Things to Avoid

 

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress:
• Smoking
• Drinking too much
• Overeating or underrating
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
• Using pills or drugs to relax
• Sleeping too much
• Procrastinating
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run.

Additionally some further challenges to healthy coping mechanisms are:
• Interruptions
• Feelings of hopelessness
• Poor delegation skills