Coping offers a straightforward, evidence-based road map for managing stress with clarity and confidence. Drawing on decades of clinical experience and a thorough review of the latest research, psychiatrists and mental health researchers Robert Maunder, MD and Jonathan Hunter, MD present a practical, curated guide to effective coping strategies – along with realistic expectations for their success.
With warmth and wisdom, the authors introduce three essential steps: fix the problem if you can, feel better about what you can’t fix, and, when suffering persists, seek purpose and meaning. For each step, they provide specific, proven techniques to help you tackle problems, find comfort, and discover deeper significance in challenging times. Step-by-step instructions and decision-making tools make it easy to learn, apply, and choose the right approach for any situation. These science-backed strategies are designed for maximum flexibility and can be adapted to meet the reader where they are. Integrating twelve powerful, real-life interviews with individuals facing extraordinary stress, the book helps readers modify the tested methods to their unique challenges and personal preferences and provides a rare sense of hope.
Accessible, compassionate, and grounded in science, Coping presents a scientifically sound, practical, forgiving, and authoritative guide to caring for yourself.
Table of Contents:
Preface
Introduction
Chapter 1. Coping with Plagues
Niko: Hope is Always Present
Chapter 2. What Coping Isn’t and Is
Chapter 3. Stress and Coping
Step One: Fix It If You Can
Chapter 4. Solve It Yourself
Leyla: I Realized I Had Two Choices
Chapter 5. Solve It with Others
Chapter 6. Problems That Can’t Be Solved
Step Two: Feel Better About What You Can’t Fix
Act
Chapter 7. Do Healthy Stuff
Heather: I Just Go into Problem-Solving Mode
Chapter 8. Relax!
Chapter 9. Indulge in Worthy Distractions
Carol: A Raincoat for the Crying
Chapter 10. Manage Painful Emotions
Chapter 11. Take It Easy on the Harmful Stuff
Connect
Chapter 12. (Not) Everybody Likes to Cha Cha Cha
Chapter 13. The Art of Connection
Istvan: I Always Found a Tribe
Chapter 14. Use the Connections That Work for You
Adopt a Helpful Attitude
Chapter 15. Be Open to New Perspectives
Niko: I Had a Purpose and Meaning of Some Sort
Chapter 16. Gratitude and Positivity
Chapter 17. Favour Acceptance over Denial
Step Three: Live Meaningfully
Endure
Chapter 18. Persist with Hope and Purpose
Dawit: I Have to Focus on the Things That I Love
Chapter 19. Find Courage
Bennie: I Just Coped by Ignoring It
Chapter 20. Make Sense of Suffering
Live by Your Values
Chapter 21. Act According to Your Values
Rashid: I Use My Voice
Chapter 22. Engage in Religion and Spirituality
Pascal: What If This Is God’s Plan?
Look Beyond Yourself
Chapter 23. Reach Outward with Awe, Altruism, and Advocacy
Dee and Louise: Making Meaning Is a Community Thing
Chapter 24. Gather Your People
Grow
Cindy: I Had to Come Out as Myself
Chapter 25. Fulfill Your Potential
Chapter 26. Create
Chapter 27. Enjoy
Katrina: You Have to Accept the Facts
Coda
Chapter 28. Three Steps versus Real Life
Acknowledgments
End Notes
About the Author :
Robert Maunder, MD is a psychiatrist and researcher. He is currently a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, and chair in health and behaviour at Sinai Health. The author of multiple books, he has written for general readers in the Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, The Walrus, The Conversation, and Psychology Today.
Jonathan Hunter, MD is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. He is currently a professor in the department of psychiatry at the University of Toronto and holds the Pencer Chair in Applied General Psychiatry at Sinai Health. His clinical and research work includes the psychological care of cancer patients, the role of early life experience in adaptation to disease, and supporting hospital staff in times of strain.
Review :
"This thoughtful book is filled with wisdom, warmth, and gentle humor—a primer on coping when the dark days come." - Joel E. Dimsdale, University of California, San Diego
"Coping is a gem of a book! It provides coping skills that work, even in situations that cannot be overcome, while talking about lives lived with meaning, joy, and connection." - Rev. Dr. Cheri DiNovo, CM, former Member of Provincial Parliament for Parkdale–High Park, and Lambda award-winning author of Qu(e)erying Evangelism and The Queer Evangelist
"In their book, Coping, Doctors Maunder and Hunter have tenderly gathered their shared years of wisdom and experience about how to cope with the inevitable challenges, hardships, and suffering that comes with being human. This is a loving invitation to fix what we can and face each day with purpose, promise, and hope. What a gift!" - Rabbi Michael Adam Latz, Spiritual Care Practitioner and former Co-Chair, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
"Coping cuts through the noise of modern self-help with evidence-based insight grounded in professional expertise. Anyone can post a meme about wellness. Coping offers trustworthy guidance to help us navigate life's challenges." - Benjamin Perrin, best-selling author of Indictment and professor, University of British Columbia
"The hard-won insights of two experienced and compassionate psychiatrists power this book. Readers will be rewarded with a view of resilience that is less about today's wellness trends and more about generating agency and hope in the face of pain." - Zindel Segal, Distinguished Professor of Psychology in Mood Disorders, University of Toronto Scarborough
