How do you cope with stress, anxiety, and frustration?

Do you use different coping techniques for different situations?  Do you have a variety of coping skills you can use?  For today, try out a new coping mechanism!

Part of good emotional health is finding ways to cope with life’s stress–we usually find a few techniques that work for us and stick with them.

However, we can rely too much on just a few coping skills and those may wear thin when the stress increases.  Here are a few very simple coping techniques–pick one (or a few!) and try them out over the next day or week.  If something works for you, keep it in mind!

• Keep your voice calm and steady–it will calm you as well as keep a tense situation from escalating.

• When driving home from work, errands, or school, pick a landmark on the commute that will be your cue to take three diaphragmatic breaths.  Every time you pass the landmark, do your deep breathing, even if (especially if?) someone is in the car with you!

• Put problems in perspective.  When something frustrates or upsets you, ask yourself, “Will this really matter in a week/month/year?”

• Don’t talk about it!  Sometimes, recounting your daily frustrations just reinforces the negative mood.  Instead, let those frustrations go, like leaves floating down a river.

• Imagine how someone you admire would react in your situation and try to emulate that response.

• Imagine your mother or father is watching and behave in a way that would make them proud.

• If you’re at home and feel sad,angry, or anxious, physically move yourself!  I mean this at the most basic level, i.e., if you’re on the couch, move to the kitchen.  If you’re in your bedroom, go to the living room.  Physically moving your body and changing the scenery, even a tiny amount, can help to shift your mindset.

What’s your favorite coping technique?