Teen Toolbox: Part 2 (Personal Coping Skills) + Free Guide & Video & Podcast! 🎨
What are Personal Coping Skills?
Coping skills are tools that you can use in moments of hardship. Using these strategies will help you work through your difficulties. Personal Coping Skills primarily focus on individual coping. However, they are not limited to that. This means you might be able to use these coping skills with others as well.
Creativity!
-Listen to Music
-Play an Instrument
-Sing
-Karaoke
-Dance
-Journal Your Thoughts
-Draw
-Paint
-Photography
-Filmmaking/Making Videos
-Start a Hobby (Woodworking, Pottery, Model Cars, Make Candles, Cooking, Baking, -Refurbishing Furniture, Sewing, Crocheting, Knitting, Jewelry Making, Origami, Astrology, Traveling, etc.)
Mindfulness/Relaxation!
-Read a Book You Enjoy (Not Just Homework)
-Listen to an Audiobook
-Listen to Sound Bowls
-Quiet Time for Yourself
-Deep Breathing
-Meditation
-Pray
-Use Essential Oils
-Aromatherapy
-Sage/Palo Santo for Clearing Negative Energy
-Yoga
-Mindfulness Apps (Headspace, Coloring, etc.)
-Spend Time in Nature
-Take a Hot Shower
-Read Other Mental Health Advocates’ Stories
-Visualize Yourself in Control, Happy, Successful, etc.
-Make a List of Everything Positive in Your Life
-Write Positive Affirmations
-Make a List of Goals of What You Want to Accomplish
-Reward Yourself with Each Goal Accomplished
Activities!
-Take a Walk
-Take Up a Personal Sport (Boxing, Rock Climbing, Rafting, Fishing, Geocaching, Horseback -Riding, Scuba Diving, Skiing, Surfing, Skateboarding, Martial Arts, Golfing, Bodybuilding, -Pinballing, Video Gaming, etc.)
-Go to the Beach
-Organizing Your Room/Desk (Try it!)
-Gardening
-Mowing the Lawn
-Collecting (Coins, Stamps, Sports Cards, Manga, Snow Globes, Books, Comics, Figurines, -Postcards, Teddy Bears, Stuffed Animals, Rocks, etc.)
-Drive Around
-Discover New Places
-Yell in the Shower
-Punch a Pillow
My Experience Using Personal Coping Skills
Being a teen is difficult in general. I started experiencing my mental health challenges when I was about 11 years old. I entered the teenage world in a fearful state of mind. I had hardly any friends, and school was awful for me.
I quickly learned that coping with the situations I faced on a daily basis was extremely hard. I wasn’t sure what I could do to help myself. In 7th grade, I bought myself a guitar. I had no idea how to play it, but I was determined to make music somehow. I already loved songwriting and listening to music. I wanted a way to create music myself and bring my own original lyrics to life.
I taught myself, little by little, how to play the guitar. Within a few months, I was coping with my issues as a responsible young teen who had come to realize my worth. Music took me to a new world. I didn’t need anybody to help me to cope because I was coping through creativity, which falls in line with personal coping skills.
Everything was not magically fixed. I still had my challenges, but I learned how to deal with them better. Whether it be art, music, or any other form of creativity, expression is the focal point. I got my feelings out through lyrics and melody. There is so much out there for people, especially teens, to positively get feelings out. A tiny bit of effort can go a long way.
FREE Guide!
Check out my FREE Guide on Personal Coping Skills!
Video!
Check out the YouTube video I made on personal coping skills specifically for teens! Subscribe while you are there for videos like this and so much more!
Podcast Episode!
Listen to my podcast episode on personal coping skills on your way to school or work!