Coping skills are a vital part of any person’s mental health toolkit, and can be utilized in a variety of different forms. Simply put, coping skills are ways of dealing with stress. In this article, we’ll go over what stress and coping skills are, examples of different coping skills, and how to utilize coping skills. We interviewed Martha Rand, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and School Social Worker, to get a better understanding of coping skills. In this article, we answer these questions:
- What is stress?
- What are coping skills?
- How can I develop coping skills?
What is stress?
Stress is a physical and mental response to a difficult situation, and generally generates tension in the thoughts or the body. “Stress is something that involves both your thinking and your physical self,” says Rand. Stress is caused by a variety of things, known as stressors. Stressors can be anything from being unprepared for a quiz to experiencing a traumatic event. Stress happens in a wide variety of situations and is often present in everyday life.
What are coping skills?
Coping skills are ways of managing this stress. Coping skills can come in a variety of forms and can include but are not limited to:
- Breathing exercises
- Creative expression
- Drawing
- Painting
- Singing
- Dancing
- Journaling
- Organizing
- Physical activity
- Going outside
- Taking breaks
- Etc.
Coping skills can be incorporated into your everyday life, or can be used in panic moments. Coping skills are useful and needed for everyone, not just if you’ve experienced mental health issues in the past.
How can you develop coping skills?
“Coping skills are definitely something that you develop through practice,” says Rand. She adds, “It does take practice to be able to use that skill when you need it.” Incorporating a coping skill into routine takes both time and practice to stick to it, and to master it. To build your toolkit of coping skills, you can incorporate them into your routine. For example, if you would normally watch Netflix right before bed and then go to bed, try journaling or doing a breathing exercise for a couple of minutes before bed.
Final Thoughts:
Be kind to yourself when developing a new coping skill. It will take time and it will take practice, and you can’t rush either of those things. If you miss a day or aren’t able to apply it in the way you wanted to the first time, remember that coping skills are just like any other skill; you’re not going to be perfect the first time. Give yourself space and time. But, applying coping skills is worth it.