Building Your Mental Health Toolkit: Coping Skills for World Mental Health Day and Beyond

Today, October 10 is World Mental Health Day, which serves as a reminder of the importance of mental well-being. It’s a time to bring awareness to mental health issues and to reflect on the ways we can collectively and individually promote healthier brains. Let’s not only raise awareness, but also focus on actionable strategies for managing our mental health.

Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It influences how we handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions. Sadly, the stigma surrounding mental health still exists. Many people feel ashamed to seek help or admit that they are struggling, which only exacerbates feelings of isolation. Recognizing that mental health is a universal experience and destigmatizing conversations around it is crucial in fostering a healthier society.

Somatic Practices: Releasing Emotions Stored in the Body

Emotions can get “stuck” in the body, especially when they are dismissed or not fully processed. A part of this may be due to the absence of emotional learning in our education system, which tends to create an unknown about emotional wellness.We may see emotions as good or bad; strong or weak. We’re able to reframe this idea by empowering ourselves to explore, feel and accept all emotions as an integral part of who we are.

By establishing a solid platform for emotional expression, we’re able to balance the logical and emotional aspects of the mind. This is important in order to establish healthier ways of communicating with ourselves and others.

A growing body of research supports the idea that somatic practices—practices that focus on the connection between the mind and body—are effective for releasing emotions and promoting mental health.

Feeling Our Emotions

We say, ‘feel the emotions’, and are reminded that feeling is one of our five senses. The senses are our connection to the present and support our ability to experience life fully. 

Otherwise, we avoid emotions through unhealthy or repeated distractions, which then increase the overall charge of an emotion, creating more resistance due to the overwhelm. By meeting the discomfort, we can approach our behaviors with curiosity, fostering compassion and a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Nervous System Knowledge

To expand our window of tolerance to the stressors that create this internal disruption, we offer attention to our nervous system. It’s about cultivating practices and tools that allow us to feel safer within the sensory information coming in from the outside world. Getting back into the body will look different for each person, but the goal is to create a welcoming space because it’s more challenging to process emotions without regulating our nervous system. Interchangeably, we can’t maintain a regulated nervous system without releasing stuck emotions in the body.

Acceptance

If we know, first, what we are feeling it often leads us to what we need or want. As a result, we can determine how we meet those needs authentically and how to communicate them. 

Emotions offer a sense of being—a whole self—so we don’t feel fragmented. By learning to accept all parts of ourselves, we allow the unraveling of outdated, subconscious programming to begin and therefore give permission for our emotional parts to be re-acquainted with us.

Everything in life is a relationship, including the one we have with our emotions. When we don’t process our emotions, we compromise our relationship with them.

Healthy Coping Tools

Healthy coping mechanisms can become unhealthy if they are used in a hypervigilant or unmindful way. It’s important to ask ourselves with all tools and behaviors, ‘how is this serving  me right now?’ When practiced intentionally, these tools can create a positive impact on your emotional resilience and overall mental health. Additionally, these practices and tools are supplemental when processing emotions.

1. Mindful Awareness: We introduce mindful awareness by asking, “What am I thinking, what sensations am I feeling in the body and what am I doing?” By inquiring, we see if how we are feeling aligns with the present or if we are reacting to the past or imagining the future. This allows us to observe how our emotions feel in the body, creating more security without attachment.

2. Creative Expression: Art, writing, music, or any form of creative expression allows you to channel your emotions in a healthy way. Creativity can provide an outlet for processing complicated feelings and give a sense of accomplishment and purpose.
   
   
3. Journaling: Writing down your thoughts and feelings can help you process what’s going on internally. Journaling is a safe space to reflect on what you’re going through, express your emotions, and identify patterns in your behavior.
   
   
4. Breathing Exercises: Practice a breathing technique called 2:1 breathing, which is doubling the exhale to inhale ratio when breathing, which can decrease anxiety. Additionally, this lowers blood pressure, calms the nervous system and relaxes muscles.

 Unhealthy Coping Tools

1. Substance Abuse: Using drugs or alcohol as a way to escape emotional pain can lead to addiction, further stress, and long-term health problems. While it may seem like a temporary fix, substance abuse only compounds mental health challenges.
   
   
2. Avoidance: Constantly avoiding your problems—whether through procrastination, distractions, or denial—may provide short-term relief but will likely exacerbate stress and anxiety in the long run. Facing your emotions, even when it’s difficult, is key to emotional healing.
   
   
3. Overworking or Overeating: Using work or food as a way to cope with stress can become problematic. These behaviors may seem productive or comforting, but overindulgence is often a sign of emotional avoidance.
   
   
4. Negative Self-Talk: Criticizing yourself or putting yourself down for things beyond your control are forms of self-sabotage. Over time, this can damage your self-esteem and mental well-being.
   

It’s important to note that not all coping mechanisms work for everyone. What might be healthy and helpful for one person could be unhelpful for another. Understanding your unique needs and being mindful of what works for you is essential for long-term mental health.

World Mental Health Day offers a critical reminder that mental well-being is an ongoing practice. It’s essential to prioritize your mental health not just once a year but every single day. Your mental health is a vital part of your overall health, and investing in it will help you live a more balanced, fulfilling life.

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Macy Cassera is a mental health coach, ambassador and freelance blog writer. She has prior experience as a model in New York City for fashion, commercial and parts modeling. Macy combines these passions with mental health awareness to underpin our sense of self and strive for a world of inclusivity and equitable representation. To get in touch with Macy, please send her an email or send a message through her official website or Instagram.