Coping strategy | Definition | Example |
---|---|---|
Active | ||
Socialising | Talking, hanging out, or connecting with family or friends (face-to-face or using technology) | “Talking to friends and family” “I video call my friends in some of my classes and after school so I'm not lonely. We often do schoolwork, homework, exercise/workouts or just hang out” |
Hobbies | Any kind of activity enacted for enjoyment, pleasure, or achievement, such as listening to music, art, reading, or gaming | “Doing what i like, my hobbies. drawing, dancing, music, eating” “Indulging myself in activities I enjoy, like music and gaming” |
Physical exercise | Any kind of physical activity, such as team sports, walking, running, yoga, or other references to working out | “Going outside and exercising” “Walking a few hours a day” |
Psychological strategies | Active coping strategies, such as breathing, perspective taking, using calm/relaxation apps, and meditation | “I have used breathing exercises to calm myself down” “I tried most of the anxiety strategies I leant [sic] when I saw a psychologist last year (eg. Socratic questions, meditation, staying in the moment, etc.)” |
Routine | Deliberate engagement in regular activities, such as schoolwork/study (or returning to school), making plans and to-do lists, basic hygiene (e.g., brushing teeth, getting dressed), or daily chores (e.g., making bed), eating healthily | Having a schedule especially with school work, arranging them into hours of the day and giving myself breaks in between |
Focusing on the positives | Taking a positive outlook on the current situation and the future, or other references to doing the best that they can | “I try to stay optimistic” “Just saying it will be okay, you can make it. This will be better soon” |
Help-seeking | Asking for help from friends, family, teachers, or professionals, including broad references to talking to other people about problems | “I've been talking to my parents more (about mental health) and I've found that this helps” “I spoke to a teacher that I have for multiple classes ab[out] a couple of the things I’ve been struggling with after I had a incident in her class” |
Emotional expression | Outward displays of emotions to self or to others (e.g., crying), including through drawing/writing | “Honestly I’ve just cried a lot” “I have a sketch book where I draw my emotions and thoughts” |
Psychological treatment/therapy | Seeing a mental health professional for support and/or engaging in therapy (including counselling, psychologists, medications) | “I’ve been seeing a psychologist” “Talking to my therapist” |
Time for self | Taking time out to reset and spending time on own (but not explicitly framed as a way to avoid problems) | “Spending time to concentrate on a particular task, and chilling for my own self” |
Limit screen time | Restricting the amount of time spent using technology | “I have set myself up a screen time limit to reduce my screen time” |
Spirituality/religion | Any reference to religion, spirituality, or God | “Have faith in God” “Reading my bible” |
Being informed | Staying up to date with information about COVID-19 | “Watching the news so I knew exactly what was going on and no one else was telling me false stuff” |
Humour | Any reference to humour | “Humour” |
Passive | ||
Distraction | Deliberately not paying attention or trying to distract from the current situation, or other references to keeping busy (includes TV/Netflix/YouTube) | “Focusing on something away from anything involving the virus” “trying to keep my mind off the pandemic and issues going on at the moment” |
Rest/sleep/relax | Any mention of resting, sleeping, napping, or relaxing (coded as separate to routine when identified as a coping strategy to boost functioning, rather than maintaining regular sleep/wake cycles) | “Mainly just having a good nights’ sleep” |