To live and to cope

In order to keep moving ahead, we need to be constantly coping with one thing or another.

Life runs, and we run with it. And while running, walking, crawling, or standing, there’s always something going on within us, and we’re going through something. Not necessarily good or bad.

But these good or bad things happen, and the way that we deal with them the way that we treat them is called coping.

To cope means to overcome, to cope means to withstand, endure, struggle, and, at the end, move forward. And this does not come easy, coping takes active physical and mental effort. There are a lot of different ways of coping. While trying to get out of something or dealing with something intense, it is hard to know if you’re doing it right.

Two major distinctions can be made while looking at coping mechanisms, adaptive and maladaptive. Adaptive coping mechanisms include coping with issues in healthier and less harmful ways. Whereas maladaptive coping is usually unhealthy and can do harm in more than one way. Some examples of adaptive coping can be meditation, exercise, regulating emotions, or going to therapy. Anything that ensures that you’re doing better for yourself by taking these steps. When you actually truly feel that you’re making progress and that day by day and gradually things are actually getting better. Meanwhile, with maladaptive coping, there is a false sense of achievement. For example, ignoring the problem, using distractions to not work on it, or, in the worst-case scenario, relying on any substance like alcohol, cigarettes, or even drugs to feel better. These coping mechanisms aren’t only harmful in the situation that you are in right now, but they also do harm to the future.

As mentioned, coping can be something that is difficult to figure out just by oneself, and so taking the help of others, joining social support groups, or taking professional help to deal with issues can be extremely helpful. We are always here to help you find better coping mechanisms or to work on the ones that you already have. To book a personalized consultation, Please contact us. To read more about coping, stay tuned.

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Arya Kulkarni

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