How do you cope with stress?

By MAS Team

No one likes to feel stressed, but it isn’t always a bad thing, especially if we can use the stress for motivation. Challenges can help us to grow, learn effective coping skills, and give us a sense of achievement when we overcome them.

Studies have found ​facing challenges is linked to increased positive affect, greater ability to identify positives in difficult situations, improved life satisfaction, stronger physical health, and reduced psychological distress.

Woman standing on top of a hill with her arms stretched out in the air

Common coping strategies for dealing with stress fall into three broad categories:

‘​Meaning-focused coping’ ​includes ​strategies that involve creating a sense of purpose, or reminding ourselves of what matters in a stressful situation. ​Meaning-focused coping has been found to create less psychological distress, and promote greater awareness of benefits and positives, even in difficult circumstances.

 ‘​Problem-focused coping​’ involves actively ​dealing with the thing that is stressing you out. This active approach can involve changing the situation to whatever extent you are able, as well as taking active steps to help yourself get through it as well as you can. Problem-focused coping has been linked to higher life satisfaction.

Lastly, ‘​Avoidance-coping​’ strategies include avoiding, trying to escape or ignore your problems, and not dealing with what’s stressing you out. Studies have shown avoidance coping strategies to negatively predict life satisfaction and happiness levels ​(e.g., Chadda, Singh, & Ganguly, 2007*)​.

If you think that you may adopt these avoidance coping strategies at times, don’t stress! Now that you know alternative more helpful coping strategies, you can identify when you are avoiding your problems and try a different coping approach. And don’t be afraid to ask for help!

 

* Reference: Chada, R.K., Singh, T.B., & Ganguly, K.K. (2007). Caregiver burden and coping. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42 (11), 923-930.

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