Anxiety plays a foundational role in most addictions. When people feel anxious, they may engage in a number of behaviors to help them cope with stressful feelings. These coping mechanisms or skills can be healthy or unhealthy. Another word for unhealthy in this context is maladaptive. An example of a maladaptive coping skill is self-medicating. This particular behavior can be a quick and easy way to make someone feel better in the presence of anxiety but would be considered one of the most unhealthy of the maladaptive coping skills due to the likelihood of it exacerbating the problem of anxiety.
Though taking a calming sip of scotch or popping a prescription painkiller may make someone feel better in the moment, it can also be the start of a substance use disorder. If you struggle with anxiety or if you care about someone who battles this disorder daily, reach out to My 5 Palms. Our anxiety treatment program in Florida can be the catalyst you need to change your life.
Common Causes of Anxiety
Stress and anxiety are common feelings that everyone experiences from time to time. But if these feelings are strong enough to interfere with your daily routine, or if they keep you from doing the things you want or need to do, they become problematic. Common causes of anxiety include:
- Emotional trauma
- Relationship troubles
- Bosses, coworkers, and jobs
- School
- Finances
- Illness
The side effects of certain medications may make you feel anxious, as well. And for some people, social situations can cause crippling anxiety. Regardless of what makes you feel anxious, it’s important to work through your problems without turning to maladaptive coping skills for anxiety like drugs or alcohol. A good way to do this is to learn what coping skills are healthy or adaptive and will ultimately lead you to feeling better without causing additional long-term hardship. An anxiety treatment program like the one at My 5 Palms can help you do exactly that.
What Are Coping Skills?
Coping skills are defined as the thoughts and feelings we employ to handle difficult situations. They may be healthy or unhealthy. They may use adaptive reasoning or avoidance. Some are beneficial and will help you learn to deal with situations positively. Others, conversely, will keep you stuck in an anxious state. Healthy or adaptive coping skills include the following:
- Seeking external support – Talking to someone safe about your problem
- Problem-solving – Actively thinking about achieving positive outcomes and setting goals
- Relaxing and mindfulness practice – Engaging in calming activities such as listening to music, meditating, prayer, or deep breathing and mindful observation
- Exercising – Going for a walk, a run, or a half-hour at the gym
- Creative expression – Engaging in activities like drawing, writing, or playing music to express emotions
- Time management – Organizing tasks, making lists, and setting priorities to reduce stress and increase productivity.
These are all positive or adaptive ways to handle stress and anxiety. These healthy activities are good coping skills to practice when life’s circumstances aren’t what you’d like them to be. Alternatively, negative ways of coping or maladaptive coping skills for anxiety often make things worse. While they feel good at the time, they nearly always complicate a bad situation:
- Self-medicating – Drinking alcohol or taking drugs that can lead to addiction
- Avoidance or escapism – Pretending the problem doesn’t exist and waiting for it to go away
- Self-soothing – Overeating, gambling, engaging in risky sex
- Isolation – Staying home and separating yourself from everyone for a prolonged period
- Self-harming – Intentionally cutting or hurting yourself
When people consistently use maladaptive coping techniques to deal with stress or anxiety, they aren’t actually dealing with the issue at hand. Over the long term, these types of habits can make it difficult to truly get past the difficulty. They’re also potential forerunners to both process addictions and substance use disorders alike. If you struggle with creating or sticking to positive coping skills in your daily life, it’s time to reach out to 5 Palms for help.
Call My 5 Palms Today for Anxiety Treatment in Florida
The good news is that changing how you deal with hard situations is possible. Simply because you’ve learned and practiced maladaptive coping skills, this doesn’t mean you can’t unlearn them or replace them with other, more useful, skills. This is where a good anxiety treatment program like the one offered at My 5 Palms becomes essential to your healing. You can learn better, easier ways to deal with anxiety, and our skilled therapists are happy to help you.
If you’ve made the decision to effect positive change in your life, call us today at 1.844.675.1022 or submit our online contact form, and a member of our team will contact you.
We’ll show you how to turn the anxiety, worry, and fear into positive, adaptive coping skills. Therapy can completely change the direction of your life. Choose today to begin.
