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Coping with Stress

written by on 2025-08-11

Two Main Ways To Cope with Stress

  1. Problem Based Coping - Focus on changing the situation
    • Reach out to a friend or a professional to help you work through the issue
    • Make a to-do list to break down a project into more achievable tasks
    • Distance yourself from the stressful situation
    • Practice time-management techniques if you’re feeling overwhelmed by a project
    • Set and maintain healthy boundaries with other people and your commitments
    • Healthy options:
      • Determining an alternative solution is an effective method of handling dilemmas. This process involves the collection of complete information, planning, and coming up with effective decisions to deal with the challenge.
      • Journaling
  2. Emotional Based Coping - Change how you feel
    • Focus on another activity to take your mind off the issue causing you stress
    • Engage in an enjoyable hobby
    • Practice self-care to feel better in the moment and beyond
    • Exercise or go for a walk
    • Try deep breathing, meditation, and other relaxation techniques
    • Healthy options:
      • Cognitive reframing is the positive emotional and/or cognitive appraisal of a stressful situation. This technique is especially valuable in developing resilience and adapting to adversities.
      • Meditation and breathing techniques calm the mind, relax the body, and can change the amygdala. Often, taking a step back to take a breath and calm your physiological process help make a good decision.
      • Journaling can be a therapeutic and reflective practice for individuals facing a challenge. Practitioners should use writing as a way to develop ideas and examine one’s current understanding of the situation as opposed to direct problem-solving.
      • Positive thinking and forgiveness are effective strategies that directly align with positive psychology. Forgiveness is an adaptive behavior in which an individual reframes a transgression, thus promoting healthy behaviors and contributing to psychological wellbeing
      • Laughter can be an outlet for negative emotions and stimulate the physiological system that decreases levels of stress hormones. Further, humor eases tensions and improves moods.

Reference:

Study: Association between psychological resilience and all-cause mortality in the Health and Retirement Study

Clinical implications

Psychological resilience emerges as a protective factor against mortality, emphasising its importance in maintaining health and well-being.

Background

Psychological resilience refers to an individual’s ability to cope with and adapt to challenging life circumstances and events.

Objective

This study aims to explore the association between psychological resilience and all-cause mortality in a national cohort of US older adults by a cross-sectional study.

Methods

The Health and Retirement Study (2006–2008) included 10,569 participants aged ≥50. Mortality outcomes were determined using records up to May 2021. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to analyse the associations between psychological resilience and all-cause mortality. Restricted cubic splines were applied to examine the association between psychological resilience and mortality risk.

Findings

Conclusions

This cohort study highlights the association between psychological resilience and all-cause mortality in older adults in the USA.

Reference:

Zhang A, Zhou L, Meng Y, et al Association between psychological resilience and all-cause mortality in the Health and Retirement Study BMJ Ment Health 2024;27:e301064.