Coping Skills for Anxiety or Depression 13/30 How to Process Emotions

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Coping skills can be really important for anxiety. They often soothe or comfort us, and they help us calm down and make better choices. However, coping skills do nothing to solve our problems in the long term, and some of them, if used exclusively, can be harmful. Coping skills help us take a break from our discomfort, but also from our life purpose. So that’s why I get a little bugged when I hear that the only skill someone is learning in therapy is how to cope.
Using coping skills to get through a crisis and get calm and then coming back and resolving the problem is the best long-term practice. This ability to pause before choosing an action is an essential skill of emotionally resilient people.

Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC, and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health.

In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

Copyright Therapy in a Nutshell, LLC
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[peterderun]

Love the warning to not be addicted to coping skills and stay in the 'feel good' zone but once soothed, to return to the cause/problem and seek ways to deal/solve it. ❤️👍🏽

[shwetaaaaaaaaaaaa]

To those who don't have time : she begins to talk about coping skills at 6:38

[draapulus]

Summary/ Overview:
0:00 Intro - 25 coping skills/ techniques
1:30 Sponsor Ad - Blinkist
2:56 Story - Argentina, helping out ppl in need, leader where rude, sleept, came back and confronted the situation.
4:12 HALT - Hungry Angry Lonely Tired - Pause, Slow down, use Coping skills to avoid the crisis/ calm down, then come back to resolve the problem in its entiery or part by part. Emotional resiliens.

6:41 Sensory coping skills
1 go outside breathing fresh air
2 take a walk
3 listen to music
4 feeling a comfortable texture
5 smell something pleasant
6 getting a massage
7 exercise
8 hot shower / cold face wash
9 knitting/ sewing/ build something

7:14 Cognitive coping skills
10 write it down - ex brain dump
11 journaling
12 meditation
13 mindfulness
14 prayer
15 coloring
16 guided imagery
17 progressive muscle relaxation

7:28 Active coping skills
18 playing an instrument
19 making some music
20 humor
21 watching a funny clip on youtube
22 watching TV (watch out though, turns off much of brain and can hinder resolving issue)
23 reading a book
24 doing crosswords
25 getting out in nature
26 planting something/ seeds
27 give yourself a facial
28 express yourself thru art or music

8:13 Connection coping skills
29 hug someone
30 pet an animal
31 talk it out with a friend
32 write a letter to someone or write email before talking with them.

8:36 Coping skill addictions
-Which 3 coping skills will you use in a crisis? - in which environment?
-Which 3 people can you call in a crisis?
-If your currently in crisis, some tips.

10:02 Summary: Develop coping skills, make better choices, get thru crises.
10:15 Outro

[MindVersusMisery]

The Now is safe 99, 999% of the time.
Everything you imagine can go wrong is by definition not the Now, but your imagination of a hypothetical (near or distant) future.
The immediate present moment is you safe haven, your sanctuary and your anchor if you want more peace and calm in your life. The Now is the actuality of your life, everything else is thought - either memory (past) or fantasy (future). And thought is almost always a heavier burden than your actual life.

The human imagination is the biggest creator of our worries, but the upside is that a vivid imagination - if tamed and controlled - can be an instrument of constructive creativitity and be an assett in ones life. Many people I know who suffers from anxiety are also very intelligent and creative.

[dailydoseofmedicinee]

Ask for support from a friend or a professional.
Create a to-do list.
Engage in problem-solving.
Establish healthy boundaries (tell your friend you aren't going to spend time with her if she makes fun of you).
Walk away (leave a situation that is causing you stress).👍

[PindarMOD]

I used to find sanctuary in sleep, but even that has become permeated by despair and negativity. One crisis evolves into the next. It almost feels deliberate. Like there is an external force trying to break me.

[theadhdmind]

Anxiety and Depression often goes hand in hand with ADHD. Thank you for such a helpful video!

[MrsDAer]

I have 3 Dachshunds, they give me especially joy, but also nature, as physical movement and they give me structure. It works in both ways, I’m happy and the dogs are too

[judymarkel]

I have always gone for food as my coping skill. Not a good one but it does give my brain something to do. Thank you for this

[vmartha]

This video change the way I perceive being well. Coping is no longer enough for me and somehow I knew it but I didn't have the words for it. It really helps to hear it from someone else. To me, coping is like deciding to stay in a war without winning the war. It helps by providing a timeout, to prolong survival but it does not resolve. What I want is for the war to be over, with the least amount of sustained damages.

[bobbylincoln]

We have to survive and fight this scary brain anxiety. Happy Friday

[a.o.]

Many of the things you speak of helps reinforce what I learned in therapy. I helps me think through what I can do better the next time my symptoms kick in.

[batterly]

Coping skills may not be great mechanisms in the long term but in the short term they are magnificent, especially for those of us who have none, never learnt there were other ways, and always react (usually badly). Thank you for listing them and not glossing over them as irrelevent or saying 'that everyone knows this stuff'. Some of us don't know this stuff.

[blestmomamoe]

This is Awesome!!! I sent it to everyone I know who needs this & others who don’t understand my anxiety!!!!❤️

[Abhi_]

thank you, ma'am, you are saving lives here. god bless you and your family

[cassandranc]

You are such a clear, effective communicator. Thank you for these videos! I wish I could find a real world therapist as well spoken and well trained as you.

[ash_luscious]

HALT
HUNGRY ANGRY LONELY TIRED
Use coping skills through the crisis and then go back and solve the problem
Sensory coping skills-going outside walk music texture smell massage hot shower exercise building something
Cognitive-brain dump praying journaling pmr
Acting coping skills-playin instrument watching tv making music reading crosswalk
connection coping skills--write an email letter
Write down 3 coping skills you can use in a crisis
home - music outside praying
social-perfume/gum running
3 people you can contact in a crisis
no one lol

[amenhotep]

Yes Precisely my dearest. I truly appreciate your videos, you are a blessing to the world.

[carltonpiercey]

I like the HALT. I'm in AA and that comes up a good bit. I've been sober a long time and I am still struggling a lot with anger and depression. I do see a counselor and I am at my wits end with the trouble my mishandling of anger still causes. I decided to get into anger management. The so called free online courses ain't free. I decided to do my own research. There's a wealth of information and certainly I will delve more into your videos. Sounds like your channel alone is a goldmine so thank you for freely putting so much information out there to help people like me!

[Gratefulden]

Mindfulness- counting my breaths, walking barefoot & music ❤