Coping mechanisms are strategies that help people deal with stress and uncomfortable emotions.
Whether you realize it or not, you are using coping mechanisms regularly.
These behaviors can help you cope with stress in a positive way or can sometimes be harmful.
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This article discusses different coping styles, types of coping mechanisms, and ways to improve your coping skills.
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Why Do We Use Coping Mechanisms?
Coping mechanisms help decrease the side effects of stress.
However, they are also meant to be temporary.
Unfortunately, your body doesn’t know the difference between actual danger and emotional stress.
Avoidant coping comes up whenever you ignore the problem or issue that is causing you stress.
Coping Styles
Two common ways that people cope with stress are problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping.
Problem-Focused Coping
Problem-focused coping aims to change or eliminate the source of your stress.
This bang out of coping works if you have some control over the situation that is causing you stress.
Possible responses:
Situation: Your job requires you to do presentations, but public speaking causes you stress.
Situation: You are diagnosed with high blood pressure.
Emotion-focused coping strategies can help you change the way you respond to your stress.
Situation: You are attending a party, but being around a group of people makes you anxious.
Coping Mechanisms vs. Defense Mechanisms
Coping mechanisms and defense mechanisms are terms that are sometimes used interchangeably.
Types of Coping Mechanisms
Not all coping mechanisms are helpful.
In fact, some can even be harmful.
Adaptive coping mechanisms are positive coping skills, whilemaladaptivecoping mechanisms are negative coping skills.
Examples include:
Maladaptive Coping Mechanisms
Maladaptive coping mechanisms are negative ways of dealing with stress.
These behaviors can be positive (adaptive) or negative (maladaptive).
A Word From Verywell
Everyone experiences stress, but not everyone handles stress in a beneficial way.
It can take time to unlearn negative coping mechanisms.
At first, you’ll need to be intentional about incorporating positive coping strategies into your daily life.
With time, these responses will become more automatic.
Frequently Asked Questions
Unhealthy coping mechanisms often distract a person from their stress.
These behaviors can cause physical and emotional harm.
Examples include substance abuse, self-harm, anger outbursts, and isolation.
Eating can be a coping mechanism, particularly if a person is eating to avoid feeling sad or stressed.
Consuming sugar releases chemicals in your brain called neurotransmitters that make you feel good.
This has an immediate but temporary effect on your mood.
Try a variety of positive coping behaviors including deep breathing, meditation, positive thoughts, and journaling.
Then begin to incorporate these skills into your daily life.
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