Everyone occasionally experiences problems and stressful situations, but not everyone knows how to deal with them appropriately. Coping strategies are essential tools that help us navigate through difficult times and come out the other side unscathed. This blog post will cover some coping strategies available so you can be better equipped when dealing with problems.

We all have different coping skills.

Challenges, failures, and problems are a part of life. We will have to deal with them to move forward and make progress inevitably. However, overcoming tough times may be difficult, especially if the situation is beyond our control. This is when our coping skills can come in. A coping strategy helps us reorient ourselves and put us in the proper state of mind to solve our predicament. It is common for people to get stressed out and experience negative feelings whenever something unfortunate happens. We may not yet have the solution needed to overcome the problematic situation, so we cope by doing various things that can help reduce stress and put us in a better position to handle our problems later.

People have different coping styles when dealing with problems. These coping mechanisms may have formed due to doing things out of habit or doing whatever we think can make us happy and optimistic for a while. We can choose to do whatever coping mechanism we believe can help us feel better as long as it allows us to manage stress and eventually come back to face and solve our problems. Any of the following techniques can work, but remember that some may be unhealthy coping skills if we drown ourselves in them and never work on our problems again.

1. Procrastination

Procrastination is the act of holding off on doing essential things, which includes dealing with problems. Instead of thinking of ways to overcome your stressful situation, you engage in other activities that don't involve problem-solving. These can consist of doing your hobbies, engaging in random activities you don't usually do, or just spacing out to give yourself time to relax or think. As a result, you delay facing whatever troublesome situation you are having. Procrastinating can be considered a way of avoidance coping, as you distract yourself from whatever is troubling you to give you space and time. While procrastinating is not necessarily a healthy activity for coping, done moderately and not frequently, it can help us take a break to deal with our problem or task better later.

2. Get busy

Some people use being busy as a coping strategy when they have to deal with something troublesome and are not yet ready to face and solve them. Getting busy is a delaying tactic that takes off your mind about something uncomfortable by making you do other productive things. It is better than procrastinating in that you accomplish other things by staying productive. However, it doesn't solve what you are trying to avoid by getting busy, so you will need to eventually address the problem that is stressing you by turning your attention and efforts back on it.

3. Venting or ranting to someone

Interacting and talking with people is a way of coping with a stressful event. It's normal to feel anger and frustration when such things happen. However, sometimes, our feelings can spill onto others, and this can be unhealthy when they become the recipient of our emotions when they have nothing to do with our problems. Some may act unruly and hurt others mentally or even physically. We may turn others into emotional outlets and stress them out if they are not prepared to hear all sorts of unfortunate things from us, especially if they have to deal with their problems. So we should be considerate of who to vent to because we may end up troubling others for the sake of coping.

4. Talk with people in a healthy way

Talking with people is a coping style that can be effective if done correctly. If you plan on talking with a family member, friend, or whoever you want, ensure they are willing to listen and have the time for you. Also, it is a good idea to talk with them while they are not busy or dealing with problems, as you will only add to their stress if you unload on them while facing circumstances. If the coast is clear, then you can proceed. Sometimes, they may notice something wrong with you and ask if you are okay. You can tell them what's bothering you when such an instance happens. They may even provide some help or the solution you are looking for.

5. Write in your journal

If people are unavailable to talk to, you can still unload your feelings by writing in a journal. Journaling is a healthy coping method that lets you express your frustrations without bothering others. It is good for your mental health, and you can go back to your past entries to see how you react whenever something terrible happens. You can use your journal as a source of strength and motivation to improve your mindset, so you won't get stressed out too much the next time something unfortunate occurs.

6. Engaging in some guilty pleasures

Whenever we are in a stressful period, we may not always be ready to tackle our problems, so some of us turn to activities that may not necessarily be good for our health and well-being. However, we still do them to distract ourselves and get away from traumatic events or whatever life stressors we have. Some of them include the following:

• Smoking
• Drinking alcoholic drinks
• Binge eating
• Binge-watching TV shows
• Mindlessly spending money to buy various things
• Playing video games
• Browsing the Internet and scrolling through social media
• Taking illegal drugs (definitely a no-go)

Many other types of activities don't necessarily help us solve our problems. They give us short-term pleasures, but they can become addicting and become a habit, and that's when the danger sets in. You add more problems on top of what you are currently facing. So if you find yourself using unhealthy coping techniques to deal with stressful events, it's best to get help and support from others and utilize healthy coping strategies instead.

7. Take a break and rest

One way to cope with stress is to get away for a while from the stressor, and taking a break and resting can help someone recover and come back better to deal with the stressor. We may not have the resources and solutions yet for our problems, so it won't hurt to take a break first. Meditate, rest, sleep, or relax to ease your mind. These activities bring temporary relief from what's bothering us but put our minds in a better position afterward so that we can think of plans and options available to us to solve our problems.

8. Turning to faith and spirituality

Some people turn to faith and spirituality when they have exhausted every option and method available to them to solve their problems, which remain unsolved. Perhaps one has tried different stress-management and stress-coping techniques but stays distressed, so they turn to the spiritual side for guidance and help. There is no guarantee that things will improve and you will receive support for turning to faith. Still, it at least gives some assurance that perhaps everything will be okay by relying on some supernatural force to assist you while you do your thing to solve your predicament.

9. Focusing on the positive

Think positive. It's standard advice you hear from others whenever you are in a troublesome situation. It makes you ignore negative emotions, feel good, and think positively. One can engage in activities that make one smile and feel better, such as watching something fun, talking with others, or doing hobbies. One can also think positively that things will improve and that positive outcomes can happen. By being optimistic, one can feel more inclined to take action to solve problems and remove whatever is stressing us.

Cope positively

People have various coping methods when dealing with problems or stressful situations. Some are positive, while others may affect our bodies and minds negatively. As much as possible, we should use healthy ways of coping so we don't end up adding more problems to whatever we are trying to cope with. Whatever coping method we utilize, we should remember that they are only a temporary respite from what needs urgency to address. Their purpose is for us to come back better so we can overcome or adapt to whatever is troubling us and handle life's challenges better as they come.