Healthy Coping Skills make for Good Mental Health.

Children with strong Coping Skills will grow up knowing that they can care for themselves in times of need and manage their emotions in a healthy and intentional way. These skills aren’t just for children, they can help us as adults when we feel short tempered and snappy… when our to-do lists are getting longer and longer… or we have a stressful event coming up at work like a presentation (does anyone else dread public speaking?)

 

What are Coping Skills?

They’re behavioural patterns that help you adapt when confronted with stress.

 

Use them to help better manage:

-Your daily overwhelm

-Mental health struggles like anxiety

-Stressful life changes such as a move

-or Unresolved issues from your past

Here’s a list of 4 coping skills {that we all know but forget to put into practice} to get you started:

Breathing Exercises. Taking time for a quick (seriously quick… like 15 seconds) breathwork session is like a moment of meditation.

Going for a walk. This is good for your physical health and it helps clear your mind because it provides a change in scenery.  Get outdoors to the fresh air to breath in the good and out the bad.

Read a good book. A book can allow you to go into a new world and become the characters that you’re reading about. Allow your imagination to create a place that only you have access to.

Exercise. Some people find it helpful to let out their problems physically. Sprinting AS-HARD-AS-YOU-CAN will let out a lot of physical frustration. Even mild exercise can release endorphins and lower blood pressure.

This chart is a great tool to introduce to your children – especially those struggling with anxiety:

 

We all have different lifestyles and personalities, the coping skills that are effective will be different for all of us.

Share your coping skills for managing stress and anxiety in the comments below,

 

The Live Well Centre Team