"These coping skills come in the form of the million worksheets, Instagram Reels, forwarded YouTube videos, and other media. They teach us a problem-to-response relationship. It might be a direct response (i.e., I feel anxious, so I do breathing) or an ambient impact (walking every morning to reduce the chance of anxiety). Many people feel empowered at first and benefit. But others are like the ones I hear from, who do not and feel more broken."
"The problem with the fire extinguisher approach to therapy (teaching coping skills) is twofold: We are not intentionally changing our way of seeing the world and so the predisposing factors remain the same. It means we are repeatedly lighting our "psychological house" on fire and then grabbing the appropriate extinguisher to find relief. This hardly sounds like a good long-term strategy for recovery and includes many points of potential failure."
Coping skills such as walking, breathing, tai chi, and grounding can relieve acute symptoms and help people feel empowered initially. Many treatments emphasize training numerous coping techniques to extinguish symptom flare-ups, creating a problem-to-response pattern. Relying solely on coping skills leaves underlying beliefs and predisposing factors unchanged and encourages repeated crises with temporary relief. Sustainable recovery requires shifting focus from managing symptoms to changing how one sees oneself, others, and the future by learning new lessons that alter long-term responses. Evaluating whether the focus is on coping versus learning can clarify next steps when recovery feels stuck.
Read at Psychology Today
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