A coping skill is a behavioral tool which may be used by individuals to offset or overcome adversity, disadvantage, or disability without correcting or eliminating the underlying condition. Coping skills are also sometimes called work-arounds.
Virtually all living beings routinely utilize coping skills in daily life. These are perhaps most noticeable in response to physical disabilities. An easy example of the use of coping skills in the animal kingdom are three-legged dogs, which typically learn to overcome the obvious disability to become as agile and mobile as their four-legged counterparts, whether born with the disability, or having received it due to an injury.
When helping humans deal with specific problems, professional counselors have found that a focus of attention on coping skills (with or without remedial action) often helps individuals. The range of successful coping skills varies widely with the problems to be overcome. However, the learning and practice of coping skills are generally regarded as very helpful to most individuals. Even the sharing of learned coping skills with others is often beneficial.
Some coping methods are, however, not beneficial, and may actually worsen one's condition. Alcohol and cocaine, for example, may provide temporary escape from one's problems, but ultimately result in greater hardship. Even some cognitive coping behaviors, such as denial and projection, may exacerbate one's problem rather than remedy it.
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