Coping skills are essential for navigating stress and strong emotions, but they don’t come naturally. Instead, you must learn them from others, like Jared Carter, LCSW, at Spero Psychiatry and Counseling in Gilbert, Arizona. Jared has years of experience as a skills builder and behavior coach, teaching coping skills that help you manage powerful emotions. Don’t wait to schedule an appointment if you need help with coping skills. Book an in-person or telepsychiatry appointment online or call Spero Psychiatry and Counseling today.
request an appointmentWhat are coping skills?
Coping skills are the things you purposefully think or do to deal with stress and manage strong emotions. Everyone needs coping skills to stay balanced when facing difficult situations, traumatic events, unusual demands, and life changes.
When would I need to learn coping skills?
No one is born with coping skills. You learn coping skills from your parents and pick them up from others. Some people are never taught strong coping skills, but your ability to develop these skills also depends on your mental and emotional state.
No matter what parents may teach, some children and teens can’t process, remember, and use the skills if they struggle with mental health or developmental disorders.
Children and teens aren’t the only ones often needing to learn coping skills. Many adults also lack coping skills. Or they may have a set of coping skills but can’t put them into action when faced with a sudden challenge or excessive stress.
People at every age may need to learn coping skills they can use when feeling overwhelmed by anger, anxiety, stress, and depression. No matter why you need to learn coping techniques, you can gain skills that improve your life at Spero Psychiatry and Counseling.
How do I learn coping skills?
There are many different coping skills. A few examples include:
- Listening to music
- Going for a walk
- Taking a bath
- Coloring
- Playing a game
- Meditating
- Talking with a friend
- Writing about your emotions
- Thinking about a happy memory
- Reframing your thoughts (instead of thinking you’re trapped inside, think you’re lucky to be out of the rain)
When teaching coping skills, mental health professionals use different approaches. For example, they may take a problem-focused or emotion-focused approach.
One addresses the problem and identifies actions to change it. The other focuses on dealing with emotions and learning ways to control feelings. Both may use any of the techniques in the list above and many others.
Your Spero Psychiatry and Counseling provider specializes in skill-building, teaching you coping skills and techniques that support them, such as assertive communication, mindfulness, and how to express feelings.
To learn more about coping skills, book an appointment online or call Spero Psychiatry and Counseling today.