Learning how to cope with the ups and downs of life is essential for every person’s overall well-being. Even more so, if you have symptoms of an anxiety disorder or depression, incorporating coping skills into your everyday life can make a significant difference.

Coping skills or mechanisms for anxiety and depression refer to ways that help you mentally, emotionally and physically manage your symptoms. Practical coping skills should help you reduce your negative emotions as well as manage the stress that can exacerbate the symptoms.

Read on to learn about practical coping skills for anxiety and depression, so you can determine which ones are the best fit for your symptoms, lifestyle and long-term goals.

6 coping skills for anxiety and depression worth trying

Both anxiety and depression have high prevalence rates in the U.S. Anxiety disorders affect approximately 40 million adults. Depression episodes impact about 21 million adults across the country.

With these conditions being so common, it’s likely that every person affected has developed their own coping skills to manage their symptoms. However, they might not choose the most helpful route. Research shows that approximately 77% of Americans with mental health struggles have used unhealthy or addictive behaviors as coping mechanisms. Some examples include gambling or substance use.

Coping skills for managing anxiety and depression are good ways to help you manage your symptoms on a daily basis. You can also use a combination of the strategies if you experience both conditions.

Depression coping skills:

• Spend time outdoors

We’ve all heard that fresh air is good for us. Understanding the positive effects of nature and the outdoors on your mental health can help you incorporate it as a coping skill in your everyday life.

Sunlight releases serotonin in your brain, which is known as the “feel-good” neurotransmitter because it helps to regulate your mood while boosting positive emotions. The natural light can also regulate your circadian rhythm to improve sleeping patterns that may be disrupted due to anxious or depressive thoughts.

You can spend time outdoors doing a variety of activities, for example:

• Reading in the park
• Going for a walk
• Hiking
• Gardening

• Practice mindfulness

Learning how to regulate your emotions and handle stressors that are causing anxiety and depression isn’t easy; the right relaxation techniques can make a difference. Mindfulness practices allow your nervous system to slow down and encourage overall calmness by focusing on the present moment when you become overwhelmed by negative emotions and thoughts.

Practicing mindfulness can help people with anxiety and depression by giving them a moment to not focus on the past or future, which can be contributors to their symptoms. It also centers on the ability to acknowledge your thoughts without judging them or fixating on them.

Mindfulness exercises include:

• Mindful breathing
• Mindful walking in nature
• Five senses grounding technique, which means engaging your senses to ground yourself in the present moment
• Find a creative outlet

Hobbies can help your mental health by giving you time to focus on something you enjoy. They also give you a way to connect with other people who have similar interests as a way of building a support system. Creative hobbies, in particular, can help your depression by giving you an outlet for your emotions in a helpful way.

With a creative hobby, you can release your thoughts and feelings in a way that lets you process them for self-awareness and emotional regulation. Being creative can also work as a mindful exercise and provides a self-esteem boost when you complete a project.

Here are a few creative outlets for anxiety and depression worth trying:

• Dancing
• Writing poetry
• Painting

Anxiety coping skills:

• Establish and enforce boundaries

Even though your mental health is an extremely personal journey, other people may be unknowingly contributing to your anxiety and depression symptoms. Setting boundaries, and enforcing those limits when someone tries to cross them, works as a coping skill because it enables you to protect yourself from further mental, emotional and physical distress that could intensify your symptoms.

Setting boundaries involves being self-aware of your anxiety and depression triggers, learning what you’re not comfortable with, and communicating your expectations with others.

Examples of boundaries include:

• Not accepting unwanted physical contact
• Stopping conversations when you’re not comfortable with the topic
• Politely declining unwanted advice
• Be kind to yourself

The phrase “You’re your own worst critic” is applicable for most people, especially those who experience depression. When you’re having negative thoughts and feelings, it can be easy to blame yourself or feel like you’re not meeting expectations, which are often self-imposed or unrealistic. Being kind to yourself is a coping skill that allows you to acknowledge your feelings.

Self-compassion means talking to yourself the way you would talk to a loved one. You can figure out how to forgive yourself for mistakes by embracing imperfection and celebrating your improvements.

• Self-monitoring

When you’re feeling anxious, it can seem like the negative emotions and thoughts are completely unprompted. But by learning to recognize when and how your anxiety is occurring, you can acknowledge possible patterns that are contributing to your anxiety.

Self-monitoring usually involves writing down your thoughts, feelings and physical sensations that stem from anxiety. It helps you become self-aware of your symptoms so that you can take control of them and track your progress.

Guidelight can help you develop skills for anxiety and depression

Sometimes coping skills are not enough. Guidelight provides evidence-based treatment, so you develop skills that reduce the impact of your anxiety and depression symptoms and improve your overall quality of life.

If you need more intensive support beyond regular outpatient therapy sessions, Guidelight is here to help with Intensive Outpatient and Partial Hospitalization Programs for adults and adolescents. Our Intensive Outpatient Program is a higher level of care than regular outpatient therapy. It involves a structured schedule of weekly programming. The Partial Hospitalization Program provides an intensive level of specialized care during the day. But it allows you to still return home each night.

Everyone has a seat at Guidelight. Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial evaluation. Our compassionate team is here for you every step of the way.