Different types of coping strategies

Previous / Next

Coping Strategies
Part 5 - Different types of coping strategies

Below is an incomplete A–Z list of strategies that have helped people (for better or worse) to cope with immediate, mediumterm or long-term stresses and distresses.

a. Sleep

Getting good quality and regular sleep can be the difference between health and ill-health, coping and not-coping.

b. Breathing

We often tense up in stressful situations, reducing the intake of air rather than the much more beneficial method of breathing deeply. Breathing can give us clarity, helping to relax us and release stuck emotions.

c. Laughter

What is it about the act of laughing that has the power to alter our mood and make our brains and body feel lighter?

d. Voice

Talking, singing, telling stories, screaming, wailing, yelping, howling and growling. Many people find using the full range of their voice both rewarding and liberating.

e. Touch

We all need physical contact. We can get this from being stroked or having a massage. We can also self-soothe through brushing our hair or applying facial cream. For relief and comfort, you can also tap different parts of your body such as the thymus gland in your neck.

f. Stimulants

Some people use drugs of this type in order to function, to be more alert, to enhance their mood and attain bursts of short-term pleasure.

g. Depressants

These reduce stimulation, calm us, slow down our heart rate and help us to relax and get us to sleep.

Continue reading

This interactive workbook and many more are avaliable free at My Self Detective:

Log in / Sign up / Go back

Previous / Next