My 101 Best Coping Statements For Anxiety and Depression

Coping Statements for my anxiety and depression helps me live a balanced life. It turns out that I was using them at times before I understood what they are. For years it was unclear to me why they work. But because of my hospitalization last year for major depressive disorder, I was introduced to the science behind coping statements.

As I found tools to help me with anxiety and major depressive disorder, I started collecting a few coping statements. This led to writing down a few more positive coping statements and then a few more. I soon realized that I had close to 100 Coping Statements that I use to control my anxiety and depression.

What Are Coping Statements?

Coping statements are truthful positive statements used to replace the negative and untrue thoughts that take over when you feel anxious, stressed, angry, and/or when facing other overwhelming situations.

Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman theorized that coping could be divided based on its function, into problem-focused coping and emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping includes those strategies that involve acting on the environment or the self. Emotion-focused coping includes those strategies used to regulate one's stressful emotions.

What does that mean to me? Life changes and what worked last time may not work this time. By collecting 101 Coping Statements for anxiety and depression, I can adapt my positive statement to replace unhelpful thinking. And I can change that positive thought as the situation unfolds.

Should I Use Coping Statements for My Anxiety?

The short answer is YES! Please use coping statements for your anxiety, depression, mental health issues, or any addiction. I do and it helps me not be so hard on myself.

I can create all kinds of unhelpful thinking around just about any situation. And using coping statements helps focus me and gives me reasons to rethink my attitude toward the event.

Knowing you cannot change the event, focus on what you can change: YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE EVENT.

How Can I Use Coping Statements to Lead a Balanced Life?

Often, working with a professional to help you practice coping statements is recommended. The psychiatric medical community and LCSWs have been exceedingly helpful in my understanding of the power positive coping statements have.

"I have depression, depression does not have me." When I first used this statement, I had no idea it was really a coping statement. All I knew was that it helped me clarify what was going on in my head. Having a mantra I could repeat whenever things got tough was lifesaving.

My List of 101 Coping Statements for Anxiety and Depression

1. Stop, and breathe, I can do this
2. This will pass
3. I can be anxious/angry/sad and still deal with this
4. I have done this before, and I can do it again
5. This feels bad, it is a normal body reaction. It will pass
6. This feels bad, and feelings are very often wrong
7. These are just feelings, they will go away
8. This won't last forever
9. Short-term pain for long-term gain
10. I can feel bad and still choose to take a new and healthy direction
11. I don't need to rush, I can take things slowly
12. I have survived before, I will survive now
13. I feel this way because of my past experiences, but I am safe right now
14. I'm stronger than I think
15. It's okay to feel this way, it's a normal reaction
16. Right now, I am not in danger. Right now, I'm safe
17. My mind is not always my friend
18. Thoughts are just thoughts. They are not necessarily true or factual
19. I will learn from this experience, even if it seems hard to understand right now
20. This is difficult and uncomfortable, but it is only temporary
21. I choose to see this challenge as an opportunity
22. I can use my coping skills and get through this
23. I can learn from this and it will be easier next time
24. Keep calm and carry on
25. Fighting this doesn't help — so I'll just relax and breathe deeply and let it float away
26. This feeling isn't comfortable, but I can handle it
27. By relaxing through these feelings I learn to face my fears
28. I can feel anxious and still deal with this situation
29. This is not a real emergency. I can slow down and think about what I need to do
30. This feeling will go away
31. By staying present and focused on my task my anxiety will decrease
32. These are just thoughts — not reality
33. Anxiety won't hurt me
34. Feeling tense is natural. It tells me it's time to use coping strategies
35. Things are not as bad as I am making them out to be
36. Don't discount the positives
37. I've done this before so I can do it again
38. I'll be glad I did it when this is over
39. I'll feel better when I am actually in the situation
40. I'll just do the best I can
41. By facing my fears I can overcome them
42. Worrying doesn't help. Whatever happens, happens. I can handle it
43. Having done this before, I can do it again
44. Stay focused on the present. What do I need to do right now?
45. It will soon be over
46. It's not the worst thing that could happen
47. Step by step until it's over
48. I don't need to eliminate stress, just keep it under control
49. Once I label my stress from 1 to 10 I can watch it go down
50. Take a breath. I can always retreat out of this situation if I decide to
51. There is nothing dangerous here
52. Take deep breaths and take your time
53. This feeling is just adrenaline. It will pass in a couple of minutes
54. These feelings are not dangerous
55. Getting this going will reduce my worry about it
56. This isn't dangerous. I will just let my body pass through this
57. I have survived panic attacks before and I will survive this as well
58. Nothing serious is going to happen
59. This too will pass
60. The way you look at pain makes a significant difference
61. I can control the pain
62. One step at a time — I can handle this
63. I need to stay focused on the positives
64. It won't last much longer
65. This isn't as bad as I thought
66. No matter how bad it gets, I can do it
67. It will be over soon
68. I am not my illness
69. Strong, healthy, smart
70. It's not worth getting mad about
71. I won't take this personally
72. I am in charge, not my anger
73. I am going to breathe slowly until I know what to do
74. Getting angry isn't going to help
75. I can handle this and stay in control
76. Remember to breathe
77. People aren't against me — they're for themselves
78. I have depression, depression does not have me
79. I can handle this
80. I have done this before, so I can do it again
81. Getting this going will reduce my worry about it
82. Concentrate on what is going on…not how I feel
83. This is just anxiety; it is an unpleasant feeling, but I've never been ill
84. Concentrate on what I have to do
85. I know I am going to be OK
86. The feelings always pass
87. Relax and think positively
88. One step at a time
89. Anxious feelings are unpleasant, but not harmful or dangerous
90. Relax now! Just breathe deeply
91. There's an end to it
92. Keep my mind on right now — on the task at hand
93. I can keep this within limits I can handle
94. I can always call someone I trust
95. I am only afraid because I decided to be. I can decide not to be
96. I've survived this and worse before
97. Being active will lessen my fear
98. I can be anxious and still deal with this
99. This is uncomfortable, but I can handle it if I take slow and deep breaths
100. Verbalizing my coping statements helps me calm down and stay in control
101. I encourage you to start using coping statements if you haven't already discovered this tool

The Bottom Line

Negative self-talk doesn't help. You can try to thought-stop but unless you've got a ready replacement, it probably won't work. That's why preparing coping statements makes sense.

Remember: coping statements are truthful positive statements used to replace the negative and untrue thoughts that take-over when you feel anxious, stressed, angry, and/or when facing other overwhelming situations.

Understanding how sneaky depression can be, I am sensitive to and look for unhelpful thinking, combatting it with positive coping statements. Whether dealing with an addiction or a mental health issue, chronic pain, or even anger issues, coping statements are a way to direct your mind toward a positive outcome.

What has been your experience? Are you using Coping Statements?