A Note on Coping

We at Gabriel Counseling Services have created a list of the coping skills we commonly recommend to our patients in order to give our current clients a list of coping skills they can reference, as well as share resources and provide information about coping to the general public.

Although several  coping skills listed may be simple, they may not be easy to implement into your life. Try as many or few as you like. Coping skills are not “one size fits all.” Several may help you. On the other hand, you may find that some of the skills listed may not help, feel uncomfortable, or seem like too much effort. If you try a coping skill and it didn’t work or you didn’t like it, that’s ok; you can try something different until you find one that is a better fit for you.

It’s important to give credit where credit is due. Some of these coping skills were created by us, but many of these coping skills are discussed in workbooks focused on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) skills, are shared in 12 step meetings, or are part of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy protocols.

While practicing these techniques, it is important to keep in mind that, at the end of the day, there is a difference between coping and healing. Even though many of these coping strategies can help manage stress and decrease difficult emotions, they are often a small part of the whole picture of treatment. For instance, if you have panic attacks, deep breathing can absolutely help decrease the intensity and duration of the panic attack. Yet therapy can help decrease, and many times eliminate, panic attacks all together.

If you are interested in scheduling an appointment for therapy, click here or call (317) 678-7337.