This post contains some of the best coping skills quotes.
Coping Skills Quotes
1. ““Coping skills” is one of those phrases that we use all the time and have a general idea of what it means, but maybe couldn’t define coherently if pressed to do so. For our purposes, I’m going define it as: A conscious effort to utilize resources to manage or mitigate stressors. The stressors are either internal (in the form of health issues, trauma flashbacks, negative self-talk wiring, etc.) or external (bad shit happening, other people’s drama, all the crazy shit going on in the world, etc.).” – Faith Harper
2. “…choosing the right coping skills for you in whatever particular circumstance you are facing means understanding what’s really going on and why you need them.” – Faith Harper
3. “A freeze response is no more a failure than any other protective coping strategy and is nothing to be ashamed of.” – Faith Harper
Related: Best 99 Coping Skills (+FREE Coping Worksheets)
4. “As a coping strategy, worrying is highly over-rated.” – Ranal Currie
5. “Because, we need coping skills. We need resources to combat stress and prevent distress. And we need mechanisms to manage our reactions to being triggered.” – Faith Harper
6. “Coping skills are the tools we use to build up our stress management skills to prevent a freefall into distress. They also help us negotiate with our triggers and mitigate our response if we are triggered.” – Faith Harper
7. “Coping skills can be any way we react to our interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict to self-soothe. The Freuds (both Sigmund and Anna) called these sorts of unconscious coping strategies defense mechanisms. More recently, Jungian analyst James Hollis referred to them as reflexive anxiety management systems.” – Faith Harper
8. “Empathic understanding of your inner struggles and a willingness to seek out healthy coping strategies to help all parts of yourself are essential to your healing. Without inner awareness and empathy, most coping strategies are not very effective.” – Kathy Steele
Related: How To Feel Your Feelings & Sit With Painful Emotions? (Top 9 Difficult Emotions)
9. “Good coping skills help us manage circumstances without the sympathetic nervous system going into overdrive. Or, even, if you are activated, coping skills can help you de-activate much more quickly.” – Faith Harper
10. “Grounding techniques are one of those can-do-anywhere coping skills that cost nothing and don’t make you look obviously odd if you are using them while sitting on the bus.” – Faith Harper
11. “Humor helps us get through life with a modicum of grace. It offers one of the few benign ways of coping with the absurdity of it all.” – Diane Keaton
12. “I think the best coping strategies are the healthy coping strategies that have worked for us before, so exercising, talking to people we’re close to, working. I think working is actually very healthy for most people to have some place to go and to feel productive and just distract ourselves from our own thoughts.” – Barbara Rothbaum
13. “One of life’s best coping mechanisms is to know the difference between an inconvenience and a problem.” – Robert Fulghum
14. “Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem.” – Virginia Satir
Related: Top 21 Emotional Writing Prompts To Process Emotions
15. “Routine is part of coping.” – Lorene Scafaria
16. “Sometimes I just think depression’s one way of coping with the world. Like, some people get drunk, some people do drugs, some people get depressed. Because there’s so much stuff out there that you have to do something to deal with it.” ― Ned Vizzini
FREE Coping Skills Worksheets
17. “Sometimes you can learn, even from a bad experience. By coping you become stronger. The pain does not go away, but it becomes manageable.” – Somaly Mam
18. “Temporary distractions help everyone who is feeling overwhelmed from time to time. But it is important for all parts of you to understand that conscious and voluntary distraction as a temporary coping strategy is not the same as persistently avoiding the needs of parts of you.” – Kathy Steele
19. “The history of mental health treatment is replete with warnings that if we don’t cope with stressors in conscious and productive ways, our brains will create coping skills for us. And they won’t be healthy. If we keep bopping along, letting our brain try to figure out its own coping skills, it takes over and starts running the damn show.”– Faith Harper
20. “The more coping skills you have in your back pocket, the beer. If you have an array of stu to draw from you are far less likely to fall apart. Consider it a toolbox. You may have a really fantastic screwdriver. Passed down for generations. Your grandpa used it to x the bathtub sixty years ago. That’s all well and good, except maybe it’s a at head and today is the day you need a Phillips head. My suggestion? Try any of these that sound vaguely interesting, useful, or intriguing. There is nothing wrong with having a huge, rolling cart of tools on hand at all times” – Faith Harper
21. “We have two strategies for coping; the way of avoidance or the way of attention.” – Marilyn Ferguson
Related: The Difference Between Pain And Suffering (+Top 4 Tips On How To Embrace Pain & Stop Suffering)
Coping Skills to Regulate Your Emotions
Regulating your emotions is an essential aspect of maintaining emotional well-being. Here are some coping skills that can help you effectively manage and regulate your emotions:
1. Deep breathing and relaxation techniques
When faced with intense emotions, taking slow, deep breaths can activate your body’s relaxation response and help calm your nervous system.
Practice deep breathing exercises or use relaxation techniques like progressive muscle relaxation or guided imagery to reduce emotional intensity.
2. Mindfulness and meditation
Mindfulness involves being fully present in the moment, observing your thoughts and emotions without judgment.
Regular meditation practices can increase your self-awareness and help you detach from overwhelming emotions.
Engaging in mindfulness activities such as body scans, walking meditations, or mindful journaling can also support emotional regulation.
Related: Best 8 Mindfulness Exercises For Adults That Will Help You Regulate Your Emotions
3. Engaging in physical activity
Physical exercise has numerous benefits for emotional well-being.
Engaging in activities like jogging, yoga, dancing, or any form of exercise releases endorphins, which are natural mood enhancers.
Regular physical activity can boost your overall mood and help you manage stress and emotions more effectively.
4. Seeking social support
Sharing your feelings and seeking support from trusted friends, family members, or a therapist can provide emotional validation and perspective.
Talking about your emotions can help you gain insight, process your feelings, and find healthier ways to cope with them.
5. Cognitive reframing
Emotions often arise from our interpretations of events or situations. Identifying and challenging negative or distorted thoughts can help reframe your perspective and reduce emotional distress.
Practice cognitive reframing techniques such as questioning irrational beliefs, finding alternative explanations, or focusing on positive aspects of a situation.
Related: Best 11 Grounding Techniques For Dissociation
6. Engaging in creative outlets
Expressing yourself through creative activities like painting, writing, playing an instrument, or engaging in crafts can be therapeutic.
It allows you to channel and process your emotions in a constructive way, fostering self-expression and emotional release.
7. Taking care of your physical health
Ensuring you get enough sleep, eat a balanced diet, and maintain a healthy lifestyle supports emotional regulation.
Lack of adequate rest or poor nutrition can contribute to increased emotional sensitivity and difficulty in managing emotions.
Conclusion
Remember, everyone is unique, and different coping skills may work better for different individuals.
Experiment with various strategies and determine what works best for you.
References
- Portions of this article were adapted from the book Coping Skills, © 2019 by Faith Harper. All rights reserved.
