How to Overcome Stress: The Best Coping Mechanisms that Work

Everyone of us has coping mechanisms in place, whether we are aware of it or not. Most of them are very useful, and some might lead to a negative outcome sooner or later. Today, I want to tell you about the most useful coping strategies that you can use. I will discuss useful coping strategies that are proven to reduce stress and let you handle your situation in the best way possible.

A good coping mechanism puts you in a position to handle stress.

Positive coping strategies are called adaptive. Adaptive means to adjust effectively to new or changing conditions. These are constructive coping strategies that promote positive handling of stress and challenges and contribute to overall well-being without leading to long-term negative outcomes.

Emotional coping mechanisms:

These include seeking emotional support, expressive writing, artistic expression, and humor.

• Emotional support: It’s ok to seek comfort in others regarding your feelings and current situation. Although we may fear judgment for sharing our true feelings, more often than not, opening up leads to understanding and support. Reaching out to others can provide much-needed support and perspective. Discussing our problems with others can provide new insights and help us understand our situation better. Saying things out loud is sometimes a better way of thinking about things because it makes us think differently than we do in our head, leading us to new, effective conclusions.
• Expressive writing is another way of getting your thoughts out in a different way. We can also read what we have written later on, which gives us a more objective viewpoint. We can then judge our feelings more clearly and are better able to analyze the situation we have written about. Writing also makes us feel like we have a kind of partner we are communicating with. Writing allows us to engage in a form of dialogue with our past selves, offering a unique perspective on our thoughts and emotions.
• Artistic expression can take many forms. Whether it's writing a song, painting a picture, or expressing ourselves through dance, engaging in artistic activities helps us connect with our emotions. Artistic expression allows us to process our emotions more effectively. We don’t want our emotions to get stuck in our body, so bringing them out in some way is a way to heal and prevent further harm.
• Humor is an effective way to manage stress. It is proven to reduce our stress. It lets us look at a situation from a different pespective and forges a stronger connection to those around us, making us feel more supported. Look at your favorite memes on the internet or watch a comedy with a friend. Laughter engages the entire body, particularly relaxing the diaphragm. We feel freer and in control if our diaphragm is relaxed, so work it out in entertaining ways!

Cognitive coping mechanisms:

On the cognitive side, we can reframe, be mindful, and can learn to accept.

• Positive Reframing: Reframing means to look at something from a different angle or simply calling something differently. We all like a challenge, but not problems as much, so think of your bad situation as an opportunity, see it as a teacher and a way to grow and think of your negative emotions as something that guide you on the way to something better. There is a reason why we feel certain things. It’s that way because it has been proven to be useful to us. You wouldn't want to ignore the pain when touching a hot stove, would you? So, see pain as a guide to change what you are doing.
• Mindfulness involves being more aware of what is happening in the current moment. People nowadays spend a lot of time in their heads, thinking about things that don’t matter as much as they think, because we are bombarded with a load of information, we are not evolved to handle to this amount. A useful coping strategy for this situation is to become more aware of the present moment. This can include exercises, where you just focus on your breath with your eyes closed or consciously eat your food without any distraction, just focusing on the taste and smell. These exercises are very challenging if you don’t do them often, but you will feel so much better afterward.
• Acceptance: If there is no way that you can change the situation, then the best way is to accept things as they are. It also wouldn’t help to fret over what could have been if I had just done X. What’s done is done, and now it’s time to move on. If you focus more on what you can do right now, you will get a stronger feeling of being in control.

Behavioral Coping Mechanisms:

These could include problem-solving, time management, physical activity, and healthy eating.

• Problem-solving: Before you do that, it is important that you identify the problem. If the problem is something you can solve, then you can think about ways to tackle the issue. Write down a list of things that might work, but you haven’t tried before. Solving an issue on paper is a good first step. Again, it gives us a feeling of being in control if we tackle our issues and know we can change things, then they don’t seem that scary anymore.
• Time management is important to master to be able to solve problems more efficiently. Most people feel much more secure with a schedule or having a daily routine that has been proven to work out for them. If we are in control of our time, it gives us relief and efficient time management gives us more time later on to rest and relax, which is another great way to deal with stress.
• Physical activity lets us be more present in the current moment, giving us a deeper sense of mindfulness. It reduces the body’s level of stress hormones and stimulates the production of endorphins, which act as a natural mood elevator and pain killer. And these are only the immediate benefits of physical activity. Your body will also get better in whatever you are doing over time (And look at those gains!), leading to more confidence and a feeling of success.
• Healthy eating is overlooked as a coping mechanism, but everything that improves our body is good for our mind as well, and what is good for our mind is making it us better able to deal with stress. If we have healthy eating habits, it implies that we are not eating as a coping mechanism but simply to nurture ourselves. Having a good relationship with our food is important. Knowing where our food is coming from and how fortunate we are to be able to consume it makes us more grateful, which reduces our stress level. We should also take our time and eat consciously to know when we are full.

Relaxation Techniques

These can involve a variety of exercises and training methods.

• Deep Breathing Exercises: I already mentioned that watching yourself breathe can improve your mindfulness and improve your well-being. There is another way in which it is helpful, and that is to calm the nervous system. Often, we unconsciously accumulate a lot of stress and tension in our body, making our nervous system think we are in danger. This is very maladaptive if we are not. To counteract that, we should take our time to let our nervous system know we are secure. Breathing deeply in and out in a calm and tranquil place makes us achieve that.
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation: While breathing gets our nervous system in balance, muscle relaxation takes care of our muscles being tight. It’s not helpful if our muscles are tight when they don’t need to be. It just leads to a feeling of tension and maybe even pain. A technique to relax them is called progressive muscle relaxation. It’s called progressive because we are going through one muscle after the other, starting with our feet. We first tense the muscles in our feet for around 5 seconds and then relax for around 20 seconds, breathing out and relaxing, focusing on the sensation. It also helps us get in tune with our body, and relaxation really isn’t as easy as one might think, so it needs some training as well.
• Yoga, Tai Chi, etc.: These practices combine multiple benefits that let us handle stress: Physical movement, mindfulness, and even breathing exercises. Be sure to do them at a quiet place, so they will have the best effect. Don’t do these practices with videos or podcasts in the background, but calm music at best.

Lifestyle Coping Mechanisms

These involve getting adequate sleep, spending time in nature, setting boundaries, and pursuing things you love in your spare time.

• Adequate sleep: Sleep is one of the most important things for us, and therefore it has a huge impact if we are doing it wrong. It’s easy to get irritated and overwhelmed by stress if you are not sleeping properly. That means getting enough sleep but also getting a good quality of sleep. You might consider using things to monitor your sleep, like using a fitness watch to see if you sleep well or not. It’s not that easy to determine by yourself otherwise. You can try to change your sleep schedule. Generally, it’s a good start to sleep from around 10:00 pm to 6:00 am. You can also try to change your sleeping position, get a pillow or two more, or try out a mattress that isn’t too soft. It can make all the difference.
• Spending time in nature gives us time for introspection. These moments of quiet and mindfulness can help us look at the world from a different angle, one that isn’t spoiled by what we see online or at our job. We are evolved to be out in nature, so spending time there is the best way for us. Some people can find it difficult to get out there and take the time, but we tend to always feel better afterward.
• Setting boundaries: I mentioned earlier how important it is to have the feeling of being in control is. We might feel like we are not, simply because we feel like we have to agree with everything. This is simply not true. Not only will people respect you and your boundaries much more if you say no from time to time, but you won’t feel obliged to solve everyone’s problems. If you currently do, setting boundaries will reduce your level of stress tremendously.
• Hobbies and interests are a way to relax. We find enjoyment in doing the things we love, and it can be a good distraction from all the problems, as long as we don't overdo it. Every problem needs to be faced eventually, but we can’t do so if we are overwhelmed by it, so rest and enjoyment should be important things in your life. If we are unhappy with our working life and school, we can at least get some amount of fulfillment through pursuing the things we are interested in.

Professional Support

If you feel like you can't handle your situation or feelings without more direct support, then reach out to a professional or support group.

• Professional support: Reach out to a professional who specializes in dealing with your kind of problems. There are psychologists/psychiatrists, life coaches, and other counselors for all kinds of things out there. They can give you direct advice on how to deal with your situation or, at the very least, give you helpful advice. Other people are better able to see your situation objectively than you yourself.
• Stress Management Programs: These can include mindfulness and meditation programs, cognitive behavioral programs, physical or wellness programs, or a workshop online. Keeping a healthy mind is a good thing to invest in. Talking to other people who share your problems or have already come up with solutions on how to tackle an issue can give you deep insights, so try it out!

Embrace changes in your life and you will find a solution

There are many more options you have for dealing with your specific issues. Be open to finding new solutions. It’s really difficult to assess one’s own shortcomings most of the time, so it’s important not to reject other people’s opinions outright. Find new solutions to your problems when you feel like you are stuck. This costs energy, but if you find better coping mechanisms for yourself, you will have so much more energy in the long run. Be curious and get out there. You won’t regret it.