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7 Coping Skills for Anxiety

man on couch working on building coping skills for anxiety

Life can get stressful, and you will likely have to deal with disappointments, setbacks, failures, loss, and trauma. You may turn toward self-medication as a way of coping with anxiety, but this will only exacerbate problems in the long run. Developing healthy coping techniques for anxiety can be essential in living a happy, healthy life. Anxiety treatment at NuLife Behavioral Health can help you or your loved one find ways of managing anxiety. Reach out to us online or call 888.568.2057 to learn more today.

The Importance of Learning How to Cope

Coping involves adjusting to or tolerating the negative realities of one’s life while at the same time keeping a positive self-image and balancing your emotions. Psychological stress from negative changes in life, like losing a job or the death of a family member or friend, can dramatically impact your life, tilting your equilibrium and throwing you off track in potentially harmful ways. All changes, both good and bad, require adaptation because stress and anxiety can be found in any and all situations. For example, getting married is generally considered a happy occasion, yet the mental, physical, financial, and emotional anxiety of planning, preparing, and getting to the big day requires healthy coping techniques for anxiety to get through the event.

Changes to routine also require us to adjust and adapt, often on the fly, when too many changes are forced upon us during a brief time period. The anxiety from these moments can make a person believe that they are not in control of their life or surroundings. Learning ways of managing anxiety can be crucial to staving off the paralyzing feelings and fear often associated with anxiety disorders. In some cases, physical illnesses may appear when you are overwhelmed by too much change, too fast.

Learning coping techniques for anxiety can help you in your daily life.

Developing Healthy Coping Techniques for Anxiety

Coping mechanisms are a vital part of human behavior. They are both necessary for successfully navigating life and essential for a person’s emotional well-being. Not all coping techniques for anxiety, however, are productive. Some people may turn to alcohol or drugs as a way of getting through their anxiety in the moment, although substances will only go on to complicate their lives and make their anxiety worse. Coping with anxiety in a healthy way means managing anxiety both in the short- and long-term, while not creating new problems or disorders that will require intensive dual diagnosis treatments. Our anxiety treatments focus on the whole person by offering therapies that can help you or your loved one develop healthy coping mechanisms and life skills that will foster a sense of calm and capability to handle what life throws at you.

Seven of the Most Effective Coping Skills for Anxiety

Some of the common healthy coping techniques for anxiety include:

  1. Lowering expectations
  2. Asking for help from others
  3. Learning to rely on loved ones for help
  4. View problems through a religious perspective
  5. Maintaining emotionally supportive relationships
  6. Meditating and yoga
  7. Put distance between yourself and the source of your anxiety

Coping is not about finding a quick fix but rather developing a process for managing anxiety. You may alternate between more than one healthy coping skill while coping with anxiety.

Other Ways to Cope with Anxiety and Everyday Stress

It is important to not only be treated as a whole, complex individual with unique and valuable experiences but also to spend time evaluating your lifestyle choices. Some stress-reducing activities can help your overall approach to manage anxiety, including:

  • Getting quality sleep each night
  • Eating a well-balanced diet
  • Exercising on a regular basis
  • Taking vacations
  • Healthy hobbies and activities
  • Avoiding caffeine and alcohol

Find Help for Anxiety at NuLife Behavioral Health Massachusetts

If your loved one is suffering from an anxiety disorder, contact us using our secure online form or call us at 888.568.2057 today to learn how we can help them learn coping techniques for anxiety.