Healthy Action
Anxiety can build more quickly when your body has a surplus of energy. By performing the following types of physical coping skills for stress, you’ll soon feel a genuine improvement in terms of tension relief.
- Get up and sing, dance, or play music
- Take a bath or shower
- Read, write, draw or paint
- Watch a movie
- Go outside, take a walk, and surround yourself with nature
- Take a holiday – or at least a break
- Exercise or play sports
- Get some sleep
- Eat healthy food (with a bit of dessert)
Healthy Methods of Releasing Tension
One of the most important kinds of anxiety coping skills for adults is to slow down your thought processes, and find a comfortable rhythm that will put you in greater harmony with the world. Finding a way to de-stress is largely a matter of learning how to feel positive again.
For Effective Personal Anxiety Management, Try These:
- Practise slow, deep breathing exercises
- Perform meditation and relaxation techniques
- Spend time with pets
- Take a nap
- Enjoy your personal hobbies
- Go out and meet your friends
- Have experiences that will make you laugh, cry or yell out
- Avoid artificial and damaging practices such as using drugs or high levels of alcohol, denying or avoiding your problems, or hurting yourself
Dealing with Stress in Daily Living
While coping skills for stress are indeed helpful, an even more ideal solution is to live within your emotional limits and let go of tension whenever you can. These aims can be achieved by focusing on the following tasks:
- Use positive language
- Give and accept compliments freely
- Take on manageable levels of responsibility
- Take note of your achievements and your abilities, to help you build confidence
- Observe yourself, as well as your moods and feelings
- Learn to recognise when emotion is beginning to interfere with your decision-making
- Keep a diary to order your thoughts and add narrative structure to your life
Taking Back Control
When negative thoughts threaten to take over, it is worth shining a light on them to see if your fears are indeed warranted. By asking yourself the following questions, you can begin to calm the worried voice in your head, and replace it with a more rational thought process.
- Why am I stressed out about this?
- What is the likelihood that my fears will actually come true?
- Are there any reasons to be optimistic instead?
- What would my friends think about this?
- What would my friends do about this?
- In the grand scheme of things, is this really so important that it will affect my future?
If negative thought becomes a continuing pattern for you, then it may be worth writing these kinds of thoughts down on paper. The paper can have three columns on it:
| Negative Idea | Rational Perspective | New Idea |
|---|---|---|
| I’m going to fail the next test. | You’ve done well in the class so far, and you’ve never failed a course before, so you’ll probably be okay. | I’ve prepared as much as I can, and I’m ready to share all the knowledge I’ve learned. |
The second and third columns can provide a response to the negative idea, as well as a healthier alternative to it. For example, if the negative idea is, “I’m going to fail the next test,” then the rational perspective might answer: “You’ve done well in the class so far, and you’ve never failed a course before, so you’ll probably be okay.” The third column could provide a new thought to replace the negative one, such as: “I’ve prepared as much as I can, and I’m ready to share all the knowledge I’ve learned.”
Finding Extra Support
Sometimes the feelings of anxiety and anger can indeed be too much to bear, and the standard pressure release valves don’t seem to provide any relief. In such cases, it may be time to seek the aid of a professional to help you manage your emotions.
One-on-one therapy sessions can help you explore the true source of your feelings, while giving valuable guidance in embracing effective coping skills for stress. It is important to know when to reach out for assistance, as a timely therapy session can steer you away from drugs, alcohol, or other such harmful temptations during a time of vulnerability.
Anxiety and Depression Therapy at The Dawn Rehab Thailand
At The Dawn, our licenced mental health therapists can train you or a loved one to manage emotions more successfully during periods of heightened stress. Modern psychological techniques are enormously effective in helping people move away from dangerous thought patterns, and towards a mindset that is geared towards smoother functioning in today’s complex world.
For more on how The Dawn’s personalised approach to anxiety treatment can lead you to a brighter and more satisfying future, contact us today.
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