Psychologists Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman described two main ways we handle stress. Problem-focused coping goes after the stressor itself. Emotion-focused coping manages the feelings it stirs up. A third path, avoidance, feels like coping but leaves the problem in place. Read each situation and sort the response. The picture shows what the coping aims at.
What does the coping target?
Left: the person and their feelings · Right: the stressful situation. Your answer shows which one the response aims at.
Sort each responsepress an answer to begin
Rule of thumb: problem-focused coping fits stressors you can change. Emotion-focused coping fits the ones you can't. Neither one is always "better." Good coping uses both. Avoidance, such as denial, numbing with alcohol, or putting things off, tends to make stress last longer.