Coping strategies: How do you cope with stress?

Everyone experiences stressful situations. How you deal with them can make a big difference in your mental and physical well-being. Coping strategies help you reduce and cope with stress. There are different ways to do this, depending on the situation and your personal preferences.

Coping strategies

• Problem-focused coping: You focus on changing the situation itself. This is useful if you can actually do something about the problem. For example, in the case of a negative performance review, you engage with your manager and draw up an improvement plan.
• Emotion-focused coping: You regulate your emotions, especially when the situation is not immediately changeable. For example, after a stressful day, you engage in mindfulness or sports to get your emotions under control.
• Seek social support: Talking to friends, family or a therapist can help relieve stress and gain a new perspective.
• Giving meaning to a situation: Reflecting on what you can learn from a difficult situation helps with acceptance and coping.
• Religious or spiritual coping: Praying, meditating or relying on spiritual beliefs can be a source of strength.
• Use humour: Approaching a difficult situation with a wink can reduce tension, provided it does not serve to avoid the problem.

Some coping strategies work better in the long run than others. Healthy strategies, such as relaxation techniques, regular exercise and putting structure in your day, help reduce your stress permanently. In the long run, unhealthy strategies such as avoidance, excessive alcohol consumption or social withdrawal can cause more problems.

Example of a Coping Strategy

A teenager refuses to tidy his room despite repeated requests. A problem-focused approach would be to set rules and impose consequences for not cleaning up. An emotion-focused approach could be for a parent to first take a relaxing bath to stay calm before entering the conversation.

Difference between proactive and reactive coping

Coping can also be proactive or reactive. Proactive coping means preparing for future stressful situations, such as by practising a lot before a presentation. Reactive coping takes place after a stressful event has occurred, such as doing breathing exercises the moment you get nervous.

Everyone has a different preference for coping strategies. By making conscious choices and experimenting with different methods, you can discover what works best for you.