COPING SKILLS

HELLO EVERYONE!

I am Dr Tara Logan Buckley

Dr & Director of Clinical Psychology

B.A. (Hons), H.Dip.Pscych, M.A., D.Clin.Psych

7.04.2021

2

BACKGROUND

3

A little about me

My road to Psychology

Experience to date

Morals

Values

Beliefs

Approach

WHAT ARE COPING SKILLS?

• We ALL have and use them

• Efforts that we make to solve problems

• Thoughts and behaviours used to manage stress

• Coping strategies are the tools that we use to manage our emotions

• Coping skills help you tolerate, minimize, and deal with stressful situations in life.

• Managing your stress well can help you feel better physically and psychologically and it can impact your ability to perform your best.

• Not all are equal – healthy and unhealthy ones

“PROBLEMS ARE NOT THE PROBLEM; COPING IS THE PROBLEM.”Virginia Satir

Author & Psychotherapist

WHY DO WE NEED COPING

SKILLS? TO PUT SIMPLY -

LIFE

Coping usually involves adjusting to or tolerating negativeevents or realities while you try to keep your emotions intact.

Coping occurs in the context of life changes that areperceived to be stressful. Psychological stress is usuallyassociated with negative life changes, such as losing a job orloved one. However, all changes require some sort ofadaptation. Even positive changes — such as gettingmarried or having a child — can be stressful.

Changes are stressful because changes require us to adjustand to adapt. Coping involves adjusting to unusual demands,or stressors. This requires giving a greater effort and usinggreater energy than what's needed in the daily routines oflife.

Stressors: Physical, Behavioural, Emotional,Cognitive and Relationships

WHAT CAN HAPPEN?

Stressors or life events that require coping may be acute, like movingto a new home or experiencing the onset of marriage problems.Stressors also occur that are of longer duration, such as chronic pain,chronic illness or long-lasting financial problems.

In some cases, physical symptoms may develop or get worse when aperson's capacity to adapt to change is overwhelmed by too muchchange.

The effect of many acute stressors that come within a relatively briefperiod of time may be cumulative and profound. Those whoexperience a marital separation, the death of an aging parent anda change in job within a brief period of time may struggle tomaintain their physical and emotional health.

Prolonged coping (negative) efforts can contribute to elevatedlevels of stress-related hormones (cortisol) and to eventual physicalbreakdown and illness. Experiencing too many changes within a brieftime period often creates the idea that we aren't in control of events.This perception contributes to low self-esteem and may evencontribute to the development of anxiety or depression.

Results =addiction, OCD, burnout, self-criticism, hopelessness, physicalpain, psychosomatic

COPING

Reaction to stressful experiences&

Consequence of coping resources

HOW AND WHERE WE LEARN OUR COPING SKILLS FROM

In early childhood:

Self soothing – sucking thumb

Regulation – looking away/Avoiding

Mild/moderate stress, positive coping models,

scaffolding

Adaptive

Overwhelming stress,

maltreatment, invalidating

interactions with caregivers

Maladaptive

HOW AND WHERE WE LEARN OUR COPING SKILLS

Secure attachment • Adaptive coping

Insecure attachment • Maladaptive coping

NEUROPLASTICITY

Stressor

Prolonged exposure

(inescapable & uncontrollable)

Maladaptive Inflexible

Successful interaction

Adaptive

MALADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGIES

Maladaptive coping strategies are not only unhelpful, they negatively impact our mental wellbeing. Such behaviour prevents us from engaging in stressful

situations – mentally, physically, or emotionally – and can lead to social isolation and other diffciulties

Wasting time can be annoying; we are often delaying the inevitable. But when magnified, such behaviour,

known as maladaptive coping, can be harmful. We avoid situations, events, and people, damaging our

development, restricting our growth, and failing to meet our psychological needs.

Rather than writing the email, we empty the dishwasher, check the news on our phone, or stare at our screensaver,

daydreaming.

We are all experts in avoidance to some degree; we put off tasks and get out of situations that risk being

stressful.

ORIGINS FOR MALADAPTIVE COPING

Maladaptive strategies can arise from a disruption to the typical coping development

sequence in response to (Wadsworth, 2015):

Overwhelming stress – conflict within the family, financial hardship, death of a loved

one, etc.

Poor treatment – growing up in a violent environment or not

being given love and parental support, etc.

Emotional invalidation – being told your emotions are not

reasonable, rational, or valid, etc.

Research shows that children placed in such situations are less likely to develop coping

skills involving managing emotions and solving

problems.

In response to stressful situations or not experiencing

adaptive behavior, older children and adolescents may

continue with less mature coping strategies such as avoidance and denial.

While maladaptive coping strategies can develop in childhood, they can alsoappear later in life in response to life events such as loneliness, abuse, andtrauma.

EXAMPLES OF MALADAPTIVE COPING▪ Substance abuse

▪ Emotional numbing

▪ Escape

▪ Intrusive thoughts

▪ Daydreaming

▪Procrastination/ Rumination

EXAMPLES OF MALADAPTIVE COPING

▪Self-harm and Binge Eating

▪Blaming and self-blaming

▪Behavioural disengagement

▪Risk-taking behaviour

▪Sensitization

▪Safety behaviour

▪Anxious avoidance

OUTCOMES

WHILE MALADAPTIVE COPING STRATEGIES DIFFER IN BOTH THEIR USAGE AND INTENSITY, THEY CAN APPEAR SUCCESSFUL IN THE SHORT TERM, APPEARING TO REMOV E UNWANTED FEELINGS. BUT OVER TIME, POOR COPING TACTICS CAN CAUSE ONGOING PROBLEMS INCLUDING:

Reinforcement of fear of particular situations

Avoiding family and friends to reduce the

chance of being put in situations you don’t want

to be in

Limited use of social skills, leading to a failure to

develop or practice skills needed for interaction

with others

Lowered educational and professional

achievement due to avoiding interpersonal

relationships and putting yourself forward

Avoiding difficult conversations, leading to problems being assertive and taking control when

needed

Deteriorating physical and mental health – adopting unhealthy strategies and behaviours will ultimately damage both mind and

body.

ADAPTIVE COPING

Adaptive coping includes cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage stressful

conditions or associated emotional distress. Like social resources, adaptive coping operates as a

protective factor that decreases the adverse effects of life stressors when they occur and that

can also reduce the likelihood of stressor occurrence.

Adaptive coping strategies generally involve confronting problems directly, making reasonably realistic appraisals of problems, recognising and

changing unhealthy emotional reactions, and trying to prevent adverse effects on the body.

EXAMPLES OF ADAPTIVE COPING YOU ALREADY HAVE ADAPTIVE COPING SKILLS, THESE JUST NEED TO BE STRENGTHENED

Active Coping – solving problems, looking forappropriate support, planning, and reframing

Accommodative – adjusting expectations andpreferences to suit the situation and reducestress (e.g., forgiveness and compromise)

Emotional – regulating emotional responses tostress and difficult situations

Behavioural – using behaviour to manage stress(e.g., going for a walk, taking a deep breath, ortalking to a friend)

Cognitive – mental activities that help managestress (e.g., thinking about the bigger picture,pleasant images, or the potential benefits of thesituation)

EXAMPLES OF ADAPTIVE COPING YOU ALREADY HAVE ADAPTIVE COPING SKILLS,THESE JUST NEED TO BE STRENGTHENED Confronting problems

Realistic appraisals

Seeking emotional & practical support – Social coping

Exercise

Acceptance

Religion/ Spirituality

Relaxation Techniques

Sleep

Diet

Humor

Reactive and proactive coping

WHAT COPING SKILLS DO YOU

USE?

PROBLEM-BASED ‘V’ EMOTIONAL BASED

When you’re feeling distressed, ask yourself, “Do I needto change my situation or do I need to find a way tobetter cope with the situation?”

COPING STRATEGIES

Targets stressor

Constructive

Active

Examples: Work on time management, create

a to do list, work on boundaries

Problem-Based

Problem-based coping is helpful when you need to change your situation, perhaps byremoving a stressful thing from your life. For example, if you’re in an unhealthyrelationship, your anxiety and sadness might be best resolved by ending the relationship(as opposed to soothing your emotions).

COPING STRATEGIES

Targets Emotional Distress

Enduring Stressor

Passive

Examples: Mediate, positive appraisal,

talking to someone. Learning emotional coping skills

Emotion-Based

Emotion-based coping is helpful when you need to take care of your feelings when you either don’t want to change your situation or when circumstances are out of your control. For example, if you are grieving the loss of a loved one, it’d be important to take care of your feelings in a healthy way (since you can’t change the circumstance).

EXAMPLE: PERFORMANCE REVIEWYOU OPEN YOUR EMAIL TO FIND YOUR ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REVIEW. THE REVIEW STATES THAT YOU ARE BELOW AVERAGE IN SEVERAL AREAS AND YOU’RE SU RPRISED BY THIS BECAUSE YOU THOUGHT YOU WERE PERFORMING WELL. YOU FEEL A NXIOUS AND FRUSTRATED.

PROBLEM- BASED

You go to the boss and talkabout what you can do toimprove your performance. Youdevelop a clear plan that willhelp you do better and you startto feel more confident aboutyour ability to succeed.

EMOTIONAL BASED

You spend your lunch break reading abook to distract yourself fromcatastrophic predictions that you’regoing to be fired and become homeless.After work, you exercise and clean thehouse as a way to help you feel betterso you can think about the situationmore clearly.

There isn’t always one best way to proceed. Instead, it’s up to you to decide which type of coping skill is likely to work best for you in your particular circumstance.

BREAKING MALADAPTIVE COPING

Cognitive restructuring

Replace negative thoughts with more healthy, positive ones that reduce the impact of real or imagined events.

Distraction

When a difficult situation presents itself, it is possible to distract oneself from negative urges through music, breathing techniques, writing down thoughts, meditation, etc.

Such techniques can have a calming effect while redirecting attention away from the stressor.

Openness

Research by Barbara Fredrickson (2010) found that approaching challenges in an open way leads to improved handling of stress, finding novel solutions to existing problems, and an increased ability to cope

Thought stopping

Interrupting or breaking the cycle of negative thoughts as they arise can help stop panic from spiralling and the domino effect of negative thoughts.

Self-compassion

Self-compassion releases oxytocin, a feel-good neurotransmitter that reduces distress, increases feelings of safety, and helps us form new connections.

Coping statements

I’m going to face this challenge and handle it as best as I can.

So, it may not work out 100%, but I will give it my best and see what happens.

I’ve been in this situation before and survived.

RESOURCESSEEK SUPPORT - IT ’S OKAY IF WE CAN’T DO IT ALONE. FLOWERS NEED HELP FROM THE SUN AND RAIN TO GROW, WE NEED HELP AT TIMES TOO. ENGAGE IN T HERAPY, TAKE A COURSE , TALK TO SOMEONE, READ.

Coping worksheets – available online

Talk Therapy – ACT, CBT, CFT

Online workshops on coping skills

Yoga

Mindfulness apps, courses or workshops

Reading

Gratitude Journaling

Stresscontrol.ie – Free service due to Covid

6 Minute Diary

APPS

Headspace

Calm

Breathe work

Insight timer

Mindshift

Meditopia

Happyfeed – gratitude journaling

Shine

Colorfy

Reflectly

GPS for the Soul

Finding Optimism

BOOKS AND WORKBOOKS

Rewire Your Anxious Brain: How to Use the Neuroscience of Fear to End Anxiety, Panic, and Worry by Catherine M. Pittman and Elizabeth M Karle, Mlis

The Compassionate Mind by Prof Paul Gilbert

The Compassionate Mind Workbook by Chris Irons and Elaine Beaumont.

The CBT Anxiety Solution Workbook by Matthew McKay, Michelle Skeen and Patrick Fanning.

The CBT Workbook : Use CBT to Change Your Life by Dr Stephanie Fitzgerald

The Mindfulness & Acceptance Workbook for Anxiety 2nd Ed by John Forsyth and Georg Eifert.

Mindfulness : A practical guide to finding peace in a frantic world by Mark Williams and Danny Penman

Coping Skills : Tools & Techniques for Every Stressful Situation by Faith G Harper

Atomic Habits : An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

THANK YOU!

Any Questions?

You can find me @drtaralb

taraloganbuckley@hotmail.com