Self Care vs. Coping: Differences and Importances

Oftentimes, you can hear the words ‘self care’ and ‘coping’ used interchangeably. However, this isn’t necessarily true. Though similar, there are some major differences between the two that are important to note. It is important to have a healthy balance of both in your life, and that starts with knowing what it is.

What is Self Care and Coping?

Self Care

Self care is defined by the Global Self-Care Foundation as “The ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health-care provider.” To put it simply, it is taking care of yourself in order to keep yourself healthy. 

There are many ways to practice self-care, such as taking time out for yourself and relaxing or going out for some fun, safely of course. Another aspect of self care is paying attention to yourself and learning to be able to understand and interpret the signs your body is giving you. No matter how you choose to practice it, self care positively enhances your mental state, and a happy mind is a happy body.

It might be hard to figure out how to start including self care into your daily schedule, so here is a list of some things that are  easy and great forms of self care. Firstly, going out for daily walks. Walking helps circulation, improves mobility, and reduces stress and anxiety. You can also set aside a day for meal prep. This ensures that you have a healthy meal at least once a day, even on inevitable days where you feel too lazy to make something new. Reading and journaling are also great ways to stimulate your brain positively, using some parts of it you don’t get to use often enough normally.

For example, you can:

• Walking: Improves mobility, reduces stress and anxiety.
• Meal Prep: A good diet improves health overall.
• Going to sleep on time: A full night’s rest refreshes you for tomorrow.
• Relaxing: Doing something simple that you love will lower stress.

Coping

Coping is defined by the National Institutes of Health as “the thoughts and behaviors mobilized to manage internal and external stressful situations.” Coping is a more clinical term, referring to the actions taken to relieve yourself of stress. 

There are many types of coping, examples being problem focused, emotionally focused, meaning focused, and social. Problem coping is when you focus on the problem causing you stress, such as planning a strategy to overcome the problem or restraining yourself from performing the stressful activity. This is considered by psychologists as the most beneficial method of coping, however, it is important to remember that each of these forms of coping are very acceptable and beneficial to your mental state. As coping is such a multifaceted subject, learning about the other forms of coping in your free time would be beneficial. 

Some examples of how to cope are meditative breathing, checking your mental state, and setting more short term goals. By breathing deeply and paying attention to your air intake, you give your mind time to calm down and process your stressor. When checking your mental state, it is important to make sure you focus on thinking positively about your situation, and figuring out how to surpass it rather than getting stuck on what is wrong. Additionally, setting shorter term goals help create a feeling of accomplishment when they are completed, and in turn make the larger problem seem more approachable.

For example, you can:

• Creating goals: They make the problem more manageable and give you a sense of accomplishment.
• Deep Breathing: It calms you down and lowers heart rate.
• Seeking Support: Not all problems have to be handled by yourself.
• Thinking it through: By stopping and considering what you can do, you allow time for your brain to process the problem.

Is it really important?

Although it may not always be visible, your mental state has major impacts on your physical and psychological state. It is undisputed that caring for yourself by relieving mental strain and lessening stress will result in improved health. Keeping a healthy balance of self care time in your schedule and learning some positive coping strategies are essential for good mental and physical health. Remember, good habits are hard to keep. It’ll take effort to get them started, but once they do, you’ll be glad you put in that effort.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559031/
https://www.selfcarefederation.org/what-is-self-care
https://unsplash.com/s/photos/self-care