Do you have good coping strategies?
One of the hardest things about getting through depression or anxiety is figuring out how to deal with stress when it pops up. If you aren’t equipped to cope, then a good day could easily be turned bad if something even minorly stressful happens.
If you’re stranded on a desert island with no tools or equipment, and no survival skills, then you’re going to be a lot more vulnerable to whatever comes your way. But with the right tools and know-how, things are going to be a lot easier and your chances of making it off the island quickly & safely are going to be exponentially greater.
Depression is kind of like that, except in the depression scenario, the more coping skills you have, the more tools and knowledge you bring with you. And the chances of you being bothered (or absolutely destroyed) by life’s stressful moments will get smaller and smaller each day.
So, how do you learn to cope? Below, I’ve given you a few short-term and long-term coping strategies that people (and I) swear by for easing anxiety and stress, and helping those gray clouds turn into blue sky!
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All the tips in the post are for education purposes only and are not intended to replace medical advice from a medical professional.
Coping strategies for “in the moment”
Here are some ways you can cope in the short-term when stressful moments pop up. These are quick and simple to do, but have a big impact.
1. In times of stress, count to 10 slowly.
Counting to 10 probably sounds silly, but it’s such a simple way to ground yourself. And doing it slowly can help your body relax, slow your heart rate, and give your mind something to focus on other than the stressor.
2. Slow your heart rate by taking 5 deeeeep breaths.
As your stress levels rise, your heart rate and blood pressure increase, which causes the stress levels in your body to increase, and the cycle continues. Breathing deeply slows your heart rate and helps your body get back to a calm state.
3. When you’re feeling overwhelmed, set an alarm.
When you’re in one of those moments where it feels like the to-do list is growing and your brain is reminding you of all the things you have to be stressed out about, try setting an alarm.
When the alarm goes off, then you can worry about all of those things, but until then, you aren’t allowed to think about them.
Giving yourself an hour or a few hours to rest your mind can be so helpful and freeing.
Sometimes all it takes is giving ourselves permission to relax, and then we realize that things aren’t actually as bad as they are in our minds.
This is also one of the strategies I recommend in my blog post How to Relax Without Feeling Guilty
4. When there’s too much in your head, write it out.
If you’ve got a lot on your mind, particularly a lot of to-dos, then writing it out is a simple way to deal with it.
Making a written to-do list can show us that what seems like a huge jumble of never-ending tasks in our heads is actually a manageable few things that we don’t need to be so worried about.
Having a list also helps us feel accomplished as we get to check each task off.
This also works when the thoughts in your head are not necessarily to-dos, but potentially things we are worried or anxious about. It works the same- just get all those thoughts onto paper.
Putting thoughts on paper works wonders for showing us that things aren’t as big as they seem in our minds.
5. In times of panic, use your senses.
This works especially well if experiencing an anxiety attack and is one of the most grounding activities you can do. When you need grounded, say:
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Coping strategies to help you long-term
While coping in the moment is great, what really will help us the most is setting in place coping strategies over time so that when stressful moments arise, we are already prepared.
The coping strategies below are ones that you can start now and work on over time. Every little bit counts!
1. Reframe your mindset to promote positive thinking.
Your mindset is a huge part of your overall mental state, so reframing your mindset towards positivity will make a huge impact on your happiness.
This happens over time. Instead of focusing on the negatives of a situation, try focusing on what positives there are and what you are grateful for.
This is the classic ‘glass half-empty vs glass half-full’ analogy, and can be hard to get in the habit of.
But once you get your mindset in this mode, your stress levels will start to decrease big-time.
It can be so difficult to see the silver lining in situations that just feel sucky. But by changing your mindset from “I hate my job.” to “I have a job where I get to listen to audiobooks all day and that is nice”, you are teaching your brain to find happiness in each situation.
2. Practice mindfulness.
Mindfulness is the practice of being more present & aware of what’s going on in your life, your mind, & your body.
This is super beneficial for people dealing with depression because it teaches us to better understand ourselves and our needs. It can help you go from ‘woah, I feel like I am in a very dark place right now, how did I get here?’ to ‘I can feel myself starting to go to a dark place, I think what my brain needs is some fresh air and some social interaction’.
Practicing mindfulness is something you can do at any time- you simply have to allow yourself to be more present in every moment.
If you want to deep dive into mindfulness and learn some mindfulness techniques, I wrote a whole blog post on it which you can read here: 8 Mindfulness Techniques to Ease Depression
3. Build a daily routine.
Building up a routine can take time, but it’s worth it.
Our brains LOVE routine and structure. And a lot of the stress many of us have on a daily basis is due to just a lack of structure.
Decision fatigue (like having to pick out what you want to wear or eat for lunch), feeling like there isn’t enough time in the day, forgetting to do important tasks- all of these are stressors that can be avoided by having a routine.
Start small by adding one or two habits into your daily routine and build up from there.
The best place to start here is by figuring out what parts of your day stress you out the most, and thinking about how you can make those moments more automated to prevent you from feeling that stress.
So if having to pick out your outfit every morning before work is one of those things that stresses you out, then make it a part of your routine to lay out your outfit the night before, or try to come up with a system so you know what you’ll be wearing each day of the week.
Figure out what works for you and try to commit to doing it.
Your brain will thank you!
What coping strategies have you found that have helped you through your mental health journey? Please share in the comments!
If you are sturggling with depression and/or anxiety and want to find your way through it with me, sign up for the FREE 7-day anti-depression challenge ↓
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