Kinkini Gupta
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Written By: Kinkini Gupta | Updated : January 4, 2023 11:00 AM IST
People have different ways to cope with grief, anger or fear. Avoidance coping is common among people but it is the worst way to get through a difficult period.
Have you ever heard of the word avoidance coping? It involves the habit of trying to avoid stressors rather than dealing with them. It is a very unhealthy and maladaptive way of coping which leads to a complete change in a person's behavior. The person might start avoiding any thought related to it, any feelings that might be a normal reaction or doing things that are difficult. Avoidance coping can look like procrastinating on work related tasks, isolating yourself, people pleasing in relationships and ruminating on the past. All of these things have a common factor which is to avoid the feeling that makes that person uncomfortable and stressed.
In all honestly, the more a person resists feeling things or facing problems, the more that uncomfortable might persist. Avoidance coping might help people get a short term gratification but over time, this becomes psychologically damaging and could inhibit the ability of a person to cope with stressful and upsetting situations in a healthy way. It could hamper relationships and in the future that person might never learn how to deal with things and might even suffer from depression.
There are multiple reasons why people avoid difficult feelings, stress, fear or grief instead of dealing with them head on. Firstly, people who experience anxiety have a tendency to avoid things. This is because they try to avoid any thoughts or situations that might provoke or trigger anxiety in them. People who are prone to anxiety might have learned avoidance techniques early on and therefore might find it more difficult to learn proactive strategies. If you learned to adopt these behaviors when you were growing up, they can become a habit by the time you are an adult. However, that does not mean that it needs to remain your main mode for handling stress.
No, this is not at all a healthy behavior. Coping with something by avoiding is a way of procrastinating. A person will be fine at first but the thoughts will keep coming back and it would imply exacerbate stress and anxiety.
