Healthy Coping Mechanisms for Stress & Anxiety

Life can often become overwhelming, throwing everything at you. From deadlines to bills and relationships, many of life’s situations can become too much to handle well. This is when we find the familiar feelings of stress and anxiety creeping in.

At New Leaf Recovery, we understand the importance of navigating your emotions well in order to maintain a healthy well-being, particularly for those in rehabilitation or long-term recovery. There are a number of techniques and coping mechanisms that can help you manage emotions and reduce stress and anxiety.

Find the calm amongst your chaos with these healthy coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety.

Different, Healthy Coping Mechanisms

There are a number of techniques that can help you better manage your stress and anxiety amid life’s turmoil.

Mindfulness & Deep Breathing

Movement & Freeing the Mind

Connecting with Others & Finding Yourself

Prioritise Self-Care & Setting Boundaries

Challenge Negative Thoughts and Patterns

Mindfulness & Deep Breathing

This technique focuses on being truly present and grounded in the moment.

Mindful breathing helps you to slow down and take time to breath deeply. Often, when we are stressed and anxious, we can find that our breathing becomes short, rapid and shallow. Take a moment to breath in through your nose and count to 4. Hold this for 4 second before breathing out through your mouth for 6 seconds. Repeat this a few times and focus on the sensation of breathing.

Another mindful technique that can be done is some body meditation. Lie down on the floor and methodically bring attention to each part of your body, noticing the tension built up there and releasing it. This is a guided form of meditation that can help to realise stress build up throughout the body.

Movement & Freeing the Mind

Exercise is often a great antidote for stress and anxiety, releasing endorphins to boost your mood naturally. It can often be a means of releasing pent- up energy, helping you to focus on your surroundings and feel re-energised.

Other forms of exercise, including yoga, dancing, cycling or swimming can also be enjoyable forms of exercise that, although not intense, can give you a release, reducing your stress and anxiety.

Connecting with Others & Finding Yourself

Humans by nature are social beings. Connecting with those around us is vital for our mental health and well-being.

Sharing your feelings with your loved ones and trusted friends, or even a therapist, can sometimes be a great way to talk through your emotions and stress.

Connecting with others can also bring a lot of happiness and laughter. Laughter is a powerful medicine for stress and anxiety, helping to release some of the pent up tension in a fun way.

For those who perhaps struggle to speak to others, journalling is an option that may help with releasing your feelings in some way. Writing down your thoughts and feelings can be a great way to process your emotions and find ways of working through your struggles.

Prioritise Self-Care & Setting Boundaries

Taking care of your own well-being is not selfish, it is vital! Ensuring that you nourish your body and find things for yourself is important, ensuring that you get downtime and moments away from the stress of life.

Sleep is a rapid way to exacerbate stress and anxiety when you don’t get enough. You should always aim for between 7-9 hours of quality, deep sleep per night. Having a clam routine before bedtime can help you to relax and fall seep, helping your body to relax and reduce stress naturally, giving you time to unwind and feel refreshed the next morning.

Ensuring you have a healthy and balanced diet can boost your mood and energy levels. Reducing your sugar and caffeine intake can however increase your levels of anxiety. It is important to ensure that you maintain a balanced diet to maintain your well-being.

Setting boundaries and learning to say no is ok. You do not have to over-extend yourself. Protecting your time and energy is an act of self-preservation that is important from time to time in order to prioritise your self-care.

Finding yourself a hobby can also be a great way to take time for yourself. Whether painting, gardening, reading or listening to music, these forms of hobby can give you a mental break.

Challenge Negative Thoughts and Patterns

Our thoughts can have a really powerful impact on our emotions. Being able to pay attention to your thoughts, feelings and situations can help you to be more aware of the stress and anxiety that you are feeling, helping you to reduce triggers and pressures.

With negative thoughts, ask yourself whether this is accurate. Think about the pros and cons of the thought and try to establish a different perspective on the situation. This can help you to challenge the patterns of negativity and find a means of being more positive to reduce the resulting stress.

Reflecting on the positive aspects of life can also be a great practice to engage in, taking time to shift your perspective and foster a more positive outlook on life.

Shifting Your Mindset to A Healthy One

Finding healthy coping mechanisms for stress and anxiety is not about completely removing stress and anxiety from life; it is about being able to develop a healthy toolkit to navigate these emotions in a more positive way.

At New Leaf Recovery, we believe that finding these methods of coping is not just for those in addiction rehabilitation, but for everyone. The pressures of life can take their toll on everyone, whether you are struggling with substance abuse or not.

For those who are struggling and have a loved one that has been struggling with addiction, seeking support and help can be a means of helping yourselves and your loved ones in these challenging times. Not only can you benefit from these coping mechanisms yourself when you have helped a loved one, but we aim to help them through their rehabilitation and find the right coping mechanism for them in their bright future.

Seeking Rehabilitation & Support with New Leaf Recovery

Our team at New Leaf Recovery is available 24/7, helping clients through their addiction struggles and finding a brighter future.

With flexible stays to suit your needs, we work with you, supporting your through detoxification and getting your starting on the journey of rehabilitation. Our rehabilitation programme includes a range of therapies that are proven to help you process your emotions and find coping strategies that work for you. Our therapies include: