List of Coping Skills

50 POSITIVE COPING SKILLS FOR ANXIETY AND STRESS

  • Write your thoughts/feelings in a journal

  • Play an instrument

  • Listen to music– lay back or sit down and just focus on the music and nothing else

  • Write a story

  • Write a letter to the person you are stressing over (you don’t have to actually send it)

  • Eat a healthy and nutritious meal or snack

  • Go for a walk

  • Go to the gym

  • Exercise at home

  • Do yoga

  • Meditate

  • Take some deep breaths

  • Stretch

  • Watch a feel-good movie or TV show

  • Read

  • Take a social media detox

  • Paint/draw/color

  • Crochet/knit/sew

  • De-clutter or clean your living space

  • Go for a bike ride

  • Go to the park

  • Have a picnic

  • Listen to a podcast

  • Spend time playing with a pet

  • Spend time with family

  • Spend time with a friend or significant other

  • Vent to a close friend or family member

  • Schedule an appointment for therapy

  • Practice mindfulness– being fully aware in the present moment

  • Slow down– approach the tasks you normally have to do with a calm and slow attitude

  • Go for a relaxing drive

  • Sit outside and take in the sunlight- on a balcony, deck, porch, backyard, etc.

  • Do your nails/hair/makeup

  • Take a day for self-care

  • Do anything creative

  • Take photos and/or edit them

  • Shoot and edit a video

  • Make a vision board of things you love (online or by cutting and gluing things from magazines/print-outs)

  • Put your to-do list on pause

  • Take a mental health day off from work

  • Reorganize your belongings

  • Redecorate/rearrange your room

  • Do a face mask

  • Take a relaxing bath

  • Write down the things that are stressing you out that you have no control over and rip them up and throw them in the garbage- practice letting go

  • Create a list of positive affirmations for yourself

  • Garden– tend to your plants inside and/or outside your living space

  • Practice gratitude– make a list of the things you are grateful for

  • Practice compassion– be kind to yourself during the times when you are struggling, notice and change critical or judgmental thoughts

  • Practice acceptance– accept the emotions you are experiencing not as good or bad, but just as part of your experience- they will eventually pass