Define Coping Mechanism

Video Transcript

"Did you ever find yourself laughing at someone when they're trying to have a serious conversation with you? I'm Virginia Intelisano, Mental Health Counselor, Registered Intern with the State of Florida and I'm here to talk to you today about your coping mechanisms. Coping mechanisms are basically what we do to manage any insecure feeling, such as anger, sadness, guilt, shame. Coping mechanisms are the way that we handle stress. Acting out. Acting out is what you do when you feel pressure. You might act out emotionally, you might act out behaviorally. Children do these oftentimes. Teenagers and children act out in school, at home, when they don't get their way for example; this is just one example of a coping mechanism. Attacking. Attacking is another form of coping mechanism where people who are feeling stress or agitation act out on you. They may beat you down or threaten you. Fantasy. Fantasy is another coping mechanism where people escape into a different kind of reality. Regression; avoiding problems and getting back to a lesser state of mind, maybe acting like a child. Undoing. Undoing wrong things, wrongful things of the doer. This is something that people do when they don't want to confront an issue. There's several more coping mechanisms and you might even be able to pinpoint some of the ones that you do when you look into it further. I'm Virginia Intelisano, talking to you about coping mechanisms. And if you've any questions, please contact the mental health professional or do additional research on your part. Believe me, safety and sanity is imperative. Take care."