Coping mechanisms are strategies that can help you overcome stressful situations. Some methods are more effective than others, and there can be healthy and unhealthy coping methods. A key benefit of coping mechanisms is that they aren’t a “one size fits all” approach. For example, you may have physical or emotional triggers that require a more structured strategy than someone who may have a simpler method for coping with stressful situations.
Healthy vs. Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
You can divide coping mechanisms into two categories: healthy and unhealthy. Anxiety or inability to complete tasks is a normal reaction to stressful situations. Finding healthy methods to manage your trauma can help you quickly recover when you become triggered by a situation.
Examples of healthy coping mechanisms include:
- Taking care of yourself by eating well, exercising regularly and getting enough sleep
- Practicing the Four A’s of stress management: Avoid, Alter, Adapt and Accept
- Connecting with others as social support can improve your resiliency to stressful situations
- Engaging in fun and pleasurable activities
- Practicing mindfulness activities like meditation, yoga and body scans
If you don’t have a healthy outlet for managing your stressors, you may choose or develop coping mechanisms that can harm your mental and physical health. Unfortunately, sometimes people unknowingly fall into unhealthy coping mechanisms because they weren’t taught proper stress management techniques.
Unhealthy coping strategies include:
Abusing alcohol and drugs
Drugs and alcohol may provide temporary relief, but continued use of stimulants and depressants to cope with stress can lead to severe health complications and possibly death.
Over or under-eating
Stress can make you want to eat more or less food. However, food is vital for helping your body function properly, and unhealthy eating patterns could cause long-term health problems.
Oversleeping regularly
It’s easy to assume that sleeping most of the day can protect you from stressful situations, but your body requires regular physical activity to stay healthy.
Spending money carelessly
Impulsive spending may temporarily distract you from your feelings, but it can lead to financial problems and potentially cause trust issues between you and your family.
Avoiding situations that may be stressful
While it seems like a way out of being triggered by stressors, constantly avoiding certain situations over time can become a more significant issue if you don’t address the inciting issues.
How to tell if coping isn’t working
It’s not always apparent if a coping strategy is working. For example, you may realize that you could temporarily address the stresses, but your method may not be effective over time. Or you have a coping mechanism that puts you in more stressful situations than expected. Analyzing your current coping mechanisms can help you better understand what’s working and what can be fixed to improve your mental health.
If you need help determining whether your coping mechanisms are effective, use the following prompts as a guide.
Check in with yourself
The first step to examining your coping mechanisms is to conduct a self-assessment. What initially caused you to develop coping mechanisms? Remember, the purpose of a coping mechanism is to help you accept and gain perspective on a stressful situation, rather than avoid or deny it.
As you complete the self-assessment, try to be honest when examining your coping strategies and effectiveness. The ultimate goal is to understand better whether your coping mechanisms are helping you address situations in a healthy manner.
Are you feeling isolated?
When a stressful situation arises, some people prefer to self-isolate. Self- or social isolation can involve internalizing your feelings and not seeking support from others. For example, self-isolating could mean staying in the house all day or not responding to calls or texts from friends and family members.
This unhealthy coping mechanism can increase the adverse effects of a stressful situation. If you tend to distance yourself because you want to avoid stress-inducing situations, you use self-isolation to cope.
Do your emotions feel uncontrollable?
Sometimes, coping mechanisms can be used to cover up feelings rather than address them. While the goal of coping mechanisms is to feel better, they may help you evade your true feelings. However, they will eventually reveal themselves, no matter how much you continue to cover them up.
Are you feeling physically unhealthy?
Unhealthy coping mechanisms can affect not just your mental health but your physical health. Behaviors like abusing alcohol or drugs and overeating or undereating can lead to detrimental effects on your body internally and externally.
Excessive stress can cause health problems like:
- Headaches
- Sleeping difficulties
- Low energy levels
- Nausea
- Muscle pain and tension
- Upset stomach
- Chest pain
Do you feel like you need more of your mechanisms over time?
Over time, a coping mechanism can lose effectiveness, and you may feel like you need more of it. While it’s known that specific strategies work better for certain people, that also applies to different situations you may encounter. Coping mechanisms can become ineffective for several reasons, like a recent breakup or getting laid off from work. With this in mind, it may be necessary to change your coping strategies once you realize they are no longer helpful or you encounter a new stressor.
In addition, without proper management, coping mechanisms can become addictive. Specific coping mechanisms, like gambling or risky sex, may be used to manage stress. However, these unhealthy coping mechanisms can turn into an addiction with repetitive use. If the addiction is not addressed, the craving for these coping mechanisms can make withdrawal challenging, adding to your stress and increasing feelings of unhappiness.
Do you have trouble controlling urges?
To cope with stressful situations, you may engage in impulsive or compulsive unhelpful coping mechanisms. Impulsivity involves making decisions on a whim with little thought beforehand. Conversely, compulsivity is when an individual feels compelled to perform a repetitive behavior to relieve stress or anxiety.
Examples of impulsive and compulsive behaviors can include:
- Drinking alcohol
- Smoking
- Gambling
- Shopping
- Self-harm
- Risky sexual activities
Using impulsive and compulsive behaviors as coping mechanisms can often worsen your mental and physical health. Therefore, treatment is recommended to help address these behaviors to help you find healthier coping strategies for stress management.
Are you feeling more anxious or depressed?
While healthy coping strategies can be excellent for managing stress, if you believe your stress levels are part of a more significant issue, it may be time to consider whether you’re experiencing a mental health disorder. Over time, excessive stress can contribute to anxiety or depression.
Anxiety is characterized by uneasiness, nervousness or worry about certain life events. Depression is an umbrella term for various mood disorders that affect how you think, feel and act.
Common anxiety symptoms are:
- Hyperventilation (rapid breathing)
- Sweating
- Trembling
- Feeling tired or weak
- Increased heart rate
- Difficulties concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present fear
Symptoms of depression can include:
- Constant feelings of sadness, anxiety or emptiness
- Sleeping difficulties
- Feelings of irritability, restlessness or frustration
- Thoughts of death or suicide
- Loss of interest in activities
- Suicide attempts or thoughts of death or suicide
- Diminished libido
In some instances, you can experience symptoms of anxiety or depression that aren’t as obvious. However, knowing the signs and symptoms of anxiety or depression can help you ask the right questions when seeking professional help.
More subtle signs of anxiety include:
- Frequent urination
- Excessive vomiting
- Feelings of loneliness
- Frequently getting colds or infections
Lesser-known signs of depression are:
- Changes in weight
- Brain fog
- Severe fatigue
- Physical pain
- Substance abuse
How to cope more effectively
With a better understanding of what unhealthy coping mechanisms are and why they aren’t effective, you can take the necessary steps to find healthier ways to manage your stress.
If you want to increase the effectiveness of your coping strategies, here are three tips to help you get started.
Discuss your feelings with your support system.
Talk with your friends or family members about your feelings and any concerns you have. They can provide the care and support you need to manage your emotions and encourage you to seek professional help if necessary.
Speak with a professional.
Mental health professionals, like psychologists, therapists and counselors, can give you professional advice that helps you develop effective coping mechanisms. In addition, if you believe you’re experiencing symptoms of anxiety or depression, a mental health professional can guide you through the diagnosis and treatment process.
Practice stress management techniques.
There are various ways to control your emotions through stress management techniques. From self-care practices, like meditation or yoga, to personal development, like improving your communication skills, there are many ways to improve your coping strategies with stress management methods.