Coping Skills – How to Keep Your Head Cool In A Crisis
Want better coping skills? Here’s exactly what you need to do to keep your head in a crisis and not lose your cool.
Let’s chat about coping skills.
As I’m sure you know, experiencing a crisis is never fun.
Everyone has their own natural response to stress. Some of us are easily overwhelmed while others seem to become more focused and calm when under pressure.
While scientists have found that your response to stress is partly innate, much of it is learned. Yes learned!
Regardless of how well you currently handle stress, you can become more effective with practice and awareness with time and practice. Yes you can!
Here are some key ideas to help you become the calmest, coolest, and most collected person you know:
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 1 – Identify the problem.
Ask yourself now. What exactly is wrong?
What is the issue currently causing you stress?
It might be obvious to you, but oftentimes it’s not.
Before you get yourself all worked up, identify the challenge.
You might find there really isn’t an issue.
Sometimes, we’re good at being dramatic when no drama is necessary.
If there isn’t a problem, great! If there’s a problem then what do you need to do to resolve it?
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 2 – Determine if there’s anything you can do.
Once you have identified the challenge you’re facing, it’s time to seek a solution.
Ask yourself if there’s anything constructive that you can do. Remember your thoughts don’t have the power to change anything other than your own behavior.
But that is excellent – because guess who is in charge of your actions? You are!
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 3 – What do you want?
Really what do you want to achieve in life?
What do you want to achieve today?
What is the new circumstance you want to experience?
It’s one thing to know you have an issue; it’s yet another to know the outcome you desire. And you can’t create a solution if you’re not clear on what you’re trying to accomplish. Clarity is key here!
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 4 – Avoid worry.
Rather than focusing on the doom and gloom that may or may not happen, give your attention to solutions. What can you do to create the outcome you desire?
While your mind is generating solutions, it can’t be feeling worried.
I absolutely love this saying: worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere. You can save yourself a lot of negative emotion by keeping your attention on finding a way out.
Because the truth is a worried person is focused only on the problem while a concerned person is focused on finding a solution.
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 5 – Stay present.
I know it’s sometimes easier said than done but avoid projecting into the future too much and imagining all the horrible outcomes that may never come to pass.
This is how we create worry and anxiety.
If you find your mind wandering to negative places, bring yourself back to the present. Look, hear, smell, and feel your immediate surroundings. Describe them to yourself.
Focus on this very moment right now.
Those who focus too much on the past or future are sure to miss the present.
The past is behind us – all you can do is learn from it. The future is ahead of us – all you can do is prepare for it. But the present is here right now – so live it now.
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 6 – Breathe.
The simplest way to stay cool, calm and collected is to take a deep breath and then another and another.
Relaxed, easy breathing leads to a relaxed, easy attitude.
The solution to many negative emotions really does lie in the breath. Give yourself permission to take the time to breathe, to live life, to give, to love, to reflect, to be present and to just BE.
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 7 – Relax your body.
Stress (which is something we should all actively seek to avoid) releases chemicals in your body that cause your muscles to tense. You can counteract this phenomenon by relaxing.
Consciously choose to relax!
Relax your shoulders and the other muscles of your body.
Try to be loose like a noodle. Learn what a relaxed body and mind feel like.
Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is relax, refresh and recharge. And the funny thing is this: often the time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.
Your mind will answer most of your questions if you learn to relax and wait for the answers.
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 8 – Stay busy.
I know this might sound counterproductive but an idle mind is much more challenging to control than one that is focused on a task.
So keep working on your solution.
If there’s nothing more you can do about an issue, avoid just sitting around and worrying. Find an activity to keep your mind occupied.
If you keep your mind busy working on tasks that are helping your dreams come to light, you will keep your mind right.
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 9 – Be grateful.
Interesting fact alert: Studies have shown that feeling gratitude lowers cortisol levels by over 20%.
Before you work yourself into a frenzy, list the things that make you feel grateful. Gratitude is the best medicine as it helps to heal your mind, your body and your spirit plus it attracts more things to be grateful for.
Notice how much better you feel. Pretty simple way to keep your head in a crisis!
COPING SKILLS
TIP # 10 – Relabel your emotions.
Sometimes it’s just a matter of semantics. Maybe you’re not worried and stressed, you’re just cautious and stimulated. It sounds like a trivial difference, but it makes a big difference in how you feel about yourself.
So rest assured, even if you’re the most anxious person you know, you can learn to keep your head in a crisis.
Your reaction to stressful situations is mostly learned and it can therefore also be unlearned.
COPING SKILLS
You can learn to think and behave in a new way.
The truth is we can’t avoid challenges in life. And we shouldn’t try to – after all we don’t grow when things are easy.
We grow when we face challenges and survive them. A smooth sea never made a skillful sailor, remember?
So once you learn to accept challenges for what they are – a chance to grow – and understand that challenges are what make life interesting while overcoming them is what makes life MEANINGFUL – you will find it easier to keep your head cool in a crisis.
Extraordinary challenges lead to extraordinary victories. Make that your new mantra in life!
Extraordinary challenges lead to extraordinary victories.
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.