What Are Healthy Coping Mechanisms?

Triggers come in many different forms; they can be people, places, situations, or memories that stir up strong emotions. They’re usually linked to past experiences, and when we encounter them, it can cause us to feel the same stress, anxiety, or sadness that we felt during the original experience. 

Encountering triggers can feel bad enough on its own, but how we choose to cope with them can make all the difference. Coping with them in unhealthy ways usually feels better in the moment, but as many of us find out, it often makes things much worse in the long run.

In this guide, we’ll take a look at what makes a coping technique healthy, some examples of healthy coping strategies, and how you can develop them to respond to triggers in healthier, more helpful ways. 

What Are Coping Techniques?

Coping techniques are mechanisms we use to deal with stress, and they often fall into four overarching categories:  

• Problem-focused:  Focuses on taking action to address what’s causing the stress
• Emotion-focused:  Aims to ease the emotional distress that comes with a problem
• Meaning-focused: Looks for lessons, purpose, or personal growth in difficult experiences
• Social coping (support-seeking): Involves reaching out to others for help and support 

It’s common for someone to use one or two of these techniques more than the other types. If a person has success using a particular coping technique, then they’re more likely to rely on that same approach when similar triggers arise in the future.

What Makes a Coping Technique Healthy?

All of the four main types of coping techniques can be used in either healthy or unhealthy ways. To recognize how you’re using them, pay attention to whether they help you face and work through difficult emotions, or if they simply help you avoid or numb them.

Healthy coping mechanisms help a person work through uncomfortable feelings instead of ignoring them or covering them up. With time, practicing healthy coping techniques will actually reduce the intensity of triggers and help someone feel more emotionally balanced overall.

Is Avoiding Triggers a Healthy Coping Mechanism?

Avoiding triggers altogether is generally considered a form of maladaptive, or unhealthy, coping. Maladaptive coping refers to ways of dealing with stress that may bring short-term relief but tend to worsen mental health over time.

However, there are some circumstances where avoiding triggers is the healthier way of coping. For example, people who are newly recovering from addiction should generally avoid situations that could compromise their sobriety, or someone with a specific trauma should temporarily avoid situations that could lead to retraumatization.

Avoiding triggers shouldn’t be a long-term solution, as it only causes their emotional intensity to persist and worsen over time. Eventually, avoidance should be replaced with healthier coping strategies that can help someone navigate triggers in a more constructive way.

What Is a Healthy Coping Mechanism?

Healthy coping mechanisms still fall into the same categories listed above, but they help you respond to stress in ways that strengthen your resilience and personal growth rather than weaken them.

Here are some examples of positive coping mechanisms and how they’re helpful for managing triggers:

Practicing Mindfulness

Mindfulness practices, like breathing exercises, yoga, and journaling, reduce emotional stress by grounding you in the present moment. These practices reel in the spiraling thoughts that can cause you to feel overwhelmed, which allows you to reset your mind and move forward with calm and intention.

Gradually Exposing Yourself to Triggers

Gradually exposing yourself to triggers in a safe, controlled way can help you build confidence and reduce their emotional intensity. To do this, start small by identifying low-intensity triggers and practicing healthy coping strategies while facing them.  As you become more comfortable, you can gradually increase your exposure to more emotionally intense situations.

Thinking Positive Thoughts

How you frame a trigger or stressful situation in your mind plays a large role in how much power it has to affect you emotionally. If you approach a trigger with fear and anxiety, you give it power and put yourself in an intense emotional state before you even encounter it.

Practicing positive thinking reduces the emotional intensity of your triggers and prepares you to handle them in a calm, constructive way. You can do this with daily affirmations and positive self-talk, where you remind yourself that you're strong, in control, and not willing to let your triggers prevent you from living the life you deserve. 

Boosting Mood in Healthy Ways

It’s common to turn to unhealthy behaviors, like substance use, binge eating, or doom scrolling, to cope with stress and triggers. These behaviors will boost your mood temporarily, but they’re harmful to the body and mind in the long run and may eventually lead to addiction.

Here are some healthier ways to boost your mood and cope with stress and triggers:

• Exercising
• Spending time outside
• Eating healthier snacks
• Setting and working towards personal goals
• Pursuing healthy hobbies (making music, reading, art, crafts, board games)

These healthier alternatives will increase your mood in the moment, improve your overall mental and emotional health, and help you respond to triggers in a calmer way.

How to Develop Healthy Coping Mechanisms

Developing healthier coping mechanisms take time, practice, and most importantly, patience. Many of the harmful coping mechanisms we use were learned early on in life, so don’t get discouraged if it takes some time to break out of these old habits.

Meeting with a mental health professional is one of the best ways to learn how to respond to stress and triggers in a healthier way. They can help you understand and heal the root of your maladaptive coping, as well as teach you strategies for building the strength and confidence you need to create a more balanced, fulfilling life.

Reach out today to connect with a mental health professional here at Sequoia, we’re here to help you live the life you deserve.