Coping mechanisms are techniques people frequently employ while facing stress and/or trauma to help manage distressing or difficult emotions. It can help people adapt to stressful events while also sustaining their emotional well-being. Significant life events, whether positive or negative, can be a source of psychological stress. To adjust to this stress, people may use some combination of behavior, thought, and emotion, depending on the situation.
They also use coping mechanisms to cope with anger, loneliness, anxiety, or depression.
Some may confuse defense mechanisms with coping mechanisms. Although these two concepts may sound similar, they are, in fact, different.
- Defense mechanisms mostly take place at an unconscious level, and people are typically unaware that they are using them. Whereas, the use of coping mechanisms is generally conscious and intentional.
- Coping mechanisms are used to manage an external circumstance that is proving to be distressing for an individual. Defense mechanisms can modify a person’s internal psychological state.
COPING STYLES AND MECHANISMS
Coping styles can be problem-focused, also called instrumental or emotion-focused.
Problem-focused coping strategies are usually associated with strategies of managing the problem to reduce stress. Emotion-focused mechanisms, on the other hand, can help people deal with any feelings of worry resulting from the problem.
Further, coping mechanisms can be broadly categorized as active or avoidant. Active coping mechanisms involve an awareness of the stressor and deliberate efforts to reduce stress. Avoidant coping mechanisms, on the other hand, are characterized by ignoring or avoiding the problem.
Some coping methods, though they work temporarily, are not constructive for a long-term period. These ineffective coping mechanisms, which can often be counterproductive or have incidental unfortunate outcomes, are known as “maladaptive coping.” Adaptive coping mechanisms are those considered to be effective ways of handling stressful situations.
Experts concur that coping is a process rather than an event. A person may oscillate between different coping strategies in order to cope with a stressful event.
People differ in styles of coping or have different preferences to use certain coping strategies over others. These differences in coping styles usually reflect differences in personality. Rigidity in coping is less likely to help than is flexibility in coping i.e being able to find the most appropriate coping strategy to the demands of different situations.
Stressors that are perceived to be changeable are more likely to elicit problem-solving strategies while stressors perceived to be unchangeable are more likely to elicit social support seeking and emotion-focused strategies.
What we can do to protect ourselves against stress and strengthen our prospects for successful coping is to surround ourselves with emotionally supportive relationships. A wide field of research states that emotional support cushions individuals against the negative influence of stress. It’s also crucial to assess your overall lifestyle in the face of significant stress.
Healthy Emotion-Focused Coping Skills
Emotion-focused coping skills can help you deal with your feelings in a healthy way. They may soothe you or act as temporary distractions. Sometimes it’s helpful to face your emotions head-on. Other times, coping skills may help you change your mood.
Here are some examples :
1. Care for yourself: Put on lotion that smells good, spend time in nature, take a bath, or take care of your body in a way that makes you feel good such as putting on a face mask.
2. Engage in a hobby: Doing something you enjoy such as drawing, or listening to music.
3. Exercise: Do yoga, go for a walk, or engage in a recreational sport.
4. Focus on a task: Clean the house (or an area), cook a meal or read a book.
5. Practice mindfulness: List the things you feel grateful for, meditate, and picture your “happy place.”
6. Use relaxation strategies: Play with a pet, practice breathing exercises, and try journaling.
Healthy Problem-Focused Coping Skills
There are several ways to tackle a problem head-on and eliminate the source of your stress. It may mean changing your behavior or creating a plan of action. It may also involve drastic measures, like changing jobs or ending a relationship.
Here are some examples:
- 1. Ask for support from a friend or a professional.
- 2. Create a to-do list.
- 3. Engage in problem-solving.
- 4. Walk away from the stressful situation.
- 5. Work on time management.
Unhealthy Coping Skills to Avoid
Not all strategies help you. Although it may help endure emotional pain, it doesn’t mean it’s healthy. Some coping skills could be sources for greater problems in your life.
Here are some examples:
1. Drinking alcohol or using drugs: Substances may numb your pain in the short run, but they won’t solve your issues. They are expected to produce new problems in your life.
2. Overeating: Trying to “stuff your feelings” with food can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and health issues..
3. Sleeping too much: Sleeping offers a temporary escape from your problems. However, when you wake up, the problem will still be there.
4. Venting to others: Talking about your problems so that you can gain support, develop a solution, or see a problem in a different light can be healthy. But studies show repeatedly venting to people about how terrible you feel is more likely to keep you stuck in a place of pain.
5. Overspending: Shopping can become unhealthy. Owning too many possessions can add stress to your life. Also, spending more than you can afford will only backfire in the end and cause more stress.
6. Avoiding: Even “healthy” coping strategies can become unhealthy if they’re being used to avoid the problem.
Unhealthy Coping
A shortlist of common maladaptive coping mechanisms includes:
- Escape
- Unhealthy self-soothing
- Numbing
- Compulsions and risk-taking
- Self-harm
Positive Coping
It refers to coping mechanisms that result in less stress, increased wellbeing, and effective handling of one’s problems. It often involves changing one’s perspective. It requires a certain level of maturity and an ability to accept one’s own faults.
Positive coping styles include:
- Immediate problem-solving
- Root-cause solving – trying to identify and solve the underlying problem
- Benefit-finding – seeking the good amidst the bad
- Spiritual growth – creating ways to turn the problem into a way to grow spiritually or emotionally
Mechanisms that can contribute to this positive coping include:
- Adaptation – the ability to adapt to different situations
- Aim Inhibition – lowering one’s sights to what seems more achievable
- Altruism – helping others to help the self
- Compartmentalization – suppressing thoughts and emotions to avoid mental discomfort
- Compensation – overplaying strengths in one area to make up for one’s weaknesses
- Conversion – subconscious conversion of stress into physical symptoms
- Crying – tears of release and seeking comfort
- Identification – imitating others to take on their characteristics
- Post-Traumatic Growth – using the energy of trauma for good
- Sublimation – channeling psychic energy into acceptable activities
- Substitution – replacing one thing for another
Not all of these mechanisms are necessarily positive, but they can be used in either positive or negative ways, and using them in positive ways may result in effective coping and personal growth.
Healthy Coping Mechanisms and Tools
In addition to these positive coping mechanisms as previously mentioned, self-care is a valuable method of coping with stress.
Sensory self-care
o Getting a breath of fresh air
o Walking through tall grass in bare feet
o Staring up at the sky
o Lying down where the afternoon sun streams in through a window
o Listening to music
Pleasure
o Taking yourself out to eat
o Being a tourist in your own city
o Watching a movie
o Making art, or doing a craft project
o Journaling
Mental / Mastery
o Taking action (one small step) on something you’ve been avoiding
o Trying a new activity
o Making a list
o Immersing yourself in a crossword puzzle or a word search
o Reading something on a topic you normally wouldn’t
Spiritual
o Attending church
o Reading poetry or inspiring quotes
o Spending time in nature
o Praying
o Listing five things you’re grateful for
Emotional
o Accepting your feelings / being okay with your feelings
o Writing your feelings down
o Crying when you need to
o Laughing when you can (laughter yoga may help)
o Practicing self-compassion
Physical
o Trying yoga
o Going for a walk or a run
o Dancing
o Stretching
o Ensuring you get enough sleep and taking naps
Social
o Going on a lunch date with a good friend
o Calling a friend on the phone
o Participating in a book club
o Joining a support group
There are infinite ways to help you deal with your stress and pain, it’s simply a matter of finding which ones work for you, and in which situations they are most effective.
– Urveez Kakalia and Dhara Mehta.