Brain, stress and coping · worksheet 137
Faced with stress, you can act on the problem or look after what you feel. Neither is better in general: it depends on what can change. Often the same situation has a part that can be changed and a part that can’t.
Before you start
- What it is for: To put your energy where it is useful: acting when you can and looking after yourself when you can’t.
- About 20 minutes.
- Almost every situation has a part that can be changed and a part that can’t.
- No strategy is better in general: it depends on each part.
Prefer paper? Download the PDF to print (with a page for psychologists).
What to do with your results
You will often see that you can do both at once: an action for one part, and kindness for the other.
If you find it hard
If everything seems impossible to change, ask yourself: “What could I do, however small, even 5%?”
For psychologists
The PDF also includes a page for the psychologist: how to run the exercise in session, points to watch and scientific references. You are free to use it with your clients.
For psychologists: aim, audience and duration
Break a stressful situation down into aspects, assess for each one whether it can be changed and choose accordingly a problem-focused or emotion-focused strategy (fitting the strategy to controllability).
Chronic stress, worries, complex situations (illness, conflict, work), people who wear themselves out trying to solve everything or who endure everything. Duration: 20 min.
References
Folkman, S. (1984). Personal control and stress and coping processes: A theoretical analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 839-852.
Cheng, C., Lau, H.-P. B. & Chan, M.-P. S. (2014). Coping flexibility and psychological adjustment to stressful life changes: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 140(6), 1582-1607.
Lazarus, R. S. & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal, and Coping. Springer.
These worksheets do not replace therapy. If you are in distress or having suicidal thoughts, call your local emergency number (112 in Europe; 3114 in France, free, 24/7).
Free worksheet for non-commercial use: you may share it with credit to the author, without modifying it (Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence).
