There are many different ways people cope with stress.  Some are positive and helpful, and some are destructive and can even make stress worse.  It’s very important to deal with stress in a positive way, because negative methods often do end up increasing stress levels, either directly or indirectly.

Positive Ways of Coping with Stress:

  • Laughing, giggling, and watching comedies that help you laugh.
  • Taking a relaxing bath or shower.
  • Being creative by writing, painting, drawing, or playing music.
  • Gardening.
  • Going out with friends to dinner, movies, shopping, etc.
  • Listening to music.
  • Playing with pets.
  • Taking part in religious activities.
  • Exercising.
  • Taking walks.
  • Talking to friends or loved ones.
  • Meditation.
  • Yoga.
  • Spending time outdoors.

Negative Ways to Cope with Stress:

  • Drugs.
  • Excessive drinking.
  • Overeating, especially binge eating junk food.
  • Yelling at the people around you.
  • Becoming violent, screaming, hitting people or things, throwing things, kicking things, etc.
  • Smoking cigarettes.
  • Biting your fingernails.
  • Becoming overly critical of yourself.
  • Taking part in dangerous activities like driving too fast, skydiving, or other dangerous activities.
  • Avoiding contact with friends or others.

If you do find yourself using one of these negative coping methods, try to immediately catch yourself and switch to something positive.  Using these negative coping mechanisms will only serve to make your sress worse in the end.  Learning to recognize when you’re using these negative methods is vital.  Once you learn how to recognize when you’re doing it, you can train yourself to replace these negative methods with positive methods that will actually help you heal.

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