The Importance of Coping Skills to Manage Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
Written by Kyana Tavares
Mental health affects the way we think, act, and feel, which is why it is important to acknowledge how crucial taking care of yourself is. In the past few years, people have been through an array of emotions that they may be unable to cope with. The way in which we handle stressful situations relates to the choices we make at every stage of our lives. Being able to acknowledge that you need help can benefit you and the people around you, especially for those who also need help and look at others as motivation to do and be better. People may fall into the habit of finding comfort in substance use to temporarily stop their feelings from overwhelming them. Finding the right coping skills, such as asking for support, and establishing healthy boundaries will help to find emotion-focused coping strategies. I would like to share a close friend’s story about how she was able to find coping skills that helped her on her journey:
“My mental health journey began at 7 years old. There were obvious signs of anxiety and depression. I would get physically sick when under stress. I would get stressed over tests, issues in school, and bullying. It triggered anxiety, to the point where I would show symptoms physically. My anxiety was in the form of a cold, fever, cough, fatigue, and vomiting. I was diagnosed with anxiety at 11 years old when the MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, a standardized test) came around and I was so worried I would not pass. I began to get sick, and I was hospitalized for three days, due to my symptoms. This was when they did an evaluation and they determined that I have anxiety and depression. Depression comes hand in hand with anxiety, the more anxious I become, the more I shut down emotionally and socially. It got better until I was 14 when I experienced my first relationship, which triggered my anxiety and depression again. This was when my mental health began to worsen. Relationships began to put a lot of stress on me.
Anxiety comes in many forms, and my body personally responds to the anxiety by shutting itself down. It has been something I have battled for an exceedingly long time. And even with coping skills, it can be a tough process. I began seeing someone for my anxiety when I was 17. Counseling was helpful, it helped me to learn coping skills, but the talking was a bit difficult for me, especially regarding personal trauma. It was hard to relive some of the hardships I had faced and sometimes reliving those thoughts is triggering. But once you have coping skills in place, it makes the transition not as hard. When one is experiencing anxiety, it feels almost impossible to get down from that worrisome place. But when you have those skills, you anchor yourself to reality and try to worry more about the things that are in your control, like my breathing and how I face situations.”
Coping skills help people minimize stress and manage how to make their bodies respond better physically and mentally. A coping skill that is often found to be helpful is breathing into a bag. It may sound simple but when you begin to hyperventilate, breathing into a bag may regulate your breathing. When having an anxiety attack, you can feel like you are not or cannot breathe, and the image of the bag inflating and deflating anchors you back to reality. Once you acknowledge that you are breathing, it helps you to relax and bring your breath back to a normal level.
Sometimes, when experiencing an anxiety attack, you have an increased heart rate and you may feel nervous, and not react in a way that you would normally. Having a friend to speak to you during this time can also help you anchor yourself. Anxiety is different for everyone; some have more severe cases than others. The key to overcoming mental health adversities is to always prioritize yourself, focus on your progress, and try your hardest to take everything day by day.