There are times in life when we all feel the strain and let’s be honest 2020 has been an especially tough year. Coronavirus has had a massive impact on mental health – isolation, illness, bereavement, debt, job insecurity. Fear and anxiety can be overwhelming. So in the face of adversity what can we do to help ourselves bounce back? How can we learn to navigate new challenges more easily?
Developing healthy coping strategies can be key to getting through hard times. Managing your stress well can help you feel better and improve your ability to perform. Being under pressure is a normal part of life. It can even help you to take action, feel energised or even get results. But if these feelings start to swamp you then this could be a problem.
Try to focus on what you can control instead of worrying about things that you can’t. If you use your motivation and energy to work on tackling tasks that you know you can accomplish, you will achieve so much more. If you’re going to put your energy into living a certain way, isn’t it better to be on what truly matters to you?
Looking On The Bright Side
Trying to stay optimistic is an important part of bracing yourself mentally. It has been proven to improve the immune system, prevent chronic disease and help people cope with unfortunate news. Negative thinking patterns leave us feeling angry, frustrated and unable to move forward. We need to challenge these thoughts by building an attitude of acceptance and tolerance.
It’s important to build confidence in yourself and your ability to cope. Why not start a list to focus on what you’ve achieved each day? This will help you to reframe how you see things. It will start to refocus your attention from what you can’t do, to what you’ve done.
Proactive Coping Approach
As we face the uncertainty of the future, our well-being depends on a positive outlook. A lot of our ability to cope has to do with our attitude. Setting personally meaningful goals in all areas of life can keep us motivated.
Proactive coping strategies can be an effective way to manage future obstacles. Consider the skills you can use to deal with the challenges you’re likely to face – then plan ahead and set realistic goals. This will help you to feel better equipped to deal with events as they occur.
Being Prepared
Being enterprising and preparing in advance will not only reduce stress levels in your life, but it will ensure you are not in a reactive mode when problems arise. It means taking timely, effective action. For example, creating a budget to help reduce spending or saving an emergency fund, are ways of being proactive to ensure you have the financial resources when you need them.
Being purposeful means taking responsibility for your life and actions rather than just watching how things happen. By anticipating problems, you are better prepared and less likely to be caught out by surprise. The more composed you are, the greater the chances of success.