In today\’s hectic times, mental health is a very important topic, and it is no different in the business world. The stresses we encounter daily in our professional lives take a toll on our bodies and have a negative impact. Coping strategies are applied to mitigate the effects of stress and avoid complete burnout.
The name comes from the English verb to cope, whose meaning can be translated into English as “to cope.” In this case, the verb is understood as the ability to cope with difficult situations. There are many coping strategies and their categories vary. In the literature, strategies are often divided into “problem-solving strategies” and “coping strategies. Examples from these two categories are.
Situation Control
This strategy is a prime example of a problem-focused strategy. This strategy attempts to control the situation through three steps: 1) analyze the current situation, 2) take action to improve the situation, and 3) take action to actively intervene or resolve the situation.
Response Control
This strategy is an example of an emotion-focused coping strategy. It focuses on self-control. The first step is always to begin to perceive one\’s reactions, analyze them, and only then move on to changing one\’s reactions.
Distraction Strategy
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This strategy focuses on engaging in activities that make the individual feel empowered or able to influence the course of events. Such activities include, for example, sports. The essence of this strategy is distraction and thus a release from negative emotions. At the same time, the activity increases the individual\’s self-confidence and helps him or her cope with difficult situations.
Underestimation Strategy.
This strategy focuses on intentionally underestimating one\’s own stress response and decreasing the saliency and threatening nature of the stressor. This strategy should help subjects remain calm and not be influenced by negative emotions.
However, coping strategies do not only include those that are beneficial to a person, and caution should be exercised in those that are used, even unconsciously. Dangerous and risky strategies are called markoping and include, for example, escape tendencies. An escape tendency is a tendency to give up, in which a person tries to escape from his or her problems. This process often involves the use of alcohol, tobacco products, and drugs. Patience is also a particularly dangerous strategy, and it is impossible to detach from the problem. The individual constantly thinks about the problem and re-present it to himself or herself. This not only prolongs the stressful situation, but also makes it increasingly difficult to return to an optimal state. Furthermore, these harmful strategies include [39] giving up [40] and [41] self-blame [42].
Thus, one uses many coping strategies unknowingly. But since you already know some of them, you can focus more on them or, conversely, avoid strategies that may be harmful to you.
