Stress is an unavoidable part of life. Facing pressures from family, work, and health, it’s easy to become overwhelmed and fall into unhealthy habits. By developing good coping mechanisms, you can keep from feeling like things are out of control. It takes practice, and coping mechanisms alone won’t solve your problems. But if you build the skills to manage your emotions, you can better manage through the dark times. These techniques are taught in most drug and alcohol addiction recovery programs.
Coping Mechanisms Explained
We all face our share of ups and downs. Coping mechanisms help reframe your perspective and better channel your emotions toward positive outcomes.
Some coping mechanisms can be destructive, such as denial turning to drugs and alcohol to ease stress. Doing so only postpones your challenges and risks deepening your difficulties.
Good, positive coping mechanisms help you adapt to your changing circumstances without going down the wrong path. They involve training your mind and using your body to see more clearly.
How to Develop Good Coping Mechanisms
Coping mechanisms take different forms. They can be thought exercises, such as focusing on happier moments or looking for alternative explanations for events. You can develop positive coping mechanisms at a drug and alcohol rehab center in San Antonio, TX They also involve taking decisive action. Listening to music, taking regular walk breaks or other activities can be helpful. Sometimes you don’t have to leave the house: Many find it relaxing to color in coloring books.
The important part is knowing that you are in control. Experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine, offer a few suggestions for how to build and practice coping skills, including:
- Making connections with people
- Cultivating a hopeful outlook
- Eating well and taking care of yourself
- Developing hobbies
- Practicing kindness – on yourself
- Accepting change
What are Some Coping Techniques?
Here’s the best news: There’s no right or wrong in coping mechanisms. What works for you might not work for someone else. Keep trying until you find the right techniques that bring a sense of calm.
According to researchers at UCLA, coping mechanisms fall into a few different categories, including:
- Relaxation techniques such as meditation
- Using humor
- Asking for help
- Exercising
- Re-framing by adjusting expectations
- Sharing – sometimes you just need to get things off your chest
The goal is to steer clear of negative coping mechanisms such as denial or self-blame. Need even more ideas? Educators at Rutgers University in New Jersey compiled what they call their “alphabet of coping skills.”
Substance Abuse Treatment Programs
Developing positive coping skills is essential to lasting drug addiction recovery. Substance abuse treatment programs in Weymouth, MA teach you how to develop positive coping skills by overcoming relapse triggers and developing healthier habits. Substance abuse treatment programs in Weymouth, MA include:
- alcohol addiction treatment program
- cocaine addiction treatment program
- fentanyl addiction treatment program
- heroin addiction treatment program
- meth addiction treatment program
- opiate addiction treatment program
- opioid addiction treatment program
- painkiller addiction treatment program
- prescription drug addiction treatment program
When You Need Extra Support
A rehab center advocates for people suffering from substance abuse problems. There, staff recognizes that one size does not fit all. Thus, they provide specialized services in both men’s addiction treatment program and women’s addiction treatment program.
Mastering coping mechanisms takes practice. And sometimes it’s not possible to do it alone. Instead, you need a full range of clinical recovery programs, including trauma-informed care, evidence-based addiction treatment, medication-assisted treatment and more.
