It’s Time to Cope in a Healthy Way
- Victoria Den Bleyker
- Apr 23, 2021
- 4 min read
Oftentimes we are faced with difficulties that threaten our mental stability. Some of these difficulties may come in the form of work related stress, financial troubles, health problems, relationship problems, or triggers related to trauma or drug use. Our natural response to some of these stressors may be to feel anxious or depressed. It may be easy to accept these thoughts and feelings as they are and get swept into unhealthy habits, however with practice you can learn to challenge these unhealthy thoughts and habits with healthy coping mechanisms or strategies.
According to positivesociety.com coping refers to “cognitive and behavioral strategies that people use to deal with stressful situations or difficult demands, whether they are internal or external” (Ackerman). As I mentioned before there are both healthy and unhealthy coping mechanisms. Some examples of unhealthy mechanisms include binge eating or eating very little, taking drugs or drinking excessively, prolonged isolation, over sleeping or not sleeping enough, and compulsive spending. These actions may make you feel better in the moment, but are not healthy solutions. It is important to learn what healthy coping mechanisms work best for you so you can work to minimize your anxiety and depressive symptoms. A lot of healthy coping mechanisms for both anxiety and depression overlap, however there are certain coping mechanisms that work better for one than the other.
Some healthy coping mechanisms for anxiety include:
Focusing on breathing
When you find yourself getting anxious you can engage in breathing techniques aimed at realizing anxiety. Such breathing techniques focus on breathing deeply and lengthening your exhale. The links below provide great examples to breathing techniques for dealing with anxiety.
Aromatherapy
Focusing on one of your senses is a great way to calm and relax yourself. Lighting a candle or putting essential oils into a diffuser and focusing on the scent has a calming effect. Using certain scents, like lavender with has a soothing effect, can increase the calming effect.
Listening to music
Music therapy is an evidence-based form of therapy that is growing in popularity. Listening and focusing on music can bring comfort in times of distress. When anxious, listening to slower music can have a calming effect. After claiming down, listening to happier upbeat music can also help change your mood into a happier one.
Light exercise including walking, yoga, and stretching
As mentioned in the last blog post, exercising is a great way to deal with anxiety, stress, and depression. Engaging in light activity such as walking, yoga, and stretching can help clear and calm the mind.
Journaling
Journaling is a popular and highly recommended tool for managing stress. Journaling can help reduce anxiety by giving someone an outlet to express what they are feeling. It may also give the writer the means to put into words what has made them anxious or triggered them. This can be helpful in the future as you can avoid the trigger or work on confronting and dealing with the trigger.
Taking a nap, resting or meditating
Sometimes anxiety can be brought on partially due to lack of sleep. Taking the time to get the proper amount of sleep to reduce anxiety levels is helpful. If particularly anxious, it may be helpful to meditate or engage in another coping mechanism before resting to help clear the mind.
Talking to someone
Sometimes when feelings of anxiety arise it may be helpful to convey these feelings to someone else. This could be a close friend or family member or a mental health professional. To find a mental health professional we have provided the resources to get started under our research tab.
Reflection and problem solving
Short term coping mechanisms such as listening to music and engaging in light exercises are good for distracting and calming your mind, but it is important to eventually reflect on what things in particular are triggering your anxiety or panic attacks. A good place to get started on reflection is through journaling. It may also help to talk to someone else like a mental professional. See the links below for more information about reflection and problem solving.
Some healthy coping mechanisms for depression include:
Socializing
Depressive feelings can often come about or be amplified by isolation yourself. According to MedicalNewsToday, “direct person-to-person contact triggers parts of our nervous system that release a “cocktail” of neurotransmitters tasked with regulating our response to stress and anxiety” (“Socialization”). This can be especially hard during the pandemic as we aren’t seeing people face to face as much. Some ways to socialize despite the pandemic include calling or voice calling friends, engaging in outside social distanced activities like going on a walk or picnic, and playing online games with friends.
Exercising regularly
As mentioned in the last blog post, exercising regularly can help combat depressive thoughts and moods. Exercising regularly can look different for different people. Going on a walk in the morning with your dog is sufficient for some people, while others find that running or weight lifting can be better mind clearing activities.
Creating healthy eating habits
Eating healthy delivers the nutrients and vitamins needed to the body as well as improving mood. To improve mental health avoid skipping meals, especially breakfast, and try and avoid having too much sugar and caffeine. Like exercising, healthy eating looks different for everyone. If you are concerned about the effects of your eating habits on your mental health consult a doctor and check out the links below.
Finding a hobby
Finding a hobby you love and engaging with it often can be a great way of coping with depression. There are a wide range of hobbies to choose from including reading, hiking, creating art, baking, fishing, etc.
Building and sticking to a routine
It can often be helpful to build a schedule that works for you and challenge yourself to stick to such a schedule. Sticking to a routine gives structure to each day and can help you stay on task.
Working to replace unhealthy habits and coping mechanisms with healthy habits and coping mechanisms is a great way to start to handle and deal with anxiety and depression. For more in depth discussions on coping mechanisms check out the links below!
More Resources:
Focused Breathing:
More Information About Coping:
Reflecting and Problem Solving:
Socializing in a Pandemic:
Healthy Eating Habits for Mental Health:
Works Cited
Ackerman, Courtney E. “Coping Mechanisms: Dealing with Life's Disappointments in a Healthy
Way.” PositivePsychology.com, 4 Mar. 2021, positivepsychology.com/coping/.
“Socialization: How Does It Benefit Mental and Physical Health?” Medical News Today,
MediLexicon International,
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321019#Why-are-we-a-social-species?
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