Enrichment · Wellbeing

Know what works for you,
and where it works.

Most people have a few ways of getting through a hard moment, and some of them help more than others. List yours, including the ones you are not proud of. For each, note how long it takes, where you can use it, which feelings it helps with and how well it works. The organizer ranks your top three, counts the quick ones you can use in class and shows the feelings that have nothing strong yet.

Add a strategyWhat you get

My strategies

The worked example is made up: five strategies a tenth grader uses, one of them not helping. Saved on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · WellbeingFree

What you finish with
An entry per coping strategy: its kind, how long it takes, whether it calms or energizes, where it works, the feelings it helps with, what it needs, how well it works (1 to 5), times tried and what you notice. Ranks the top three by how well they work, counts quick strategies that work in class and names feelings with no strong strategy yet; flags one tried often that rarely helps and one not tried enough to judge.
Who it is for
Students in grades 6 to 12 and college; school counselors and families helping a student build a coping plan.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved entry per strategy. Prints one strategy, every strategy in a table or a blank page; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Wellbeing space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List every strategy you actually use, helpful or not.
  2. For each, note how long it takes and where you can use it.
  3. Tick the feelings it helps with, and rate how well it works.
  4. Look at the gaps the side panel names, and add one new strategy to try.
  5. Print the list and keep it where you will see it.

Add a strategy

Why a range of strategies helps

A good coping menu has rangeFastUnder a minute.Works anywhere, even inclass.Slow breathing, feet onthe floor, a sip ofwater.SlowerTen to thirty minutes.For after school or afree period.A walk, a game of hoops,drawing.With peopleSomeone to text, call orsit with.Say what is going on,not just “ugh”.A friend, a cousin, atrusted adult.A good coping menu has rangeFastUnder a minute.Works anywhere, even in class.Slow breathing, feet on the floor, a sip ofwater.SlowerTen to thirty minutes.For after school or a free period.A walk, a game of hoops, drawing.With peopleSomeone to text, call or sit with.Say what is going on, not just “ugh”.A friend, a cousin, a trusted adult.
No single strategy works for every feeling in every place. A menu with fast, slow and social options covers more of your day.

Flexibility matters

Reviews of coping in young people find that problem-solving, reframing, acceptance and reaching out are linked with fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, while avoidance on its own is linked with more. Being able to switch strategies to suit the moment matters as much as any single one.

Quick ones for school

Slow breathing with a longer out-breath can calm the body within a few minutes and needs nothing but you. Having one or two strategies that work in class means you are not stuck waiting for the bell.

When coping is not enough

If nothing on the list helps for long, or you are using something that harms you, talk with a parent, your school counselor or a doctor. If you might not be safe, call or text 988.

Sources

  1. Compas, B. E., et al. (2017). Coping, emotion regulation, and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence: a meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 143(9), 939 to 991.
  2. Skinner, E. A., and Zimmer-Gembeck, M. J. (2007). The development of coping. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 119 to 144.
  3. Zaccaro, A., et al. (2018). How breath-control can change your life: a systematic review on psycho-physiological correlates of slow breathing. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 12, 353.
  4. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (988lifeline.org): call or text 988, chat online, 24 hours a day.

The worked example is made up. This organizer is for planning; it is not a safety plan, counseling or a diagnosis. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.