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08. Coping Strategies Awareness Self-Reflection

It’s time to reflect on how you cope!

Almost everyone “copes” to some degree in their life. Sometimes it is important to just be a human, do human things and enjoy simple connections and experiences. This helps you ground inside your body and anchor you in your experience. It’s okay to choose activities that take your minds off your issues so you can enjoy the moment and be in your life. 

Coping may help get you through certain experiences and is an essential survival strategy. However, it becomes a problem when you consistently choose coping mechanisms to avoid addressing your underlying issues. You will eventually need to fully face and process your traumas and hardships. Otherwise, your body, heart, mind and soul will start sending you messages and dis-ease that there is unprocessed baggage you need to address. By bringing awareness of how and why you are coping, you can begin to initiate conscious healing in your life.  

Coping mechanisms can span from being “healthy” to rather toxic. Learning “healthy” coping mechanisms is a popular technique many people adopt without realizing that they are actually perpetuating the problem. Rather than addressing this problem or situation you tolerate it longer than is possible optimal for you.

 

Anything can really be turned into an unhealthy coping and avoidance pattern, here are a few examples:

This reflection section is in no way telling you to stop or change your coping behaviors. It is simply here to help you look at your behaviors from a wider perspective. Do they truly serve your greatest good?  

 

You may keep using the techniques that work for you while also reflecting on them. We can get fearful and defensive when we believe that we will lose our comforting coping tools. If you took away your coping activity of choice right now, how would you react? It may be scary or even unimaginable. 

This type of reaction is exactly why this reflection space exists. We repress and distract ourselves so much that the thought of facing our issues becomes overwhelming, especially if you are forced to stop your method of coping. 

It is these issues that live within you that need to truly be addressed, as that feels most comfortable for you. You may not be ready to know and/or know nothing about the issues behind your coping patterns. This reflection here to curiously look at your coping habits and acknowledge them, without judgment. 

Whether you are newly on your healing journey or years into your conscious experience, true healing happens only at the rate in which you are ready. This is the beauty of the experience so be gentle on yourself as you reflect on your coping styles. 

You are always changing and so do your coping tools and usages. As you progress on your Resonate Health journey, you may notice you need less coping and although you may be doing similar activities, the vibration behind the choice and experience has completely shifted. Use your journal to track your experiences.

 

Reflect on the prompts below for ~5-20 minutes, for the next 3 days. *Unless otherwise directed.

  • Acknowledge whatever coping strategies you may be aware of at this time with curiosity. 
  • List any of your self-soothing or self-medicating methods used in the past or currently.
  • Perform this self-reflection again in about 4 weeks to assess your progress and to gather any new information to continue to support you and your greatest good.
  • Optionally, use your testing technique to determine your optimal frequency and duration to use this reflection.

 

Coping Strategies Awareness self-reflection prompts:

List any of your self-soothing or self-medicating methods used in the past or currently. 

  • When do you do this? 
  • Is there a trigger that prompts it? 
  • How often are you doing this?

Allow yourself to reflect on these aspects of the coping mechanisms that you use:

  • Do any of these have control over me? Could I function without them?
  • Do you feel like you are choosing this or do you end up doing it without realizing?
  • Do your coping mechanisms serve and support you in a way that is aligned with your goals? 
  • Did this activity start from a charged or traumatic experience in life or perhaps you were raised around others who also behaved this way?
  • How does this coping technique make you feel?
  • How do you feel before, during and after using this coping technique?
  • Do you choose this over other activities or opportunities?

 

"Coping" is a great way to bypass the true problem and your "coping strategy" will eventually fail when the issue needs to truly be resolved.

 

 

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