Healthy Coping Skills
What is a healthy coping skill to use when you're feeling lonely and isolated?
Reach out to your support people (family or friends), volunteer, practice self care, talk to a therapist, play with a pet
Name 2 unhealthy coping skills.
criticizing yourself, procrastination/avoidance, substance use, violence/dangerous behaviors, eating too much or too little, self harm
True/False: Talking to a friend is just as effective as talking to a therapist?
False. Talking to a friend can definitely help but a therapist is trained to support and help in the most positive ways.
You are sitting in class working and notice someone is tapping their pencil really loud. What do you do?
explain that it is bothering your focus and ask them nicely to stop, or move to a new seat
Tell us about a time you felt stressed.
No wrong answers here
What can you do when you are overwhelmed with school work?
ask for help, count to 10, ask to take a break, squeeze a stress ball
Why do we choose unhealthy coping skills?
Because they provide short term relief.
(instantly feel good but have long term negative effects)
You just finished a test that was draining and more difficult than you expected. How do you reward yourself appropriately?
get a snack, pat yourself on the back, give yourself a social media break, plan something with friends after school
Name 3 people that support you
Keep building that support system! :)
Who benefits from someone learning and using coping skills?
Themself & others around them
How do unhealthy coping skills negatively effect our lives?
Unhealthy coping skills hurts ourselves, hurts others, loss of friendship/relationships, cause new/more problems
True or False: My therapist will share my personal information with others when I'm not around.
False, everything you say is confidential unless you are a danger to yourself, others, or report being in danger of being harmed by someone.
Your little sibling is purposely acting annoying while you're on the phone making it hard to hear and focus on the conversation. What skills can you use?
ask them nicely to leave, walk away, offer a compromise for giving you the quiet and space you need, express your needs and feelings in an assertive manner
Lack of sleep impacts teens mental wellbeing, how many hours SHOULD teens get? And how many do you average a night?
Teenagers should average 8-10 hours a night.
Name 5 healthy coping skills.
listening to music, working out, talking to someone you trust, drawing, deep breathing, meditating, journaling, cleaning, positive self talk, take a bath, walk a dog, etc
True or False: Lack of sleep doesn't effect my mental health that much.
False. Sleep for the brain is like gas for a car.
Lack of sleep can exacerbate symptoms of mental health disorders like: reduced attention span, increased worry, lowered self esteem, mood instability, etc.
You are getting ready to graduate high school and you are feeling anxious (worried) about the future, what do you do?
mindfulness (focus on whats present), keep a worry journal, manage sleep & nutrition, get organized, ask for help, talk to a trusted adult, ask questions, etc
Name 4 positives/strengths about yourself.
Growing your strengths help
True or False: Holding your emotions in helps depression get better?
False, this can actually intensify your feelings. Holding your emotions in will eventually lead to your emotions coming out, often in unhealthy ways.
When does watching tv, scrolling social media, sleeping, etc become an unhealthy coping tool?
When you are doing it all the time or more than any other coping skills and it only helps in the moment.
Name two types of therapy.
Music therapy, talk therapy, speech therapy, etc.
Your friend cancels plans with you that you were really looking forward to, what do you do?
don't take it personally, ask to reschedule for another night, find something else to do like bake, craft, play with a pet, rearrange your room, etc.
Name 2 things you are proud of yourself for.
Naming things you are proud of can help build self esteem