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Coping With Stress
Book stores
are filled with books that tell us how to cope with stress. Each
of these books offers its own perspective on stress along with various
coping techniques. To make the most of the information on coping
skills, you need to understand what coping is all about. Coping
is simply a way of short-circuiting the stress cycle: stopping the
stress response.
There is no
single right way of coping with a given situation. Each of us must
figure out what works best for us. What works best will depend,
in part, on your coping style. There are three main styles. None
of these styles is better than the other and some people use a mixture
of them.
The first step
in coping is to know yourself. Begin by deciding which of these
may be your style.
Task-oriented: you
may feel comfortable analyzing the situation and taking action to
deal directly with the situation.
Emotion-oriented:
you
may prefer to deal with your feelings and find social supports.
Distraction-oriented:
you may use activities
or work to take your mind off the situation. Keep this style in
mind as you read the information on coping skills.
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