Coping Skills
This physical strategy involves breathing in slowly through your nose and out through your mouth to calm your nervous system.
What is deep breathing?
An agreement reached by two sides where each person gives up a little bit of what they want to find a middle ground.
What is a compromise?
Doing this involves making eye contact, nodding, and summarizing what the other person said to prove you actually understand them.
What is active listening?
Unverified stories or personal secrets passed around that can easily destroy friendships and trust.
What are rumors (or gossip)?
A classmate bumps into you in a crowded hallway and you drop your binder. This is the positive assumption you should make about their intent.
What is assuming it was an accident (or giving the benefit of the doubt)?
This temporary solution involves physically walking away from a heated argument to cool off before talking.
What is 'taking a break'?
Focus fully on the speaker to understand what they are saying, you can show you are doing this by looking at the person
What is a active listening?
Your facial expressions, posture, and hand gestures—which can communicate how you feel without you saying a single word.
What is body language or non-verbal communication?
Setting healthy personal limits helps you clearly communicate to others how you expect to be treated.
What are boundaries?
You sit down at a lunch table and a peer says, "This seat is saved." The most socially skilled response is to do this.
What is calmly finding another seat (or politely asking if another nearby seat is open)?
Activities like drawing, reading, or playing sports that safely distract your mind when you are feeling overwhelmed or angry.
What are positive coping skills (or hobbies/distractions)?
Choosing to let go of anger and resentment toward someone who hurt you, helping you move forward.
What is forgiveness?
It’s not just the words you choose, but how you say them—including your volume, pitch, and speed.
What is tone of voice?
Text or online conflict that negatively targets another person
What is cyberbullying (or online drama)?
Your group project partner is playing on their phone instead of working. Instead of yelling at them, you should use this type of communication to address it.
What is an "I-Statement"? (e.g., "I feel stressed when I have to do most of the work...")
The practice of shifting your mindset from a negative thought like "I can't do this" to a positive one like "This is hard, but I can try."
What is positive self-talk?
This basic conflict rule means you look at the person speaking and wait until they completely finish before you start talking.
What is not interrupting (or taking turns)?
This means using a calm voice and nice words to stand up for yourself, instead of shouting or giving up.
What is being respectful (or speaking up nicely)?
Refusing to pass a rumor along to anyone else is a strategy known as "doing this" to the gossip.
What is stopping the cycle (or breaking the chain)?
Your best friend is venting to you about a bad grade and starts to cry. Instead of telling them how to fix it right away, you should show this trait by listening and validating their feelings.
What is empathy?
This coping strategy involves identifying objects you can see, touch, hear, smell, and taste to bring your mind back to the present moment.
What is grounding (or the 5-4-3-2-1 technique)?
This simple action involves saying "I'm sorry" when you hurt someone's feelings, even if it was just an accident.
What is an apology?
This simple conversation rule means you let the other person talk, then you talk, going back and forth like playing a game of catch.
What is taking turns?
This means staying out of other people's arguments and refusing to pick a side when two of your friends are fighting.
What is staying neutral (or minding your own business)?
Your friend is mad at you, but you aren't sure why. Instead of ignoring them or asking other people what happened, you should do this.
What is talking to them directly (or asking them calmly)?