Coping, Growth, Adaption

Coping strategies help us to deal with various struggles in life. We can learn to cope with a situation by taking it on by engagement. These are situations where we are in control. So, it is within our power to find ways for effectively managing the situation. However, there are also situations which are out of our control and we do not have the ability to make changes for improvement. These are circumstances which can significantly affect our wellness.

In coping, we therefore have to employ two strategies: one is to engage in problem solving when we are in control. The second is to adapt to situations of which we are not in control. Adaptation means to learn to live with the situation, but attempt to reduce the adverse affect of this situation on the health of our mind.

Examples can be sited of people who may be afflicted with a chronic disease in early years of life. Such as, partial paralysis of the body or other chronic diseases likes diabetes and hypertension. It can be social factors, family/events or situations at work over which we have no control. Since we can’t change it, we have to learn to live with it, the best way we can.

We live in a multicultural society where emotional arousals from religion, racial and cultural conflicts exist. Conflicts by nature cause anxiety, anger, frustration, which erodes wellness and facilitates illness. Individual and social harmony can be maintained in these circumstances through mutual acceptance and adaptation to each others choices of religion and cultural practices.

The same is true of our ability to deal with differences in the family and at work. If differences exist and hurt comes our way, we have to learn how to create barriers and channel feelings in a way that is healthy to neutralize the hurt and balance our system to preserve our wellness. This can mean some give and take but that is acceptable if our health is in jeopardy.