Have you ever found yourself endlessly scrolling through social media instead of tackling a decision you need to make? Or maybe you have a work task to finish, but you end up taking breaks to escape it instead? Or have you found yourself online shopping for things you don’t need to avoid how you are feeling? If you have, you’re using coping strategies to manage tough situations.
You might already have a sense of what coping strategies are, but let’s define them! Coping strategies are the thoughts and actions you employ to handle challenging situations in your life. When it comes to stress, these are the methods you use to cope with what’s weighing you down. There are both healthy and unhealthy coping strategies available to you.
Healthy coping strategies are constructive behaviors that help you confront difficulties and support your mental well-being. They empower you to navigate through tough times. On the other hand, unhealthy coping strategies offer only temporary relief by avoiding or suppressing the real issue. Essentially, they lead you to ignore the problem, which can ultimately heighten your stress.
Unhealthy coping strategies
Let’s explore some common unhealthy coping strategies that people often turn to when facing stress. You might recognize a few from your own experiences, perhaps not realizing they were unhealthy ways to cope. Some of these behaviors may even be ones you engage in without being aware of it!
Smoking: In the short term, nicotine in cigarettes can stimulate dopamine release, leading to feelings of relaxation that people often associate with stress relief. However, nicotine can also trigger the production of cortisol, a hormone linked to stress. Ultimately, smoking does not effectively alleviate the stress you’re feeling.
Drinking Alcohol: Many people turn to alcohol as a way to cope with stress. Similar to smoking, alcohol can create feelings of relaxation by increasing dopamine levels. While it may temporarily numb your emotions, it’s important to remember that alcohol is a depressant. Rather than resolving your stress, excessive drinking can actually intensify negative feelings.
Using Drugs: Substance abuse is another prevalent unhealthy coping strategy. While it may offer a temporary escape, it can lead to dependency. In addition, drug use often creates more problems in your life and does not effectively address the underlying stress you’re experiencing.
Venting: Many people misinterpret their conversations about problems as helpful when they’re actually not. If the discussion focuses solely on how bad your situation is or how terrible you feel, it won’t lead to any real solutions. While it may seem like you’re addressing your issues, it often turns into negative chatter that can leave you feeling helpless and increase your stress levels.
Over-Analyzing or Over-Thinking: This occurs when you obsessively dwell on your problems rather than engaging in productive thinking aimed at finding solutions or making decisions. Instead, you end up fixating on negative emotions, their causes, and potential consequences. This pattern of thinking can actually heighten your stress levels.
Negative Self-Talk: Negative self-talk occurs when your inner voice becomes overly critical and harsh. It involves pessimistic thoughts and negative assumptions about yourself. While it may begin as a way to protect you from making poor decisions, it can quickly turn into a harmful habit. Although it might seem like a safeguard against failure or hurt, it ultimately adds more stress to your life.
Emotional or Stress Eating: About a quarter of people admit to turning to comfort foods like chips or ice cream when they’re stressed. This behavior often serves as a way to suppress, soothe, or numb negative emotions. Many tend to reach for high-fat and sugary foods, which can actually worsen stress levels. Ultimately, emotional eating can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. It’s another negative coping strategy that creates more issues without addressing the underlying stress you initially tried to manage.
Sleeping Too Much: While sleep is essential for restoring your energy and managing stress, oversleeping can become a way to escape from life’s pressures, which isn’t healthy. When you wake up, the stress will still be present; it doesn’t simply disappear. In fact, avoiding the issue can make the stress even worse until you confront it.
Overspending: Overspending is a behavior often used to escape or alleviate negative feelings such as stress. Similar to smoking or drinking, making a purchase releases dopamine, creating a sense of relaxation that can feel like stress relief. However, spending beyond your means can ultimately backfire and lead to even more stress in the long run.
Excessive Screen Time: Just like oversleeping, there’s a fine line between healthy and excessive screen time. When you use social media, TV, or video games to numb negative emotions like stress, or to avoid daily responsibilities, it transforms into an unhealthy coping mechanism.
Avoiding: Avoidance as a coping strategy involves denying, minimizing, or sidestepping direct engagement with stress. Sometimes it’s more obvious than at other times. A clear example of avoidance is denying that there are issues in your relationship. A subtler form of avoidance might be spending time with friends to cope instead of addressing the problems with your partner. The downside of avoidant coping strategies is that they prevent you from confronting the stressful situation, which means you’re not alleviating the stress you’re experiencing.
Healthy coping strategies
Now let’s look at some types of healthy coping strategies people use to deal with stressful situations. If you are removing unhelpful strategies from your toolbox, best to have some good ones to put in their place!
Positive Self-Talk: Positive self-talk is an inner dialogue that boosts your self-esteem and encourages a positive outlook on your life. Rather than allowing negative thoughts to dominate your mind, fostering a positive stream of thoughts about yourself and your circumstances is a far healthier way to manage stress. This approach enhances your confidence in handling stressful situations, relaxes your body, clears your mind, and aids in making better decisions.
Gratitude: Gratitude involves appreciating the meaningful and valuable aspects of your life. This could include anything from having a warm place to live and access to fresh food, to simply enjoying the sunshine. Taking a few moments each day to recognize and acknowledge what you’re grateful for can enhance your perspective, uplift your mood, and foster a more positive outlook during stressful times.
Reframing: Reframing is the process of transforming negative thoughts into more constructive ones. The goal is to adopt a more flexible mindset about your situation, fostering a sense of control. By learning to identify unhelpful or negative thoughts, you can replace them with positive and supportive ones, gaining a fresh perspective on your circumstances.
Seeking Support from Loved Ones: There’s a distinction between simply venting and discussing your problems with those you care about. When you seek support from loved ones, you’re addressing the stressful situation in order to find solutions or gain a new perspective. Rather than fixating on what went wrong, you’re actively looking for ways to navigate and overcome the stress you’re facing.
Relaxation Techniques: Relaxation techniques are effective methods for reducing anxiety and tension. Two particularly helpful approaches are mindfulness and meditation. Both incorporate deep breathing, which has been proven to soothe the body and alleviate stress. To learn more about mindfulness and meditation, along with some techniques to try, be sure to check out our blog posts!
Journaling: Journaling benefits you in two key ways. First, it allows you to pinpoint the sources of your stress. Second, it helps you recognize patterns of negative self-talk, such as all-or-nothing thinking, future predictions, blame, or catastrophizing. From there, you can apply positive self-talk and reframing techniques to help alleviate your stress.
Regular Physical Activity: Research indicates that regular physical activity can effectively reduce stress. Exercise, unlike many negative coping strategies, boosts feel-good hormones like dopamine! You don’t need to engage in intense workouts to reap the benefits; even a simple walk, hike, or yoga session can be excellent starting points for incorporating regular exercise into your routine. Be sure to check out our blog post on building your own exercise habit!
Self-Care: While it might not be everyone’s favorite topic, practicing self-care can significantly lower your stress levels! Taking time for yourself helps refresh both your body and mind. This could be something as simple as listening to a podcast, preparing a nice meal, enjoying some herbal tea, reading a book, or, as many suggest, taking a relaxing bath.
Engaging in a Hobby You Love: Many people think they need to abandon their hobbies when life gets overwhelming and stressful, but the opposite is true! Taking time to engage in a hobby you enjoy can actually help reduce your stress. Whether it’s painting, gardening, playing an instrument, or any other activity you love, making time for it can make a big difference!
Embracing healthy coping strategies builds resilience, a quality that helps you manage and overcome perceived stress. These strategies improve your problem-solving skills and help you stay present, ultimately reducing stress. By incorporating positive coping methods, you enhance your long-term well-being! Experiment with different strategies to find what works best for you. The most effective strategies are those you can practice regularly, so you’re prepared when future stressful situations arise!
Want to have something to remind you to make the switch when life feels overwhelming, we got you! Head over and download our Stress-Busting Cheat Sheet: 10 Healthy Coping Strategies That Actually Work!
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