Menewsha Avatar Community - Coping Mechanisms: Let's Talk

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Coping Mechanisms: Let's Talk

Hey guys! I'm going to write this in calming colors! :yes:

Posting this at 1.30a.m. is probably high on a list of "Big Fat Ironic Things to Do," but here goes:

Do you guys have any really good coping skills?

What are your coping strategies? Have they worked for you in the past?

Any ideas/recommendations about how to deal with stress? Or loss? Or fear? Or relationship problems? Anything, really-- if it could be classified under "coping mechanism," I'd like to hear it.

Has any suggestion/pattern ever just "clicked" for you and helped you deal with life better?

Feel free to take this personal assessment for Coping Skills if you want food for thought... I took it.
Coping & Stress Management Skills Test

This could feasibly be posted under "Life Issues," but I'd really love a general, analytical discussion on the topic too.
In life, I've been through traumatic event after traumatic event-- it just piled up that way, I guess, not anything to complain about so long as I can manage it properly. Recently, I've discovered that my coping skills just aren't enough to cover it all anymore, and I need new resources. And a really good hug. Maybe some drugs. I would love to go to therapy, or find anything really, but therapy is terribly expensive. The movie P.S. I Love You said it once, I think, "You have to be rich to be crazy."

Well, I am "crazy." Everyone is a little. Sometimes life gets to you. And as a non-rich crazy person (dirt poor & college, woohoo), I can't afford therapy or drugs, so I'm looking into other resources.

Hit me, guys.
What are your coping skills?
What do you do when it all gets too big?
Is there anything you specifically know that you do not do well that you'd like to change?

According to that test I posted up there, I'm crap at asking for help from anyone ever. It's the one category I failed. Miserably. Yay. :roll:

So, here goes. I'm looking for your wisdom. :hug:

Well I'm no expert but I'll give it a shot. My coping skills aren't exactly astronomical but I think I'm doing alright most of the time...except when it comes to exams then it's absolute hell!!!!!!

Okay. There are a few tips that my psychology teacher gave the class a while ago so I'll try and describe one of the techniques he taught us. (although I hardly ever use it so it doesn't eally work but you might find it useful)

Okay the basic idea behind the technique is to change the instant ascociation between stressful situations from a negative, intense feeling to a more relaxed feeling.
The way that he said to do this is when you're feeling stressed Stop, take a deep breath and go and do something relaxing like having a long hot bath or doing something that relaxes you. While you're doing this after you're suibably relaxed rub your thumb of one hand against the crease between your thumb and pointer finger of the other hand. The goal is to do this a lot so that when you're stressed about something you can build up an ascociation with doing that particular thing (rubbing the thumb against the crease of the other thumb and pointer finger) and this will help you relax. I hope I explained this right. But if it's done right then hopefully this will create a calming effect and help to reduce your stress levels. (keep in mind I'm still just a psychology student so I don't know everything there is to know about this but we did a whole topic on stress so I hope that I can help)

I don't know if this will be helpful or not but this helped me understand different stress coping mechanisms. Not all of it will be relivant to you but hopefully you'll find something that'll help you a little. You'll see a 'next page' button so click to taht. There are several different coping methods that range from physical to social to psychological. There are also evaluations of each technique provided so you can better understand what's going on (hopefully). You can read through some of the previous pages too if you want to better understand stress but I doubt you'll want to do that. Anyway I hope that this helps.
Coping With Stress

Lol...apparently I cope very well with stress...didnt read to into this, but here is what I copied after taking that test.

Quote:

Stress should be viewed in much the same way as we view the weather. Although we might not be pleased with a rainy day, there is not much to be done about it. We continue to go about our business in full acceptance of the rain. To deal with it we take an umbrella, wear a raincoat and maybe even rubber boots. Maybe we change our plans a little so as to spend less time outdoors. The best way to battle stress is to deal with it in much the same way. Instead of trying to fight against stressful situations or make them go away, the best bet is to learn how to work with and around them.

Snapshot Report
Problem-Focused Coping
59

Your results indicate that you sometimes use problem-focused strategies in order to cope with stress. Although using these methods is generally ineffective when dealing with situations you can't change or control, they tend to be rather handy when the stressor you are facing is controllable. Thus, in certain cases, it's a good idea for you to take action in order to modify or take charge of a stressor in order to better cope with it.

Interested in full report?

Do you take action in the face of trauma and tribulations, or do you tend to stick your head in the sand? This test offers you a glimpse into the methods you use to cope with stress - and some techniques are better than others. For example, you scored 67 on the Emotion-focused Coping scale. Find out what this means and how you did in the other sections immediately by ordering your full test report.