Healthy Coping Skills

As much as we try to promote wellness, support our mental health, and create a healthy lifestyle, it is very normal to experience periods of unpleasant emotions. Feelings of stress, anxiety, and or depression are a part of everyone's life and it is important to acknowledge when you are feeling this way. It is not realistic to expect to feel happy all of the time. What is important is to learn how you can handle these uncomfortable times in healthy ways. Learning what works best for you will take time and experience. You can reflect on what has helped you overcome difficult feelings in the past as you build your collection of healthy coping skills. An important part of self-care is giving yourself the extra time and attention you need when you are not feeling your best.

The first step in coping with unpleasant feelings is being able to recognize when you are not feeling well. Learn what stress, anxiety, and/or depression looks like in your life. This might be excessive tiredness, avoiding things you usually enjoy, or feelings of hopelessness. Often we are aware of when we are feeling down, but may focus our time on trying to understand what causes us to feel this way. While it is important to recognize what triggered your feelings and it can be helpful to make changes when possible, sometimes there isn't a clear cause and the best we can do is learn how to make these times less difficult. Think about the last time you felt unhappy. Whatever caused you to feel that way, how did you handle the situation? Think about the things you do to try and make yourself feel better. Some may be unhealthy ways of responding to the situation, but you likely have healthy coping skills that you can rely on. With those in mind, take some time to review some of the coping skills we have listed here and consider what might work best for you. The best way to find out if a coping skill is effective for you is to try it and see how it affects your mood. Here are some ways for you to try!

• Exercise or play sports

• Have a warm shower or bath

• Go for a walk

• Cry

• Spend time on a hobby

• Laugh

• Read

• Journal

• Do some meditation

• Do something creative

• Schedule time for yourself

• Clean and organize your space

• Keep a list of things that make you happy

• Reach out for support

• Spend time with friends

• Eat healthy

• Take ten deep breaths

• Practice gratitude

• Get plenty of sleep

• Take a break

• Get outside in the sunlight

• Identify your strengths

• Write a list of goals

• Get professional help

As you begin to discover what works best for you, create a collection somewhere of your coping skills that you can refer to when you're feeling unwell. Be open to trying new things and simply see how it feels, if something doesn't feel right for you don't do it! Give yourself time and space to work through difficult periods, in time you will build resilience and learn how to better handle unpleasant feelings.