As of this writing (4/2/25), it feels like we’re living in a pressure cooker. Political divides, economic uncertainty, job instability, and work stress are everywhere. On top of that, life throws its usual curveballs—health changes, family challenges, relationship upsets, grief, and loss. And then there are the everyday annoyances: car trouble, insurance headaches, financial concerns, and difficult neighbors.
Some might argue that life has always been full of challenges. But whether things are objectively worse now or not, the 2020s have been an intense decade. People respond to this stress in different ways—some with low-level background anxiety, others with total paralysis. If you want to turn stress into strength (book link), you need a healthy coping toolkit that’s built for these times.
What Does Healthy Coping Look Like?
You don’t need a major life crisis to feel overwhelmed—especially if you’re a highly sensitive person (HSP). More often, it’s the small, cumulative stressors that push us toward burnout. Rushing through life without checking in on your inner weather (background emotions and thoughts) can make it easy to hit a breaking point before you even realize it.
So, what does a strong coping foundation look like? Here are some essentials:
- At least six different tools to get you out of fight-or-flight mode when your stress level hits a 7/10.
- A mix of emotion-focused and problem-focused tools (balancing logic and emotion).
- Tools to help reduce reactivity and bring calm and understanding when you’re triggered.
- Practices that build intuition and self-compassion—humanity’s next level of intelligence.
- Tools that support your inner healing and growth as you move through life’s journey.
Growth isn’t always smooth. Our egos resist change and uncertainty, and every transformation reveals blind spots. Maria Nemeth coined a term for this bumpy part of the process: “trouble at the border.” It’s that inevitable crunch between having a vision and making it real, between the metaphysical (where ideas are born) and the physical reality. Growth is uncomfortable—but with the right tools, you can navigate the rough patches with more ease.
Real-Life Examples of Healthy Coping
A Client’s Breakthrough
A client was struggling with a challenging workplace dynamic that kept triggering her. Using the RAIN tool (a mindfulness-based emotional processing technique), she recognized that her reaction wasn’t just about the present—it was rooted in childhood experiences with similar dynamics. By using the tool, she was able to step back and say, “Wait—this is not THAT again.”
That shift was powerful. Recognizing the past’s influence on the present allowed her to separate old emotions from the current situation, giving her more choices and a clearer perspective.
My Own Coping Skills Check-In
Recently, I expanded my business and, let’s just say, I had a few days of… adjustment. (Cue self-doubt, inner resistance, and a full-body sensation of collapse, and the thought, what‘s the use?)
In the spiral model of healing, we revisit old wounds at higher levels as we grow. This time, my challenges felt familiar: self-doubt, sadness, and fear of failure. But with my tools, I was able to work through it by:
- Noticing what was coming up—self-doubt, sadness, and despair.
- Using somatic practices to sense what past wounds were being triggered.
- Applying emotional tools to trace the root of my fears.
- Recognizing that part of my reaction was more ancestral than personal. (Is this mine? No…)
- Using emotion-focused techniques to shift negative background thoughts.
Healing isn’t linear, and it’s a lifelong process. But when you have multiple, complementary tools, growth becomes less overwhelming, less painful, and sometimes even fun. The key is shortening those adjustment periods—reducing derailments and inertia while making the process smoother.
Learn more about Healthy Coping – Resources
Check out this Coping Skills Test if you’d like to see how you’re doing – I can send you feedback if you hit Submit. You can also read this article to find out about the Three Levels of Healing that you travel through on the road to solid mental health.
For now, if you’re facing a strong emotional reaction that seems bigger than the situation at hand, try the RAIN tool. It can help you unpack what’s really going on under the surface, and bring more clarity to your response. This is the tool my client and I used in this article.
Recent Psychology Today magazine article, 9 Ways to Overcome Adversity – includes a powerful story of a Resilience Researcher who was shot 15 times, and then had to use his own methods. Numbers 3, 4, and 8 are right up the Stress to Strength, Healthy Coping alley.
One of the foundations of good coping is a self-awareness practice like meditation. This podcast (Simon Sinek with Jay Shetty) had some suggestions for successful set ups that made me want to take my practice to the next level.
This was a beautiful podcast of Simon Sinek’s with Lewis Howes – stories from both of their healing journeys. Good encouragement that the work is ongoing!
CONCLUSION
Healthy Coping is not a luxury, or something to save for that later time when you’ll have more time… Being able to drop your stress level, by your own actions, in quick, effective ways – this is essential for a good life. You don’t have to make challenges disappear or erase all of your stress. Slight shifts, 2 points down on the 1-10 scale – it’s is huge for regaining perspective, and for less of a toll on your physical health.
Need more of a Stress to Strength Pivot to uplevel your Healthy Coping? Check out my Therapy Packages and book a Free, no pressure, consult (15 min phone call) to see if we’re on the same page.