Mental Health Coping Skills: What, When, and Why

When managing mental health issues, developing coping skills can be a powerful tool. Coping skills are strategies that can help you manage stress, anxiety, and other difficult feelings. They can help you to stay connected to your mental health and to identify and manage triggers and symptoms. With Purple Sky Counseling, our team of mental health professionals in Murray, Heber City, and virtually across Utah, can help you develop and implement coping skills to help you better manage your mental health.

What are mental health coping skills? 

Mental health coping skills are strategies that help you manage difficult thoughts and feelings. They can provide you with a sense of control, reduce stress, and help you to regulate your emotions. Mental health coping skills can be divided into three categories:

1. Distraction Skills: Distraction skills involve activities that help you to focus your attention away from stressful thoughts or situations. Examples of distraction skills include deep breathing, reading, listening to music, going for a walk, playing a game, or talking to a friend.

2. Relaxation Skills: Relaxation skills involve activities that help you to reduce stress and relax your body and mind. Examples of relaxation skills include meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, visualization, and yoga.

3. Problem-Solving Skills: Problem-solving skills involve activities that help you to identify and address the root of the problem. Examples of problem-solving skills include identifying triggers and symptoms, exploring solutions, and setting goals.

When should you use mental health coping skills? 

Mental health coping skills can be used in any situation, as they can help you to manage stress, anxiety, and other difficult feelings. It is important to remember that coping skills are not a cure, but rather a tool to help you manage your emotions and to stay connected to your mental health.

It can be helpful to have a plan of action for when you are feeling overwhelmed. You can identify situations in which you need to use coping skills, such as before an important event or when you are feeling overwhelmed. You can also identify activities that you find calming and use those as coping skills in difficult situations.

Why use mental health coping skills? 

Using mental health coping skills can have a number of benefits. Firstly, coping skills can provide you with a sense of control and can help you to manage stress and anxiety. Secondly, using coping skills can help you to stay connected to your mental health, as they can help you to recognize triggers and symptoms and to identify the root of the problem. Finally, using coping skills can help you to manage difficult emotions and to regulate your mood.

At Purple Sky Counseling in Murray, Heber City, and virtually across Utah, our team of mental health professionals can help you to identify and implement mental health coping skills. We can help you to develop a plan of action for when you are feeling overwhelmed and to identify activities that can help you to relax and manage stress. We understand the importance of developing coping skills and can help you to develop strategies to better manage your mental health.