Anxiety & stress
What are healthy coping skills?
Wondering about the different types of healthy coping skills? This guide will break down clinically proven tools that can help you get through tough times.
March 20, 2026
By Dr. Juli Fraga, Psy.D • Clinically reviewed by Dr. Naiylah Warren, DCFT, LMFT
6 min read
By Dr. Juli Fraga, Psy.D • Clinically reviewed by Dr. Naiylah Warren, DCFT, LMFT
Whether you’re worried about your finances or anxious about work, stress is a natural part of life. Having healthy coping skills can help you navigate these challenges.
There’s a reason stress makes us feel poorly. Our brains tend to perceive stress as a threat, which is why overwhelming experiences — like job loss, breakups, or financial challenges — can make everything else feel harder to manage. Suddenly, tiny stressors like getting caught in traffic or forgetting to buy milk at the store spark irritability. It’s a domino effect.
Knowing how to approach these moments can benefit your mental health. Read on to learn about healthy ways to handle stress, anxiety, and depression. In this guide, we’ll share some clinically proven tools that can help you get through tough times.
What are coping skills?
Coping skills aren’t something we’re born with. They are strategies we learn to help regulate our emotions and navigate difficult situations. They are the things we do to reduce our stress and discomfort.
Coping mechanisms can help when you’re feeling anxious, depressed, emotional, or just generally stressed. For example, after a hard day, you might call a friend for a pep talk or spend a little more time scrolling on social media. Coping tools often show up in different ways — some are active, and some are more passive. Reaching out to someone is an active coping skill because it’s a conscious choice to connect and seek support. On the other hand, getting lost in a sea of social media posts can be a more passive way of managing stress — something that can happen almost on autopilot.
Types of coping skills
Coping strategies can take many different forms, and people often use several at the same time depending on the situation they’re facing. Each approach offers a different way to respond to stress.
1. Emotion-focused coping
Emotion-focused coping helps you care for the feelings that come up in response to stress. For example, if you learn that you didn’t get a promotion at work, you might go for a run, talk with a friend, or journal to process your disappointment. Regulating difficult emotions can help you move through the moment and create space to think about what comes next.
2. Problem-focused coping
Problem-focused coping involves identifying the source of stress and taking steps to address it. For example, if you learn you have high cholesterol, you might meet with a nutritionist and adjust your eating habits. This approach can be especially helpful when there are practical actions you can take to influence the situation.
3. Meaning-focused coping
Meaning-focused coping involves making sense of difficult experiences by shifting perspective or drawing on personal beliefs and values. This might look like reminding yourself that setbacks can be opportunities for growth, or reflecting on what a challenging experience might be teaching you. Finding meaning can help people maintain hope and resilience during difficult times.
4. Socially focused coping
Sometimes coping means turning toward others for support. This is known as socially focused coping. Talking with a trusted friend, asking a colleague for advice, or joining a support group are all ways people lean on their communities when they’re navigating stress or uncertainty.
5. Avoidance-focused coping
Avoidance-focused coping involves creating distance from a stressor, often through distraction or stepping away from the situation for a period of time. For example, after a disagreement with a close friend, someone might watch a favorite show or engage in another activity to take their mind off things. In some moments, a temporary break from a stressful situation can give your mind space to reset before deciding what to do next.
Healthy coping mechanisms
- Naming your emotions: Known as affect labeling, research shows that naming your emotions can help calm down the limbic system, which reduces feelings of stress.
- Practice self-compassion: Speak to yourself as you’d talk to a friend. Research shows that people who practice self-compassion are better equipped to navigate stressful moments.
- Take slow breaths: Try 4-6 breathing. Simply inhale for four and exhale for six. Deep breathing brings oxygen to your muscles, which helps you feel calmer.
- Take a 10-minute walk or spend time in nature. Try taking a quick walk or spend time at your local park. Walking is a natural stress buster because it helps lower cortisol levels.
- Practice the 3-3-3- rule: Name three things you see, three things you hear, three things you can touch. This mindfulness exercise brings your focus to the present moment, which can help you feel grounded.
- Journaling or expressive writing: Putting your pen to paper and jotting down your worries can benefit your well-being. Writing in your journal for 45-minutes can lower cortisol levels.
- Get adequate rest: Sleep is a stress buster. Aim to get at least seven hours each night. Getting enough rest can help you regulate your emotions.
- Call or text a friend: Text a friend or call a loved one. Social support helps us feel less alone, making trying moments feel more manageable.
- Practice gratitude: Identify three things each day that you’re grateful for. Gratitude can train the brain to notice what’s going well.
- Seek professional support: If stress feels chronic or overwhelming, talking with a Headway therapist can help.
Unhealthy coping skills
- Avoiding or suppressing your emotions: Avoidance can provide relief in the short term, but ultimately it makes emotions like anxiety, sadness, and frustration feel worse. Unlike an intentional avoidance-focused coping, unintentional avoidance might just prolong the problem. The key here is the choice.
- Overworking: Pouring yourself into work is one way to numb stress, but in the long run this can amplify it.
- Excessive social media use or screen time: Too much social media use is called passive consumption, and it can make you feel more isolated and lonely, especially when you’re stressed.
- Withdrawing from others: We all need some downtime, but pulling away from others can lead to unhealthy social isolation, which adds to our stress.
- Substance use: Numbing stress with alcohol or substances can cause symptoms of anxiety and depression, making you feel worse in the long-run.
- Self-criticism: Getting stuck in a negative talk track can make distressing emotions swell, making it more challenging to discern between feelings and facts.
Supporting your mental health with care that fits your needs
Having healthy coping strategies can help you manage everyday stress. Whether it’s turning to problem-solving or leaning on a friend, knowing which skills to rely on can help you weather tough times. Therapy can help you build and sustain these coping skills. With professional support from a therapist at Headway, you can receive empathy and feedback and work toward your personal goals.
This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.
© 2025 Therapymatch, Inc. dba Headway. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
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