Coping Skills are methods a person uses to deal with stressful situations. Learning and maintaining good coping skills takes practice, but it gets easier over time.
Upside: Gives your heart & mind a break, great for short-term relief and for getting through a crisis.
Downside: Can’t do it for too long, doesn’t resolve underlying issues.
Examples include: Cleaning, reading, watching TV, arts & crafts, playing games.
Upside: Helps to slow breathing or stop “dissociation” (feeling numb, floaty)
Downside: Sometimes it’s okay to dissociate (that’s how your mind protects you)
Examples include: Doing yoga, meditating, walking on grass barefoot, playing with kinetic sand.
Upside: Great for anger and fear, releases the pressure of overwhelming emotion.
Downside: Hard to do in every situation, must be selective with how and where you do this.