Coping Strategies - How They Can Work For Us

With the busy lifestyles that most of us have, it is common to experience everyday stress in our lives. It is important, therefore, to have good coping skills and strategies which will be helpful in making the challenges in our life easier. It will be important also to determine what causes us the most stress and what coping strategies would work best for us.

If we make an effort to begin each day by avoiding as many potential problems as we can, it will help to eliminate the stress we may have. This can be done by planning ahead. If we get up a little earlier each morning than is absolutely necessary, we will have time for a relaxed breakfast, to get ready for our day and to do any preparations that are required without having the worry of being late. Having to rush first thing in the morning is never a good way to begin a day. And often a day started in this way will continue along the same path. It is often on those days that we will miss our bus, forget our purse, or our lunch, and the coffee maker won’t work. If we are running late, we’re also not making allowances for any unforeseen eventualities that may happen such as a traffic jam or an unexpected snowfall. I also find that waking up to music is a much better beginning to a day than to the jarring noise of an alarm clock.

Other problems may be that there are more bills than money coming in, too many things to do and not enough time, or overwhelming feelings of career and family responsibilities. For these it will be important to attempt to find solutions that will work in order to resolve these problems.

If potential problems have been avoided as best as possible, and we have attempted to resolve problems with possible solutions, our stress level can be alleviated somewhat. But when we have stress in spite of our efforts, how do we cope with it?

Whether we have a negative or a positive outlook could make a difference on the amount of stress we are experiencing. Are we blaming or are we taking control? Perhaps changing our reaction to the situation may help. Are we setting reasonable standards for ourselves or do we expect too much from ourselves or from a situation?

Good stress relievers are discussing problems with a close trusted friend, attempting to see the humor in a situation, going for a walk, having an exercise work-out plan, enjoying the soothing benefits of nature, having fun, or spending time with a friend.

The ability to be calm, even in difficult situations, will usually help us see things more clearly. And it will help most people around us to be calm too. When we are around someone who always seems to be stressed, it is difficult not to feel edgy as well. To help ourselves live more stress-free lives, it is also beneficial to surround ourselves with people who are calm and have control over their lives.