Two of the main types of coping skills are problem-based coping and emotion-based coping. Understanding how they differ can help you determine the best coping strategy for you. Problem-based coping is helpful when you need to change your situation, perhaps by removing a stressful thing from your life.
Coping is a dynamic process that involves both cognitive and behavioral changes to manage stress. There are two major categories in coping: problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.
The two tasks correspond to two dimensions: problem coping (describing whether the person solves the problem or avoids the problem) and emotion coping (describing how the individual regulates one's emotions under stress).
Coping styles refer to the cognitive and behavioural changes that result from the management of an individual's specific external/internal stressors [27, 28]. Researchers have proposed three distinct types of coping styles: problem-focused coping, emotion-focused coping and avoidance coping [27, 29, 30].
There are two main types of coping strategies; emotion focused and problem focused (Lazarus and Folkman 1984).
coping strategy
an action, a series of actions, or a thought process used in meeting a stressful or unpleasant situation or in modifying one's reaction to such a situation. Coping strategies typically involve a conscious and direct approach to problems, in contrast to defense mechanisms.
“Big 4” — a set of evidenced-based, cognitive behavioural therapy-based techniques that help individuals cope with stress and improve their mental health and resiliency. The Big 4 are positive self-talk, visualization, tactical breathing, and SMART goal setting.
The three problem-focused coping strategies identified by Folkman and Lazarus are: taking control, information seeking, and evaluating the pros and cons. However, problem-focused coping may not be necessarily adaptive, but backfire, especially in the uncontrollable case that one cannot make the problem go away.
The most popular taxonomy of coping involves the distinction between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping.
The term active coping in this study refers to coping style that is characterized by solving problems, seeking information, seeking social support, seeking professional help, changing environments, planning activities, and reframing the meanings of problems.
Coping is generally categorized into four major categories which are[1]: Problem-focused, which addresses the problem causing the distress: Examples of this style include active coping, planning, restraint coping, and suppression of competing activities.
Active coping is generally associated with more adaptive adjustment and characterized by strategies such as problem-focused coping, whereas passive coping is defined as maladaptive strategies when faced with stressful situations, such as negative self-targeting and avoidance (Wood & Bhatnagar, 2015).
Passive coping refers to a series of strategies that allows the person to disengage with the stressor by avoiding, denying, or withdrawing. Passive coping can be behavioral or cognitive in nature and often results in the individual to relinquish control to others or the situation.
There are five main types of coping skills: problem-focused strategies, emotion-focused strategies, meaning making, social support, and religious coping.
The general consensus among psychologists is that problem-focused coping is the more effective coping strategy because it's consistently associated with lower stress levels and better mental health (4).
Relaxing coping strategies:
Listen to calming music. Take some deep breaths (deep breathing). Think of a calm, happy place (guided imagery). Tense and relax your muscles (progressive muscle relaxation).
Lack of coherence is referred to as incongruent communication. It is presented by four coping stances which are: blaming, placating, super - reasonable and being irrelevant.
Healthy coping mechanisms include self-soothing tools such as asking for help, attempting to find solutions for the issues going on, talking about the problems at hand and making choices to limit exposure to these same stressors and difficult emotions in the future.
A proactive coping animal may be adapted to stable environmental conditions, whereas the reactive coping style may do better under variable and unpredictable environmental conditions.
An example of an item from the proactive coping subscale is “I try to pinpoint what I need to succeed,” and an example of an item from the preventive coping subscale is “I plan for future eventualities.” Each item is assessed on a 4-point scale from 1 (not at all true) to 4 (completely true).
Reactive strategies are techniques that can provide immediate but temporary relief. Reactive strategies include things like the use of muscle relaxation, deep breathing, and visualization and are especially effective in helping a person cope during a particularly stressful event or situation.