The Coping Tools
By Gabriela Guardarrama
The Benefit of Coping Skills
Everyone can benefit from implementing coping skills into their life. In my field of psychology, dealing with daily stressors impacts our mental and physical health. The correlation between stress and mental health can be triggering for our overall well-being. This is why it is vital to have your tool belt ready to access and utilize your coping tools when in doubt. Checking 1, 2, 3. These coping skills are essential to live a healthier lifestyle and manage stress in general. Applying and incorporating these coping tools as a healing method is highly recommended.
Every individual is unique and may have a different set of coping skills that work best for them. There are several methods of doing so. For example, I use coping mechanisms such as: listening to music, meditation, committing to physical exercises, spending time with my loved ones, being spiritual, playing video games, reading, journaling, and writing poetry. Let’s break them down.
1 Listening to music
When someone listens to music, it can teleport them to a delightful world. This sensory experience provides a haven for individuals like myself.
2 Meditation
In addition, meditation can help with relaxing, discovering purpose, and finding a profound sense of self.
3 Committing to physical exercises
For example, for people who want to improve their health physically, exercise is a phenomenal coping skill.
4 Spending time with my loved ones
When people build connections with one another it creates a sense of belonging, which is the third level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs within his model.
5 Utilizing affirmations
For example, utilizing affirmations and creating self-contracts assist with building one’s positive self-talk, which overall improves and increases one’s self-esteem. In essence, a self-contract would look like this, “I am a worthy, committed, and beautiful woman.”
6 Being spiritual
Ultimately, the main objective for everyone is to increase happiness and have healthy alternatives. For religious groups, prayer is a divine way to improve themselves and implore for aid when in need. For nonreligious individuals, coping skills can help with processing difficult situations that one is facing.
7 Playing video games
Playing video games might help some with a form of distraction through the means of entertainment. However, playing video games is not necessarily everyone’s cup of tea.
8 Reading
Intellectually, reading is a superb way to improve the mind and take an individual somewhere else.
9 Journaling
Not only does journaling help emotionally, but also it can assist with labeling and processing one’s emotions. Doing so with your emotions can also be an invaluable form of coping with stressors in life.
10 Writing poetry
The most meaningful example that I have is when my grandmother passed away this year, I was driven to finish writing my first self-published poetry book. This tragic experience allowed me to find my love for poetry again, which directly helped me process my feelings about the loss and guided me to find my muse again.
Other methods may include resolving the problem by being pro-active or finding information on the topic through research. Similarly, finding support from others i.e. friends, family, support groups, hobby groups, and religious institutions can help give assistance. Many people cope by finding meaning in their struggles, be it through faith or other means.
Finding What’s Right For You
Not every coping skill is for everyone, it is on a case-by-case basis. Some people can attempt trial and error for other skills, whereas other coping tools are not meant for every user. This is why it is imperative to comprehend what is the exact skill that one finds helpful. Thus, why do coping skills matter? At times, they do not assist with resolving the issue at hand. The truth is, that difficulties take a good period to solve, but constantly trying to solve these issues can create higher stress levels. Albeit, maybe video games may not solve your broken heart, they can help to give time to heal, which is why the concept of time is the best healer of all. This means that with time feelings become clearer, and wounds begin to recuperate. A person could be spiraling with a broken heart or take the time to take action by committing to new coping skills instead of spinning down, which will provide an opportunity for time to float back up.
And as the old expression says, Rome was not built in a day. Pain takes time to heal, which provides an opportunity for the individual to work on themself. An individual may have a plethora of options to choose from in their personally designed tool belt. As a Mental Health Advocate, I must guide and share my knowledge with humanity. In addition, as a wounded healer, this is a selfless form to serve the public. Therefore, this encounter will benefit the individual to develop more insight on the matter or seek out help in general. Thank you for reading my beloved audience and staying in tune. Until next time, Sayonara.
Work Cited: Carolyn M. Aldwin, Loriena A. Yancura, in Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology, 2004
My Writing Space
By: Gabriela Guardarrama
I hold a writing space
Where I am free to conduct
Free association,
Create unspoken words,
And reflect on the human experience.
I sense darkness and light
Playing tug of war inside me.
Who will win?
The one you feed.
I decided from now on
On this very day
That light will conquer.
As the victor in my life
I quell the feelings of bearing losses,
And losing control over myself
To the degree of ending self-hate.
Once I allow myself to dive into
The pool of healing and holding a space
Where I can recover from my old pain
I will write my heart away.
Hello, my name is Gabriela Guardarrama. I am an Outpatient Mental Health Therapist for
Chrysalis Health. Thank you, The Different Brains for having me on board. I am truly grateful to
share my story and my tools that have helped me thus far during my mental health journey. For
example, I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder Type I at age 19, when my father was sent to
prison. This negatively impacted me to the point that I need to voluntary Baker Act myself for
treatment. In essence, one of my strongest forms of coping is writing poetry. I invite you to join
me and follow along. – Sincerely, G.G.
