The Coping Skills Course
The perfect mini course to help you fill your coping skills toolbox.
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Welcome
Welcome to the course. Allow me to share a bit about myself as your instructor and what I hope to offer.
Welcome to the course. Allow me to share a bit about myself as your instructor and what I hope to offer.
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The Root of Anxiety
Let’s talk about what’s at the core of anxiety. How does it begin? Once we have an understanding on what anxiety is rooted in, we’ll be able to start taking action!
Let’s talk about what’s at the core of anxiety. How does it begin? Once we have an understanding on what anxiety is rooted in, we’ll be able to start taking action!
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How Anxiety Persists
Why does anxiety keep coming back up over and over again? This lesson will clear things up for you.
Why does anxiety keep coming back up over and over again? This lesson will clear things up for you.
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Getting Ahead of Anxiety
In this video, let’s explore what it means to “get ahead” of anxiety; because healing from anxiety is not only about what we do when anxiety surfaces, but about what we do before it surfaces.
In this video, let’s explore what it means to “get ahead” of anxiety; because healing from anxiety is not only about what we do when anxiety surfaces, but about what we do before it surfaces.
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Interrupting Anxiety
Anxiety may happen automatically, but we’re always capable of responding to anxiety with intention when it does arise. This lesson will teach you the basics on how to interrupt anxious cycles.
Anxiety may happen automatically, but we’re always capable of responding to anxiety with intention when it does arise. This lesson will teach you the basics on how to interrupt anxious cycles.
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Stress On The Brain
This lesson will teach you about the functions of the survival brain and how to use a basic understanding of neuroscience to take control over your own mental health.
This lesson will teach you about the functions of the survival brain and how to use a basic understanding of neuroscience to take control over your own mental health.
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Stop, Drop and Breathe
Use this simple strategy to stop yourself mid-spiral and to reconnect to the present moment.
Use this simple strategy to stop yourself mid-spiral and to reconnect to the present moment.
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3x3 Mindfulness
This mindfulness strategy will help you activate the network of your brain responsible for connection to the here-and-now and de-activate the network in your brain responsible for ruminative thinking.
This mindfulness strategy will help you activate the network of your brain responsible for connection to the here-and-now and de-activate the network in your brain responsible for ruminative thinking.
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Box Breathing
Utilize this patterned breathing technique to regulate your nervous system when becoming dysregualted. The trick to box breathing is returning your focus to the counting and to the sound and sensation of each breath.
Utilize this patterned breathing technique to regulate your nervous system when becoming dysregualted. The trick to box breathing is returning your focus to the counting and to the sound and sensation of each breath.
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The Alternating Strategy
Anxiety is worsened by emotional invalidation. When we invalidate ourselves or when we dismiss ourselves emotionally, the struggle grows stronger. Use this strategy to somatically attend to your emotions.
Anxiety is worsened by emotional invalidation. When we invalidate ourselves or when we dismiss ourselves emotionally, the struggle grows stronger. Use this strategy to somatically attend to your emotions.
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Body Hopping
Attending to the various sensations on your body as they arise on a moment to moment basis can help you detach from your thoughts. Anxiety is a vicious positive feedback loop between brain and body. This strategy will help you interrupt that loop!
Attending to the various sensations on your body as they arise on a moment to moment basis can help you detach from your thoughts. Anxiety is a vicious positive feedback loop between brain and body. This strategy will help you interrupt that loop!
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Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Even when you think you can’t control how you feel, you can. Your thoughts are tricking you into believing your more “out of control” than you actually are. If you allow yourself to separate from your thoughts momentarily to implement this skill, you’ll find that you ARE capable of relaxing the tension quickly.
Even when you think you can’t control how you feel, you can. Your thoughts are tricking you into believing your more “out of control” than you actually are. If you allow yourself to separate from your thoughts momentarily to implement this skill, you’ll find that you ARE capable of relaxing the tension quickly.
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Journaling
Whether this is something you’re familiar with or not, this video is worth a watch! It’s a great introduction to OR reminder of different journaling styles that might best support your needs given the different chapters of your life.
Whether this is something you’re familiar with or not, this video is worth a watch! It’s a great introduction to OR reminder of different journaling styles that might best support your needs given the different chapters of your life.
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Yoga
Yoga is an incredible option for pro-actively managing mental health. Through increased connection to the body, the breath, and to your innate ability to create balance, yoga can completely transform the way you think about and feel about life.
Yoga is an incredible option for pro-actively managing mental health. Through increased connection to the body, the breath, and to your innate ability to create balance, yoga can completely transform the way you think about and feel about life.
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Moving slowly
We live on auto-pilot so much of the time. When we practice moving slowly, on purpose, and pro-actively… we make it so much easier to slowww down in stressful or anxiety inducing scenarios. Essentially, we’ve conditioned the brain to think in a slow and steady way.
We live on auto-pilot so much of the time. When we practice moving slowly, on purpose, and pro-actively… we make it so much easier to slowww down in stressful or anxiety inducing scenarios. Essentially, we’ve conditioned the brain to think in a slow and steady way.
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Mindful movement
Not only is it useful to move slow, but also to move mindfully. This lesson will walk you through what it means to engage in mindful movement and will give you ideas on where to start.
Not only is it useful to move slow, but also to move mindfully. This lesson will walk you through what it means to engage in mindful movement and will give you ideas on where to start.
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Mindful Art
Learn about the use of art as a tool for coping with emotion; even if you’re not an artist.
Learn about the use of art as a tool for coping with emotion; even if you’re not an artist.
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Stay with subtlety
This lesson will deepen your mindfulness practice and help you to begin feeling so much more in control of where your mental focus goes throughout the day.
This lesson will deepen your mindfulness practice and help you to begin feeling so much more in control of where your mental focus goes throughout the day.
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Mindful Living
Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment with non-judgment -Jon Kabat-Zinn
Mindfulness is paying attention, on purpose, to the present moment with non-judgment -Jon Kabat-Zinn
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Maintaining Mental Health
Now that you’ve filled your coping skills toolbox with mindfulness based strategies, how will you upkeep your progress? This lesson will help you find ways to maintain your mental health.
Now that you’ve filled your coping skills toolbox with mindfulness based strategies, how will you upkeep your progress? This lesson will help you find ways to maintain your mental health.
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Congratulations for completing the course!
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Meet your instructor
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Meet your instructor ✳
Gabrielle Gonzalez
Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist
Hey! I’m Gaby, a licensed marriage and family therapist and fellow anxious and highly sensitive being! I struggled with anxiety throughout my childhood and teen years, but the traumas of my early adulthood and on gave me firsthand experience with panic attacks and depression too. While stress and trauma change the brain, so does healing! But I realize that the more INTENTIONAL we are about RESPONDING to stress or anxiety with the use of coping skills, the faster mental health can improve.
What you’ll learn
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Welcome to the course. Learn more about how this process will work.
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Learn skill to help you replace your auto-pilot reactions to stress with mindful responses to stress.
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Learn a variety of pro-active coping strategies to help you “set the stage” for mental health before your triggers even set in.
Course FAQ
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This course will help you RESPOND more intentionally to anxious feelings, but this course (nor can any other course) “get rid” of anxiety. Anxiety is a normal human reaction to ongoing life stress. Anxiety isn’t the problem, the lack of coping skills is. Therefore, no- this course won’t eliminate anxiety from your life. But this course will absolutely positively equip you so that you can begin to feel WAY more in control of your emotions.
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This mini course has a total run time of under 3 hours (with short videos lasting anywhere from 5 minutes to 20 minutes). You can run through the entire course in one day, or you can access one video at a time, day by day or as needed. You can return to the course videos at any time for a refresher or for a boost of support.
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Yes! You can utilize this course as a resource for supporting your mental health instead of therapy. But this course is NOT a replacement for therapy. While this course will offer you coping skills that can immensely improve mental health, this course does not offer the individualized support that therapy does. If you struggle to utilize coping skills even when you know what they are, then you likely need therapy to help you address the underlying barriers to implementing coping skills.