Biruk Baye

@birukbaye · 11 Oct 2021

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Healthy vs Unhealthy coping skills

What are the telltale signs that your coping strategies are unhealthy? And how can you change them to improve your mental well-being?

Coping mechanisms help us to manage and control our emotional responses to stressful situations. Unhealthy coping strategies take over our emotions, and we tend to use them as a first response to any difficulty we encounter in life.

Too much stress can lead to health issues that negatively impact immediate well-being and long-term health, such as chronic pain, lack of sleep, cardiovascular disease, etc.

The Impact of Coping Mechanisms on Mental Health

Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms:
1) Emotional suppression: This is a conscious decision to avoid dealing with emotions and painful thoughts. When we suppress our emotions, we tend to keep our focus and attention on the outside world, for example, on work or other distractions. We do this because it's more comfortable than dealing with the negative emotions that threaten our sense of self-worth or security.

2) Negative self-talk: This is when you turn negative thoughts about yourself into statements that you believe are true about yourself. Negative self-talk leads to increased stress, depression, anger issues, anxiety, etc. Because negative self-talk usually occurs when we're alone, we often feel or sense it more acutely than when we're around others.

3) Social isolation: This is a strategy that helps us to escape from problems and hard times. When you isolate yourself from others around you, you may have feelings of loneliness and isolation. This leads to increased anxiety and stress levels, which can cause physical ailments such as heart disease or accelerated ageing.

4) Alcohol and drug use: This is a habitual response to stressful situations that we try to avoid feeling or dealing with. Unfortunately, we tend to reach for alcohol and drugs in times of stress. The problem is that the use of these substances keeps us from being present or aware of how we are feeling or what's going on around us. When you are under the influence, you escape your thoughts and feelings, but not for long because these substances always catch up to you later.

Healthy Coping Mechanisms:

1) Exercise: This is a good strategy for managing stress and coping with uncomfortable emotions. It also increases levels of endorphins and dopamine, which help to provide relief from stress and improve your mood.

2) Meditation: This is a great strategy for focusing your attention on yourself and getting in touch with yourself. Most people think of meditation as a relaxation technique, but it's also a great way to identify your true values and goals. And it allows you to experience the present moment without judgment or preconceived notions about how you "should" feel or act.

3) Mental Health Assessment: This is often covered in this article within the topic of healthy behaviours. However, it's important to note that it can be a great strategy for controlling your emotions and managing stress. And it can help you identify the best strategies for coping with difficult emotions and situations.

4) Self-Compassion: This is a technique that helps us to become more comfortable with uncomfortable emotions. Self-compassion involves an attitude of kindness towards yourself by recognizing your emotional reactions without judgment or criticism. It helps us to accept how we feel and will help us develop more compassion towards ourselves.