The coping mechanisms you’re using aren’t effective because they don’t genuinely improve our well-being. For instance, alcohol is a depressant that can leave you feeling even worse after trying to numb your issues with it. This can also lead to dependence. Overall, adopting healthy coping habits will bring clarity, while unhealthy ones will result in more significant challenges. If you find yourself relying on unhealthy strategies, seeking guidance from a therapist to recognize triggers and swap harmful behaviors for more positive alternatives can be beneficial.

The Two Types of Healthy Coping Skills

According to the Centre for Studies on Human Stress, healthy coping skills are either problem-focused or emotion-focused.

Problem-focused coping skills

Problem-focused activities involve identifying practical solutions to reduce or resolve the source of stress. In a professional setting, this could entail direct communication with your manager, setting boundaries for time management, or seeking alternative job opportunities. Individuals who enjoy creating to-do lists and completing tasks may gravitate towards problem-focused coping skills.

When using this coping style, it’s important to keep in mind that taking small steps is acceptable. It’s crucial to maintain a balance between making progress and being kind to yourself. You may not be able to solve everything immediately, but identifying a few things that can significantly improve your stress levels is possible. The positive aspect is that you’re not ignoring the problem, but rather taking steps to address it. Certain issues have clear solutions, and any action taken to move closer to our objectives will help reduce stress.

Emotion-focused coping

Coping techniques that focus on managing emotions can be helpful in handling feelings related to a situation, rather than the event itself. There may not be a specific issue to address, or it might be a one-time occurrence that cannot be avoided. In such instances, it is important to comfort or stabilize your emotions through activities that work well for you, such as exercise, spending time with pets, taking a relaxing bath, being in nature, or watching a movie. At times, we may not be ready to confront a situation and require more relaxation time. Emotion-focused coping skills aim to nurture and restore, providing a recharge for the next phase.

Ensure that you are nurturing, rather than suppressing, your emotions by accurately identifying your feelings. If you’re uncertain about your emotions, consider using a feeling wheel. This approach aims to acknowledge and sit with your emotions instead of pushing them away. Show kindness to your emotions and refrain from self-criticism. Trust that your feelings will diminish over time. Mindfulness-based meditation can effectively help manage stress related to emotions.

The Difference Between Coping Skills and Self-Care

Coping skills are techniques or activities employed during stressful situations. They are methods utilized to acquire additional energy or time. Conversely, self-care is an activity practiced irrespective of stress levels.

Self-care is recommended by experts as a proactive approach that can reduce the necessity for coping mechanisms later on. This is because tending to your emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical well-being can lessen severe distress and burnout that necessitate coping strategies. When we are depleted, we become more susceptible to stress and less able to handle challenging situations.

There are moments when life presents challenges, requiring the application of healthy coping mechanisms to navigate through difficult times. Periodically, we all need to take a break, employ our coping strategies, and then proceed with life when we feel prepared.