Mental Health Techniques
- haltonyouthpfaproj
- Nov 19, 2021
- 6 min read
By Felishia Tian and Justin Kang
Having healthy coping strategies can help you manage your stress and anxiety. These strategies can be vital to help you go through tough times and deal with stressful situations in life. Managing stress well can help you feel better both mentally and physically.
Different mental health techniques are meant for different situations. Therefore, when you are feeling anxious or stressed, it is important to first think about whether you need to change your situation or if you need to find a way to better cope with it. Then, you can decide which technique will best benefit you. Generally, mental health techniques can be divided into two types: problem-based and emotion-based.
Retrieved from The United States Department of Health and Human Services
Problem-Based Strategies
Problem-based strategies are helpful when you need to change your situation, like removing a stress factor in your life, such as a negative person. They target the causes of stress practically and confront the problem directly. They aim to remove or reduce the source of stress. Some examples include time management and getting instrumental social support. In general, they are the most useful since they deal with the root cause of the problem, providing a solution that can be sustained for a long time.
However, these kinds of strategies are not productive for all individuals. We all have different capabilities to deal with different kinds of situations. For instance, not everyone can perceive a situation as controllable. Studies have shown that optimistic people who tend to have positive expectations of the future are more likely to use problem-focused strategies because they are more inclined to believe that they can take the matter into their own hands. Therefore, it is also important to have a positive mindset about stressful situations.
Reaching Out
Reaching out to others and getting support from loved ones is a great strategy. Being alone can lead to spending too much time thinking about the situation, leading to increased anxiety and being more overwhelmed. Talk the problem through with someone else because you can receive ideas and suggestions from another perspective, especially one that is more mature and experienced. If needed, it is best to look for formal or professional support. Some great helplines include the Suicide Prevention Lifeline and some self-help, mutual aid, and support groups.
If you are unsure of what you actually need, it is key to let someone know how you are currently feeling. Do not keep negative thoughts inside yourself. They will add to your stress once they bottle up. If you do not want to talk about the situation, reach out no matter what, and ask someone to perhaps distract you or talk about other positive things, like a great memory. Just remember, you are not obliged to talk about your circumstances if you are not ready.
Retrieved from Ekincare
Also, sometimes it is not possible, or very difficult, to tackle the problem straight-on. Emotion-based strategies are helpful when you need to take care of your feelings because the situation is out of your control. They help you to reduce negative emotions that are associated with stress, like fear and depression. For example, if you lost a loved one, it would be crucial to first take care of your emotions in a healthy way. Some examples of emotion-based strategies include positive thinking, exercise, and meditation.
Positive Thinking
Do not be too hard on yourself because it only adds more stress. Try to avoid negative thoughts because many of our thoughts aren’t facts. They may just be a belief or a worry. If the situation is really out of your hands, why not be more positive so that you feel more optimistic about the future and more motivated to make a change? Rather than thinking, “there is nothing I can do,” try to put the belief inside your head that “it will eventually get better.” Worrying or being indecisive increases uncertainty, and therefore anxiety.
Directing your attention somewhere else is also feasible. Many people find relief through different methods such as ASMR, exercise, and hobbies. Doing something you love gives you encouragement and inspiration. Never forget to take good care of yourself: try to maintain a daily routine; have healthy eating, exercise, and sleep habits. Physical health is just as important as mental health, and they can definitely have a significant influence on each other.
Physical Exercise as a Coping Mechanism
Participating in physical activities can be a very healthy and effective way to cope with stressful situations. Aerobic exercises have been proven to reduce anxiety and depression as exercising reduces endorphins, making you feel better. In addition, exercise can act as a temporary distraction from a tense or frustrating situation. An important thing to note is that physical activity is not limited to running, playing sports or doing
cardiovascular exercises, but also less intense activities such as dancing or even gardening.
According to the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, “running for 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%.”
To further elaborate, it is also proven that you do not need to complete walking or running sessions in one go. For example, if you split a 30-minute walking session into three 10 minute parts, it will still give you the same benefits as a 30-minute session. Overall, according to research, the mental health benefits you can obtain from physical exercise include sharper memory and thinking, higher self-esteem, better sleep, more energy, stronger resilience, and lower dementia rates for adults by approximately 20-30%.
The Power of Mindfulness
Mindfulness, as an abstract concept, may be difficult to grasp at first. A good way to understand mindfulness is to first understand “mindlessness”. “Mindlessness” is a state of mind that everyone has experienced before. For example, when you lock the door or close the garage before leaving the house, only to forget if you did it later on. Mindfulness is the opposite of “mindlessness”. Being mindful means thinking consciously about what you are doing and feeling at a specific moment in time. Practicing mindfulness can considerably help with symptoms of anxiety and depression. It can help people feel calmer, understand their thoughts and feelings better, and help improve attention and concentration.
The three main parts of mindfulness are attention, curiosity, and acceptance. A high level of awareness brings you back to the present, rather than focusing on the past or the future. In addition, it helps you recognize more of what is occurring in your life at the present moment. Being curious enables you to look at things from a more objective perspective rather than immersing yourself in judgemental thoughts. Judgement can descend into stress, and mindfulness can help you become aware of it. Lastly, acceptance refers to the embracement of the present as it is, rather than trying to change it. Sometimes, it is important that we acknowledge the unchangeability of a situation, rather than trying to improve or fix it.
Retrieved from University of Michigan Health Service
Simple and short mindfulness exercises can be practiced at nearly any time. However, structured mindfulness activities such as meditation require you to plan a time and place where you won’t be interrupted. Over time, practicing mindfulness will become an instinctive part of your daily routine.
We find ourselves using different mental health techniques because our personalities and the situations we currently face are not the same. Some techniques may work better than others, and it may not be the same way for another person. It is important to keep trying to find several techniques that work for you. Staying positive is key.
References
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Images (in the order presented) retrieved from
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