Adjustment Disorder Coping Strategies: Daily Mental Health Tips
Life throws us curveballs from time to time: setbacks, major changes, or events that simply catch us off guard. We all respond to such curveballs a little differently. Some of us take them in our stride, but others take longer to adjust.
Yet, sometimes, challenges like losing a job, moving to a new city, relationship difficulties, and academic pressures may cause stress that can truly put someone’s emotional resilience to the test. When someone struggles with change to the point where their daily functioning is affected, they may be dealing with an adjustment disorder.
Adjustment disorders can impact mental and physical health in a variety of ways, including persistent sadness, anxiety, poor sleep, and difficulty concentrating.1 These impacts can make adjustment disorder coping strategies necessary tools for dealing with life’s transitions.
Fortunately, there are a variety of daily mental health tips for managing adjustment disorders – and many of these are backed by research.2
If life’s changes feel like too much to cope with, a mental health professional can help you better understand the root causes and treatment options for your challenges. This article can also work as a useful guide for coping with adjustment disorders, as it explores:
- What adjustment disorders are
- Coping with life changes
- Daily mental health tips for coping with adjustment disorder
- Behavioral coping strategies
- Therapy techniques for adjustment disorders
- Where to find professional support
Key Takeaways
- Adjustment disorder coping strategies help you respond effectively to stressful life events.
- Using structured coping strategies for adjustment disorder can reduce anxiety, irritability, and emotional overload.
- These coping strategies include self‑care routines, mindfulness, social support, and professional guidance.
- Applying coping strategies for adjustment disorder early can prevent symptoms from escalating into longer‑term issues.
- Mission Connection Healthcare supports you in developing personalized coping strategies for adjustment disorder with compassion and expertise.
Table of Contents
Understanding Adjustment Disorders
Simply put, adjustment disorders are the brain’s response to a triggering event or stressor. These conditions are directly tied to a life transition and usually happen within three months of this change.3
Unlike depression or anxiety disorders, adjustment disorders are typically tied to a specific cause, and their symptoms often resolve once someone has reasonably adapted to change.
However, without effective support and coping strategies, healing from adjustment disorders can take a lot longer – meaning these conditions may linger and even potentially worsen.
Therefore, it’s important to be able to recognize the signs of adjustment disorders in yourself or a loved one, as early intervention is often key. For instance, you might notice emotional changes like low mood, irritability, or hopelessness. Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach pains, and fatigue are also common signs.4
Aside from emotional and physical symptoms, behavioral issues such as withdrawal and social isolation may also occur alongside difficulties coping with a life transition. Such symptoms are understandable, as the last thing many people want to do is to face judgment when they’re not feeling like themselves. However, it’s worth noting that withdrawing from family and friends could inhibit recovery from adjustment disorders, as it can increase feelings of isolation.
The key factor to remember is that adjustment disorders are treatable conditions. Yet progress often hinges on daily strategies, support systems, and structured therapy techniques that promote healthy adaptation to change.5
Why Coping With Life Changes Matters
When it comes to coping with an adjustment disorder, acceptance is key. Regardless of what the transition is – a breakup, losing a job, or relocating – resistance to this change can make issues worse in the long run. By accepting a change, it can become easier to heal and adapt.
Yet this may be easier said than done. Some transitions may require less effort to accept than others – and this is natural. No one expects you to welcome change overnight, especially if this change is something complex, like grief. This is why acknowledgement is the first step in acceptance.
When faced with something scary or overwhelming, the instinct to turn away from, reject, or resist what’s happening can take over. However, rejecting the inevitability of this change can fuel the symptoms of an adjustment disorder. Therefore, it’s often good to start the coping process by simply acknowledging the existence of change – and the emotional impacts that this change is causing.
The next step may be to accept that change is part of the human experience – but it is temporary. Acceptance allows people to notice their thoughts and feelings without judgment, almost like clouds passing in the sky. This can reduce the impact of thoughts and beliefs on actions and can even allow someone to reframe a stressful event in their mind.6
These steps are elements of a therapy approach called “acceptance and commitment therapy” (ACT) – and it’s best practiced under the guidance of a mental health professional. However, some techniques from ACT can be practiced at home as part of a mental health routine. We cover some of these techniques in the following sections, but some ACT techniques that can be practiced at home include the following.
ACT Mental Wellness Strategies:
- Mindfulness techniques: Mindfulness for adjustment disorders is often an invaluable daily coping skill. It involves focusing on the here and now, helping prevent thoughts from spiraling into future-focused anxiety. Mindful breathing, grounding, and meditation can all be useful strategies for coping with adjustment disorders.
- Observing thoughts: When we over-identify with our thoughts, seeing them as absolute truths, we tend to “fuse” with them – they become part of our identity. Instead, simply acknowledging that a thought is present, for example, by telling ourselves I am having the thought that______, can defuse its power.
- Outlining values: Our values are what truly matter to us in life – they’re what guide us toward meaningful action. Thinking about the areas of life that are important to you can help ensure you make choices that align with what you want for the future.
Daily Mental Health Tips for Adjustment Disorders
Studies show that having a consistent daily routine can help people deal with the stress of change.7 This is because small, repeating actions can accumulate into powerful tools for emotional resilience and flexibility.
The following are some daily mental health tips for adjustment disorders, which can be easily built into a routine:
- Start the day with a morning ritual: Whether this is a short walk, stretching, or fifteen minutes of quiet, focused meditation, actions like these can help to start the day off on a calm, composed note. Therefore, if the day throws a curveball your way, you’re mentally and physically prepared.
- Prioritize self-care: Studies show that nutrition, exercise, and sleep can all affect mood regulation and stress responses.⁸ Therefore, a balanced diet, regular physical activity, and consistent sleep schedules are all great tools for bettering well-being.
- Journal for self-reflection: Writing down thoughts and feelings can help people process the difficult emotions tied to change.⁹ It may also be a good idea to look back at how you felt the first few days you dealt with change and your progression over time. This way, you can see personal growth on paper.
- Limit overstimulation: Research shows that reducing screen time, especially exposure to distressing news or social media comparisons, can help regulate mood.¹⁰ Plus, limiting the blue light of screens before bed can improve sleep.
- Practice micro-breaks: Short pauses during work or study can prevent overwhelm and maintain productivity. Plus, scheduling rest and fun into your day can prevent burnout and ensure a well-rounded lifestyle¹⁶.
Incorporating these daily mental wellness strategies can allow for consistency, regulate the stress response, and carve a path for recovery. There are also a number of behavioral strategies that can help people cope with adjustment disorders, which we cover next.
Behavioral Coping Strategies
Behavioral strategies are all about taking action, and research shows they’re highly effective for coping with adjustment disorders.11 As they actively involve confronting stressors, they can reduce feelings of distress and overwhelm, as well as improve autonomy in the process.
The following are some examples of behavioral coping strategies:
- Problem-solving: If the thought of tackling a stressor is too much, you could problem-solve by breaking the task into smaller, more manageable steps. For example, if the cost of moving to a new city is causing anxiety, you could take a look at your spending and set a weekly limit on your outgoings. Sometimes, practical approaches such as this can be highly effective at reducing emotional overwhelm.
- Exposure and gradual adaptation: We talked earlier about facing challenges and acknowledging them, rather than fighting against them, as avoidance can prolong adjustment difficulties. Gradual exposure may be beneficial, because it involves slowly facing the stressor – such as attending small social gatherings after a relocation – to reduce anxiety over time.¹² A therapist trained in exposure techniques can help.
- Goal-setting and reinforcement: Set realistic goals and reward progress. For example, if you’ve found yourself out of work, don’t make your first target “get a job.” Small, achievable goals such as “apply for an interview” or “hand in a resume” are more realistic and reduce the risk that you’ll feel like you’ve failed. Plus, rewarding yourself in small, achievable ways can maintain motivation.
By using behavioral coping strategies, we shift from being passively distressed to actively managing our problems, which can be excellent for overall personal growth and adjustment.
Therapy Techniques for Adjustment Disorders
Daily strategies for coping with adjustment disorders can help many people tackle the challenges that affect functioning. However, sometimes self-help techniques aren’t enough. For those who struggle to shift past anxiety and hopelessness, professional support may be required.
Some therapy techniques for adjustment disorders include:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT can help people identify and reframe unhelpful thinking patterns.¹³ For instance, replacing I’ll never adjust to this new job with This role is challenging now, but I can build skills over time can build hope and resilience.
- Mindfulness for adjustment disorders: As discussed, mindfulness techniques, including breathing exercises, meditation, and grounding practices, can teach people to remain present and reduce anxiety about the future.¹⁴ These techniques can be built into structured mindfulness therapy.
- Stress management therapy: Strategies learned in this therapy can be particularly useful when physical symptoms arise due to stress, such as headaches and problems sleeping. Some common examples of techniques include progressive muscle relaxation and guided imagery, as these have been shown to reduce physical tension and restore calm.15
- Group therapy: Professionally guided group therapy can help people see that they’re not alone in their struggles. Plus, it allows people to gain valuable insight into coping strategies that have worked for others.
Additionally, incorporating therapy-informed practices into daily routines between sessions can strengthen coping skills and reduce the intensity of adjustment symptoms.
Adjustment Disorder Support and Resources
Support can be social (found in friends, family, and peers) or professional (for example, structured guidance and research-backed wellness programs).
The following are some resources that could benefit recovery from an adjustment disorder:
- Family and peer support: Turning to family and friends can provide a highly useful coping network during times of distress. In fact, studies show that seeking support from the ones we love can effectively combat isolation and provide encouragement.17
- Mental health counseling: Professional counselors are skilled in creating safe environments for discussing stressors and developing coping strategies.¹⁸
- Wellness programs and online resources: Mental wellness programs, helplines, and digital platforms often offer accessible tools, particularly for people who are hesitant to seek in-person therapy.¹⁹
- Support groups: Online or community-based support groups can reduce the stigma around adjustment disorders and widen knowledge about the condition, as well as provide effective ways to cope.
Developing an Adjustment Disorder Recovery Plan
Now that you’re hopefully more aware of the different daily strategies for coping with adjustment disorders available, you may be wondering how you can fit these into a recovery plan. Each of these techniques, resources, and forms of professional support can create a strong roadmap for your recovery. Someone trained in treating adjustment disorders can guide you in this process.²⁰
For example, a professional could help you with:
- Identifying triggers: Recognizing specific stressors that seem to cause the most upset and result in adjustment difficulties.
- Selecting coping strategies: Combining behavioral, cognitive, and mindfulness techniques that are tailored to your specific needs. Everyone is different, so while journaling might not be for you, you might find meditation more beneficial. We’re better at forming positive habits when we enjoy them.
- Monitoring progress: Using feedback, journals, or mood-tracking apps to measure improvements and identify setbacks.
- Preventing relapse: Monitoring progress can ensure ongoing stability, especially during future life transitions. Learning and growing are all part of the process. For instance, what may have caused you distress in the past may no longer serve as a trigger – or perhaps not create the same intensity of emotions.
By integrating mindfulness practices, therapy-informed tools, and daily routines into recovery plans, adjustment disorder recovery is not just achievable – it can be the start of long-term resilience and wellbeing.
Mission Connection: Professional Support for Overcoming Life’s Challenges
Life is full of surprises, and we’re not always ready for them. But the good news is that we can become more resilient with the right help and support. Mission Connection’s compassionate, licensed team is on hand to support you, or someone you love, through the stress of an adjustment disorder.
We provide a variety of evidence-based options that can be tailored to your specific needs, whether you require immediate support or more long-term continued help. Our telehealth services also mean that you can fit therapy into your schedule flexibly, allowing you to receive care from the comfort of your home.
By also offering comprehensive medication monitoring alongside various therapies, our team can be a guiding light toward successful and sustained healing. If you’re ready to explore our treatment options, contact us today or complete our confidential contact form for more information.
References
- American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). American Psychiatric Publishing.
- Casey, P., & Bailey, S. (2011). Adjustment disorders: The state of the art. World Psychiatry, 10(1), 11–18. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2051-5545.2011.tb00003.x
- Strain, J. J., & Friedman, M. J. (2011). Considering adjustment disorders as stress response syndromes. Depression and Anxiety, 28(9), 818–823. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20894
- Maercker, A., Einsle, F., & Kollner, V. (2007). Adjustment disorders as stress response syndromes: A new diagnostic concept and its exploration in a medical sample. Psychopathology, 40(3), 135–146. https://doi.org/10.1159/000100004
- Shear, K., & Skritskaya, N. (2012). Bereavement and adjustment disorders. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 14(2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2012.14.2/kshear
- Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2006). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms: Differences between males and females. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(2), 261–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.06.002
- O’Donnell, M. L., et al. (2016). Adjustment disorder: Current developments and future directions. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 13(12), 1131. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph13121131
- Lopresti, A. L., Hood, S. D., & Drummond, P. D. (2013). A review of lifestyle factors that contribute to important pathways associated with major depression: Diet, sleep and exercise. Journal of Affective Disorders, 148(1), 12–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2013.01.014
- Baikie, K. A., & Wilhelm, K. (2005). Emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 11(5), 338–346. https://doi.org/10.1192/apt.11.5.338
- Primack, B. A., et al. (2017). Social media use and perceived social isolation among young adults in the U.S. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 53(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2017.01.010
- Kanfer, F. H., & Goldstein, A. P. (1991). Helping people change: A textbook of methods. Pergamon Press.
- Hofmann, S. G., & Smits, J. A. (2008). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for adult anxiety disorders: A meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 69(4), 621–632. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.v69n0415
- Beck, J. S. (2011). Cognitive behavior therapy: Basics and beyond (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
- Khoury, B., et al. (2013). Mindfulness-based therapy: A comprehensive meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 33(6), 763–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.05.005
- Varvogli, L., & Darviri, C. (2011). Stress management techniques: Evidence-based procedures that reduce stress and promote health. Health Science Journal, 5(2), 74–89.
- Shapiro, S. L., et al. (2005). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for health care professionals: Results from a randomized trial. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(2), 164–176. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.12.2.164
- Ozbay, F., et al. (2007). Social support and resilience to stress: From neurobiology to clinical practice. Psychiatry, 4(5), 35–40.
- Cuijpers, P., et al. (2012). Psychological treatment of depression in primary care: A meta-analysis. British Journal of General Practice, 62(594), e755–e763. https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp12X658268
- Andersson, G. (2016). Internet-delivered psychological treatments. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 12, 157–179. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-021815-093006
- Casey, P. (2014). Adult adjustment disorder: A review of diagnostic, treatment, and outcome considerations. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 16(1), 111–123. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2014.16.1/pcasey
Adjustment Disorder Coping Strategy FAQs
Adjustment disorder coping strategies are practical tools and techniques designed to help individuals adapt to major life changes and avoid ongoing emotional distress.
Coping strategies are important because they provide actionable ways to manage symptoms such as anxiety, mood swings, or social withdrawal that arise from adjustment disorder.
Effective coping strategies include establishing routines, practicing mindfulness or relaxation techniques, cultivating a reliable support network, and seeking professional help when needed.
Someone with adjustment disorder can begin using coping strategies immediately, even before formal treatment begins, to gain relief and improve daily functioning.
While coping strategies are a vital part of managing adjustment disorder, they don’t replace professional treatment when symptoms are significant or persistent — combining both offers the most support.
