to look at the problem from differing view points. You could write a list of pros and cons for a difficult decision. This might make the decision easier. A list of goals could also help.
Stay positive - Being optimistic all the time is certainly not possible. That being said, looking at the bright side can help you approach problems with a solution oriented mindset. Making a gratitude list or writing a list of your strengths could help you stay positive. If appropriate, you could also lower your expectations of a situation.
Motivate yourself - More often than not, the carrot works better than the stick. Give yourself something to look forward to after the completion of your task. Browsing through a few inspirational quotes would also help to motivate you.
Tension Releasers: These kinds of strategies are great for major stressors like the loss of a loved one or losing a job. Tension releasers help by inducing a sense of catharsis. Some activities that may facilitate this are playing sports, crying, laughing, or even punching a punching bag.
Physical Coping: Strategies that directly involve taking stress off the body come under physical coping. These help to reduce mental stress indirectly. Some way to manage stress on the body are
Sleep - Getting enough sleep is crucial to functioning optimally. Adolescents require between 8 to 10 hours of sleep daily, while adults can function with 7 or more hours of sleep.
Nutrition - Eating nourishing foods can help your body cope with stress. However, nutrition also involves limiting the intake of substances that affect your body negatively, think caffeine or alcohol.
Spiritual Coping: This type of coping entails anything that helps strengthen your spirituality. You could pray or meditate to calm your mind, you could go for a walk and enjoy nature, or you could even volunteer for a cause. It gives you a sense of purpose.
These are just a few activities that you could engage in to minimize or tolerate stress. Be creative and try new activities to find the ones that work for you!
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