“I am still coping with my trauma, but coping by trying to find different ways to heal it rather than hide it”

COPING SKILLS-

In Psychology, coping is expending conscious efforts to solve personal and interpersonal problems, seeking to master or minimize, and tolerate stress or conflict. Psychological coping mechanisms are termed coping strategies or coping skills.

They are the skills that help us to deal with the problems of growing up. Self-talk helps us to deal with various situations. Self-talking is the internal voice in our hearts. It includes our internal conversation. It determines how we perceive situations. It is our thoughts and beliefs. Self-talk can be positive or negative and influences, how we feel.

  • Some positive affirmations that we can use to deal with difficult situations.
  • “I will get through this. I am stronger than I feel right now”
  • “This is temporary”.
  • “I can do it”
  • “I love myself”.

Unless you know how to handle stress, it can lower your self-esteem. Coping skills give you the tools to fight with your uncontrolled emotions. You have to stay positive. Problems can make you feel hopeless. Coping skills will help you see your problems for what they are and help you find solutions. We face problems at home like violence a parent’s use of alcohol, physical abuse, lack of money, etc. There is peer pressure among school students like jealousy, drug abuse, stealing, etc. Pressure at home by parents and pressure at the workplace. Too much stress can lead to headaches, stomach upset, and other health problems.

How to reduce your stress?

Some of the coping skills are…

  • Set realistic goals.
  • Reach out to your parents, or any other adult whom you can trust and tell, them how you feel.
  • Be good and honest with yourself.
  • Write your thoughts, emotions, and feelings in your diary. It results in satisfaction.
  • Speak positive affirmations or positive self-talk.
  • Find ways to increase your energy level and self-confidence.
  • Learn methods to relax.
  • Build self-esteem in you: Get to know yourself, accept your own individuality and personality, identify your strengths, learn to take responsibility, learn to face problems, hold on to your beliefs, and ask for what you want in a direct way.
  • Make your own decisions. (Making good decisions means asking yourself the right questions).
  • You can turn to your friends, parents, other adults, counselors, psychologists, self-help groups, etc.

COPING WITH STRESS

Coping is the process of spending conscious effort and energy to solve personal and interpersonal problems. In the case of stress, coping mechanisms seek to master, minimize or tolerate stress and stressors that occur in everyday life. These mechanisms are commonly called coping skills or coping strategies. All coping strategies have the adaptive goal of reducing or dealing with stress, but some strategies can actually be maladaptive (unhealthy) or merely ineffective. Maladaptive behaviors are those that inhibit a person’s ability to adjust to particular situations. This type of behavior is often used to reduce one’s anxiety, but the result is dysfunctional and non-productive. The term “coping” usually refers to dealing with the stress that comes after a stressor is presented, but many people also use proactive coping strategies to eliminate or avoid stressors before they occur. Personal choice in coping strategies is determined by personality traits and type, social context, and the nature of the stressor involved.

COPING ABILITIES

The capacity to tolerate or cope with stress varies among people. The root of stress is the cognitive appraisal of an event as stressful or stress-inducing. An individual can effectively cope with stressors by appraising stressful situations and having confidence in their ability to handle situations that are stressful.

STRESS MANAGEMENT RESOURCES

Stress management resources aim to control a person’s level of stress, whether chronic and recurring or acute and unique. Stressors are constantly present throughout life, so one of the major keys to overall wellness and happiness is the effective management of stress. The symptoms of stress can affect both the body and the mind. They range in severity depending on the person and the circumstances involved. Stress management techniques provide a way to cope with stress and its symptoms to promote and maintain general well-being. There are several different approaches to the management of stress including conventional medicine, alternative medicine, and self-help therapies. 

Submitted By: Kanika Ajmeriya