Everyone has to deal with things like stress, disappointments or other setbacks. Every person deals with this differently, in their own way. However, there is a line to be drawn as to what strategies are most beneficial, these are called coping strategies. They are strategies for dealing with factors in your life that throw you out of balance.
Stressors
Stressors are sources of tension that test people’s resilience and coping capacity. How someone reacts to this differs from person to person. Someone who feels good about himself, has good social contacts, but is fired will probably experience less stress from this experience, because he has a safety net, so to speak. Someone who has a small social circle and is not feeling well anyway will experience dismissal as much more stressful.
Problem behavior
Problem behavior is a common cause of stress and setbacks. There are several causes for problem behavior;
- Physical causes; are disabled, have back problems, are temporarily unable to walk…,
- Organic causes; heart problems, poor condition…,
- Individual factors; varies greatly from person to person…
- Age phase; Growing older comes with defects and with puberty comes problem behavior…
- Psychological factors; someone who is mentally unwell is more likely to (unconsciously) cause problem behavior…,
- Environmental factors; what kind of culture do you live in, what kind of environment, how are you treated…
- Persons in the immediate vicinity; have a great influence on how someone expresses themselves…
3 different types of coping
Copin strategies are applied to stress, problem behavior and other setbacks. Some people already use this on their own, while others need to be pointed out by guidance or specialists. There are many ways to deal with setbacks and imbalances in your life. These ways can be roughly divided into 3 main groups, namely problem-oriented, emotion-oriented and response-oriented coping.
Problem-focused coping
The name actually says it all, problem-oriented coping involves looking for a solution to the problem by changing the situation that causes stress or setbacks.
Emotion-focused coping
The problem is solved by escaping the unpleasant consequences of stress or setbacks.
Response-oriented coping
Is aimed at reducing the consequences of a problem or setback, for example through meditation.
Success of coping strategies
Why does a coping strategy work better for one person than for another? That depends on three different factors;
- Assessment of the situation; If you dread a situation in advance, it will cause you stress much more quickly than if you approach it with good courage.
- That which causes stress; It is of course very important what exactly causes you the stress about setbacks. If this can easily be remedied with a coping strategy, you can get rid of it in no time, otherwise it just doesn’t work.
- Social support; relationships, friends, family, acquaintances, etc. are very important. They can support you in more difficult times. Any assistance such as a nurse, home care or psychiatrist also falls under social support.