Dear Reader,
{PSST! Grab your free Coping Skills Workbook here!}
Thank you so much for being brave enough to ask this question! Coping strategies are so simple yet so important. This is one of the main reasons we focus on personalized coping strategies first in {re}connect! Many times people over complicate coping strategies, because they don't necessarily mesh well with their personality. Coping strategies need to be personalized, because we're all different, our needs change + coping strategies vary based on the setting.
// Because we're all different
What works for you might not work for me. This is the reason so many of my teens say coping strategies don't work. Someone has told them "...use this method for XYZ..." The teen uses the recommended method, but it doesn't work for them. They have a different palate - just like food choices. Some people prefer sweet, some prefer salty, some prefer spicy, but it all works for the people who love that particular taste.
// Because our needs change
Our strategies change the same way our personalities do. You would probably think it's strange if a 37-year-old was still being soothed by thumb sucking. I'm sure it happens, but it's not ideal. By the time someone reaches 37-years-old most of them have moved away from the strategies that soothed them in childhood. We grow + change...
// Because coping strategies vary...
The coping strategy you use to get through a long monotone meeting will most likely be different from the ones you might use when you get upset with your colleagues. If you're creative + it's allowed you may enjoy coloring to get through a long meeting. If you love running, you may get use this as a coping strategy when you get upset with your spouse. See how those vary in both levels of intensity + a person's individual choices?
Not sure what coping strategies you can use to help you? Grab your free coping skills workbook from the Tribe Libe! Have more insight on why coping strategies need to be personalized? Leave me a comment below or come chat with me in the Tribe Lounge!