×
Menu
Search

Coping Skills

Home
|
Specialties
|
Coping Skills

Get help with coping

When life throws you a challenging or stressful situation, it can be very difficult to navigate.
Whether you’ve had a rough day at work or a disagreement with your partner,
healthy coping skills are key to getting through tough times. ♡
You are Not Alone.

Empower yourself by strengthening

your coping skills for life’s challenges.

signs & symptoms of poor coping

  • Self-Harm
  • Overthinking
  • Overeating
  • Working too Much
  • Procrastination
  • Being in Denial
  • Substance Abuse
  • Reassurance Seeking
  • Avoiding a Problem
  • Blaming or Self-Blame
  • Emotional Numbing
  • Disengaging from People or Things

Life is filled with ups and downs. No matter how healthy and resilient you are, we all face challenges we need to cope with. How we react to adverse events impacts our physical health and emotional well-being. Learning to cope with challenges is an invaluable skill, and luckily, it’s something that can be learned and practiced.

  1. Coping skills help you tolerate and deal with difficult situations, thoughts, or feelings.
  2. When you encounter an unfavorable event, it’s not uncommon to experience stress and depression, often leading to physical & emotional responses that are hard to manage.
  3. Without proper coping mechanisms, you may feel stuck, overwhelmed, or even hopeless.
  4. Positive coping builds resilience and results in an improved mood & better physical health.

Our therapists at Heal Talk Therapy know the importance of learning effective coping skills to help you thrive and build resilience. Let us teach you how to strengthen your coping skills and improve your life.

Healthy Coping Starts with Self-Care

Many believe self-care is a luxury rather than a priority. This cannot be further from the truth. Get in the routine of practicing self-care to promote your mental and physical health. Self-care practices can reduce negative feelings, improve your life, and enhance the benefits of therapy.

This graphic shows examples of self-care, like get good sleep, set boundaries, eat well, take a social media break, move your body, connect with others, and manage stress. Contact a Hinsdale PTSD Counselor.

Identifying Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms

In times of stress, it’s easy to get wrapped up in many different emotions. When this happens, you may attempt to cope with your distress in unhealthy ways. Some people turn to drugs or alcohol, become aggressive, eat too much or too little, become avoidant, or even sleep more. Each of these coping mechanisms can lead to unhealthy physical and mental changes, so it’s important to replace these behaviors with healthier alternatives.

For example, learning “assertive” communication is a coping skill that can help you navigate stressful interactions with others, get your needs met, and build self-esteem.

How do you communicate? There are three basic communication styles, described in this graphic. They include being passive, such as thinking “I’m ok with whatever you want,” being assertive, like thinking “Let’s meet in the middle,” and being aggressive, such as thinking “We need to do it this way or else.” Additional examples of passive behavior include believing your needs don't matter, not using your voice, trying to keep the peace, giving in to others, and not saying what you need. The consequence of this may be damage to your self-esteem and people respect you less. Examples of being assertive include realizing your needs matter, being calm but firm, respect your needs and others' needs, stand up for yourself, and tell others what you need and want. This builds your self-esteem and improves relationships. Finally, examples of aggressive behavior include thinking only your needs matter, talking over people, looking out for yourself only, using aggression to get your way, and bullying others or being bossy. This behavior damages others' self-esteem and destroys relationships. Our Downers Grove relationship counselors are here to help.

The Importance of Coping Skills

When faced with a stressful situation, your body undergoes many physiological changes in response to a perceived threat. Stress hormones change the physical state of your body by altering how your body functions. This constant state of stress has unhealthy side effects, such as chronic headaches, digestive issues, memory changes, and insomnia. Being aware of how you react to stress is essential to finding coping mechanisms that work best for you.

People often resort to unhealthy coping mechanisms in an attempt to manage complicated emotions and feelings they may struggle to articulate. Those mechanisms can be destructive and result in further physical and emotional harm. By developing healthy coping mechanisms, a person can learn to cope in a more positive way.

For example, understanding the types of boundaries you set can help you determine the need to strengthen this skillset. Having boundaries that are too rigid or weak, will leave you feeling more stressed and less able to cope. Ensuring you set healthy boundaries is a very powerful coping skill that leads to a healthier you.

Are you setting healthy boundaries?.

Coping skills Strengthening Techniques

If you want to strengthen your coping skills, one of the best ways to do so is by seeking therapy. Your therapist can help you identify unhealthy ways of coping. They can also teach you more effective ways to deal with difficult circumstances and improve resilience.

  1. Benefit from being more assertive, setting healthy boundaries, improving time management, or identifying hobbies.
  2. Develop positive tools such as deep breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation, and self-monitoring.
  3. Learn cognitive coping techniques, interpersonal strategies, problem solving skills, physical tension releasers, healthy limit setting, & diversions.

What works best for you may be entirely different than what works for someone else. That’s why we will focus on your unique needs to explore more effective coping methods.

Establishing Healthy Boundaries to Cope

A very effective coping skill to learn is how to establish and maintain healthy boundaries. Boundaries let other people know the limits and rules we set for ourselves in our relationships. Defining boundaries is a very important step in your healing journey.

A diagram showing the different types of boundaries.

Get Control of Your Coping Skills.

HEAL TALK THERAPY CAN HELP you:

  1. Manage Life’s Stressors
  2. Strengthen Emotion Regulation
  3. Learn Effective Problem-Solving
  4. Build Resilience & Overcome Hardship
  5. Support Your Personal Growth
  6. Improve Interpersonal Communication
  7. Promote Self-Care
  8. Set Healthy Boundaries
  9. Manage Conflict Resolution

Work With a Therapist Today

Your mental and physical health are priceless! Understanding the different types of coping skills can help you determine which coping strategy will help you most. The right coping skill will depend on your particular situation or what you feel you need at that time. There is no right or wrong answer or no one size fits all. It’s totally up to you to decide what you need in the moment. At Heal Talk Therapy, we will help you develop and strengthen the coping skills you need for continued growth! Contact us today to get started.
Testimonials

Real ClientResults.

Highly recommended by therapists.

Meet the Team

Our Therapists

We are a team of highly-skilled mental health therapists and counselors.
We strive to create a warm + welcoming environment for our clients.
Contact Us
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Get in
Touch.
We’re Here for You!

630. 506. 3906