Coping Lifestyle Inventory

I found this inventory in a magazine more than ten years ago. I cannot say which magazine since I copied it on a pad paper. Here it is:

What's your coping style? Check the things that you do when placed under stressful situations:

1. Lose control (ex: excessive crying)
2. React on emotions and not intellect
3. Freeze (shaking): controlled by physical symptoms
4. Use drugs
5. Use alcohol
6. Avoid stressor as best I can
7. Ignore and run from stressor
8. Internalize feelings (keep it inside)
9. Allow people to take advantage of me
10. Remain passive because of fear of hurting others
11. Put off stressful situations until they "come to a head"
12. Watch television
13. Read nonprofessional material
14. Spend time working on hobbies
15. Binge eat
16. Listen to music
17. Face situation head on
18. Do something physical (ie. exercise)
19. Ask friends for advice
20. Get involved with formal relaxation activity
21. Do yoga, T'ai Chi, or meditate
22. Use positive self-talk (ex: "Things will work out, I just know it")
23. Do imagery or fantasy activities
24. Engage in self hypnosis
25. Do nothing (let it be)
26. Feel the stressor is out of your control
27. Expect the worst to happen
28. Try to face or attack your fears head on
29. Say it's stupid or illogical to get upset
30. Work out a plan to control stressor
31. Take out time from daily activities to improve mental state/ well-being
32. Put off tasks when they aren't important to immediate/ future goals
33. Seek medical help when stress becomes excessive


COPING STYLES

1. Lose control: You freeze, cry excessively, engage in binge eating or hyperventilate. In other words, your symptoms control you instead of you controlling them (numbers 1, 2, 3, 9).

2. No active involvement (Negative): You feel that stress is out of control and think the worst will probably happen to you. You tell yourself that things won't work out and that there is no reason to try and do anything about it (numbers 26,27).

3. No active involvement (Positive): You don't do anything at all because of your belief that things will work out for the best or that someone is watching out for you. You are simply optimistic (numbers 22, 25).

4. Divert: You try to distract your mind away from stressful thoughts and emotions. To accomplish this, you might watch TV, read books, clean, exercise, work, etc... (numbers 12, 13, 14, 15, 16).

5. Escape: You try to disassociate and run from stressful thoughts and emotions, you might go on vacation, sleep, drink enough alcohol to forget, work long hours, etc... (numbers 4, 5, 6, 7).

6. Suppress: You avoid, deny, rationalize, and use any other mental device (defense mechanism) to protect yuo from directly facing the stress of daily living; passive individual (numbers 8, 11).

7. Active involvement: You really enter into and attack your problems realistically. Ex: Assert yourself and engage in direct problem solving/ set up a schedule of exercise and relaxation (number 17, 18, 19,20)

8. Alter state of confusion: When you try to change your frame of mind by getting into activities like imagery, sensory deprivation (isolation tanks), meditation and self-hypnosis (numbers 21, 23, 24).

9. Prevent stress reactions: Really not a coping method. Its objective is to prevent you from experienceing excessive stress by making change in your lifestyle and interactions. Ex: time management, cognitive restructuring, fear control training, day-off for "mental health" (numbers 28, 29, 30, 31, 32)

10. Seek medical help: Sometimes all the books and self training programs are not helpful enough -- most important coping method under certain circumstances (33)

Type A or Type B? Want to know your personality type? Check this out: EVALUATION OF PERSONALITY