Coping Skills
This skill helps you challenge negative thoughts by asking ‘Is this 100% true?’ and replacing them with more balanced ones.
Cognitive Restructuring or finding a balanced thought
This skill helps you express feelings without blaming others by starting with ‘I feel.
I statements.
What is the part of the brain that processes emotions and detects "threats".
Amygdala
What can you call knowledge of one's own character, feelings, thoughts, behaviors, motives, and desires.
self-awareness
That didn’t even happen” or “I don’t care” (even when you clearly do)
Denial
This coping skill involves using your lungs to calm your nervous system
Deep breathing.
This skill means fully paying attention, not interrupting, and showing you understand.
Active Listening
The system that slows your heart rate, helps you relax, and brings your body back to normal is the
Parasympathetic nervous system OR calm-down system is acceptable.
This emotion often shows up when something feels unfair or when your boundaries are crossed.
Anger
Dodging people, situations, or conversations you don’t want to deal with
Avoidance
This grounding skill uses your 5 senses to bring attention back to the moment when feeling overwhelmed.
5 4 3 2 1 grounding technique
Skill helps you communicate without yelling by taking a pause before responding
What is pausing or taking a break.
If the amygdala can misfire, what are some reasons?
It is built to protect you but it's not always perfect.
Better safe than sorry/Your brain is wired for survival, hormones, past experiences can get triggered, stress overload/thinking brain goes offline. Any of these answers are correct.
Noticing your heart racing and realizing you're stressed before a presentation shows this skill.
self awareness
Putting responsibility on others instead of owning your part
blaming
This coping strategy encourages doing small, positive activities even when you don’t feel motivated
behavior activation
This skill involves making eye contact, nodding, and repeating back what someone says to show understanding
active listening
Your brain continues to grow until your about what age?
25 or mid-twenties.
This skill involves really listening to someone and trying to understand how they feel.
empathy
Pushing uncomfortable thoughts/feelings way down so you don’t think about them
repression
This skill teaches you to notice emotions like waves—rising, peaking, and falling, without reacting right away.
Urge Surfing
This type of communication includes facial expressions, posture, and gestures instead of words.
Body language or non-verbal communication.
Can your brain change and build new habits over time? What is this called?
Yes. Neuroplasticity.
Pausing to think about consequences before acting shows this important life skill.
Self-Control or pause, think, choose.
Being indirectly mad (silent treatment, sarcasm, “forgetting” things on purpose)
Passive Aggression