Coping

Synonyms

Stress management

Definition

Coping is responding to environmental stimuli, events, and circumstances for the purpose of minimizing or managing stress, solving problems, and modulating physiological and emotional responses. Coping is often paired with stress (as the latter elicits the former) in what has become the stress and coping literature associated with Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman. Stress responses typically involve appraising the stimulus or event, which begins the process of assigning value (e.g., distressing) and determining responses (e.g., fight, flight, freeze). Coping is a process that follows stress appraisals, and coping responses seek to manage stress with cognitive, physiological, and behavioral responses. Various coping strategies have been categorized, such as appraisal-focused, problem-focused, or emotion-focused coping.

Cross-References

• Self-Regulation

• Stages of Adjustment

• Stress

• Stress Management