Trauma & Coping Strategies
What coping strategies are in your ‘toolbox?’
“Problems are not the problem; coping is the problem.”
- Virginia Satir
SELF-CARE VS COPING STRATEGIES
You’ll often hear the terms self-care and coping strategies used interchangeably, but they are different. Self-care refers to the building blocks of health: diet, exercise, and sleep. These are foundational requirements for good physical and mental health. Without proper sleep, for example, you’ll never feel physically or mentally well. You may be able to function, but you will not be performing at your peak ability. Coping strategies, on the other hand, are the activities that we engage in that help us to better deal with some of the drudgeries of life. Coping strategies can be individual hobbies or they could be group activities that involve some socialization.
UNHEALTHY COPING STRATEGIES
In general, coping strategies should be enjoyable, but that doesn’t mean that they’re healthy. Unfortunately, many common coping strategies within American culture are highly unhealthy: excessive alcohol consumption, drug use, shopping & gambling beyond your means, video game overuse, over-eating, watching hours & hours of TV/movies, social media/Internet scrolling, sleeping too much, or engaging in risky sexual behavior. All of these things, in and of themselves, are okay, but when you use them to numb out and use them in excess, you’re tipping into dangerous territory that will, eventually, cause physical and mental health problems. In fact, anything that you do to excess and that takes away from healthy self-care can be damaging. Many folks like to read, but if you read to escape your life and to avoid certain responsibilities or social engagements, you are doing harm to yourself. Those who have suffered from trauma and have been diagnosed with PTSD often engage in risky behaviors in an attempt to numb out and cope.
HEALTHY COPING STRATEGIES
Many of the strategies listed as unhealthy can be healthy when done in moderation. Many people like to watch a TV show or two each evening and enjoy a couple beers of glasses of wine on the weekend. There is nothing wrong with those things, except they aren’t restorative. Most coping strategies are relaxing, but not all are restorative. It’s not uncommon to relax as you kick back and watch a funny or heartwarming movie, but watching a movie will not provide restoration for your body and brain in the same way as a walk in the woods or a yoga nidra meditation.
RESTORATIVE:
Something that makes you feel better or more energetic if you are feeling tired or ill.
- Cambridge Dictionary
You might feel temporarily better after watching a movie, but it’s not a lasting experience. Whereas, doing some exercises that retrain & strengthen your nervous system can have a lasting impact on your responses to life’s many stressors. A walk in the woods can be bring a sense of wonder and awe and the beauty of the trees and flowers can have a profound impact not just on your mood, but also on your immune system. In her article for Psychology Today, Dr. Marlynn Wei M.D., J.D. cited a research study by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health that concluded there are 6 major benefits of walking in a forest, including the reduction of anxiety and other negative emotions. The most intriguing benefit is that of its immune boosting powers. According to the study, a walk in the forest can boost the cell activity of the NK or “natural killer” cells that increase your immune system and the impact of that cell activity can last up to a month.
WHERE TO START
If you do a google search on coping strategies, you’ll find many exhaustive lists with up to 100 ideas. There are lots of good ideas out there, but here is a list of some coping strategies that you might not find on those lists that are all incredibly restorative:
EFT Tapping - Tapping has been shown to reduce cortisol, alter brain activity, decrease resting heart rate and blood pressure, and positively influence gene expression. Check out Brad Yates on YouTube for free tapping meditations and enjoy his soulful presence and helpful language to experience some restoration.
Yoga Nidra - Studies have shown that 1 hour of yoga nidra is the equivalence of 4 hours of sleep. It’s a great way to supplement rest after a poor night sleep.
Psoas Stretches - The psoas muscle is one of the largest muscles in the body and is often called the “Muscle of the Soul” because of how it holds onto our stress and trauma. Stretching it out is imperative for good mental health and to reduce pain.
Somatic Practice - Somatic practices aid in calming the nervous system and take us from a dysregulated state to a calmer, more grounded state. There are multiple types of somatic practices ranging from activating your senses to grounding to yoga.
Sound Therapy - Sound therapy is becoming big business with sound rooms opening across the country and spas adding it to their list of services. Music therapy has been around for a long time, but the use of binaural beats and singing bowls that provide different frequencies for different ailments are becoming more popular and can be relaxing & healing to the nervous system.
NEXT STEPS
The challenge is now to try at least one of these restorative coping strategies and then begin to incorporate them into your daily routine. If you find that these coping strategies aren’t enough to address your anxiety, depression, trauma, or other mental health concerns, OR you find yourself stuck in unhealthy coping strategies, please consider adding counseling to your schedule. Certain intervention, such as EMDR or ego state therapy could be helpful to unlocking the pain that you’re trying to numb and engaging in mindfulness in an office setting that is led by your counselor can have a more synergistic effect than listening to an online meditation.
ARE YOU STRUGGLING TO COPE WITH LIFE’S DAILY STRESSORS?
ARE YOU READY TO TAKING YOUR COPING STRATEGIES TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
Begin Adult Trauma Counseling in Columbus, Ohio. You don’t have have to suffer any longer.