Coping Mechanisms
Coping mechanisms are the methods that we use to manage the discomfort and difficulties that result from the complexity and contradictions that are part of being human. Everyone uses coping mechanisms of one sort or another. Some are more effective than others. The best coping strategies are flexible, adaptable and sensitive to what’s going on in our surroundings.
Coping mechanisms include talking to friends; displacement activities such as going to a film; compensating for a weakness in one area by developing skills in another; imagining how someone else might deal with a situation copying them; idealizing one thing in order to avoid looking at the limitations of something else; fantasizing in order to escape grim reality; denying that there is a problem; making jokes about something serious; projecting one’s own weakness and unpleasant emotions onto others.
The trick is to become aware of which strategies that help reduce stress and also support your own well-being and the well-being of those around you.
