What's your coping style?

Our way of living has been compromised. In the last year we’ve had to make changes to deal with a huge amount of uncertainty.

Granted, the pandemic has made life significantly harder, but dealing with uncertainty is something we all have to do in our everyday lives. This is nothing new; it’s unavoidable and some people find it harder to cope that others.

Whether we find it easier than others to sail through life’s ups and downs, or more uncomfortable to navigate them, we all have our ways of coping. Building our mental resilience can help endure the particularly difficult situations but we’re hardwired as human beings to use different strategies to approach challenges.

What’s your coping style? Do you plan ahead for the worst case-scenario, or roll with the punches as things happen, on the assumption that all will be well in the end? Do you carry on with life regardless of what’s going on around you or take ownership of the situation and try and manage it through? Do you see the glass as half empty or half full?

Below we’ve identified a few different personalities that cope with hardships in different ways.

All have their merits, so don’t feel like you need to change your ways if your coping style works for you. But have a think about which personality you are and perhaps consider if there are some traits from the other characters that you could work into your own routine and coping strategies.

For example, planning can be a very productive means of getting through tough situations but it can also be helpful to be adaptable. Sometimes looking on the bright side of life can get you through and other times you need to work through the problem.

So, which of our coping personalities are you and what can you learn from the others?

The Optimist

You expect everything will be hunky dory and roll with the punches even when it isn’t. You’re adaptable and able to make the best of bad situations. When setbacks happen, rather than giving up or feeling helpless, you see them as challenges that can be overcome and you work to fix the problem. You know everything will be fine!

The Pessimist

You expect the worst because things go wrong – it’s inevitable. And there are too many things out of your control to worry about, so what’s the point of fretting too much? It might be a dim view of things but it means you’re not overly disappointed when bad things happen.

The Realist

The glass is half empty AND half full! The best possible outcome won’t happen … but neither will the worst, and even if the outcome isn’t quite what you hoped for, things will pass in time. When bad things happen you don’t shout, “Oh, I’m so unlucky,” in exasperation because you don’t believe in luck – you make your own!

The Day-at-a-timer

You don't have a crystal ball so don’t try to predict the future. A solid 'steady as she goes' attitude gets you through each day and allows you to ‘live in the moment,’ enjoying the small things as they happen.

The Problem Solver

You have the answer to every possible scenario, good or bad. As they say in the military, “A battle plan never survives first contact,” but that’s ok because when plan A doesn’t go as you might expect … you’ve got plan B, C, D, E and F ready to be deployed.

The Crisis Planner

You don’t expect things to go wrong but you plan out the worst case-scenario just in case. You’ve got a nuclear bunker stocked with three years’ worth of canned goods! 

The Ostrich

Did you ever put your fingers in your ears as a child and sing loudly while someone was trying to tell you something, pretending not to hear them? That’s you; not concerning yourself with the problems going on around you because you’ve got your own ones to deal with. Ignorance is bliss, so you stick your head in the sand, safe in the knowledge that external factors will sort themselves out in the end.

The Control Freak

You like things done your way. It’s ‘my way or the highway’ and with you at the helm, you’re sure of getting things done. You like to take ownership – other people will just mess things up for you – and are happy to take the responsibility if things go wrong … but they won’t!