The Aces of Mental Health!

Thank you! is owed to the Greater Central Board of Realtors for inviting us to their ‘Table Top 2025- Dice, Deals, and Dreams’ event with proceeds benefiting Special Olympics Arkansas.

If you are seeking mental health therapy or need support in finding support, please contact me directly at the office,
Desired Path Therapy.
Susan Warren, LCSW, hello@desiredpaththerapy.com
1-870-293-0729.

In a world where stress, anxiety, and pressure seem ever-present and growing, caring for your mental health should not be seen as a luxury, but rather an essential. You can adopt strategies to improve emotional resilience, cognitive balance, and social support.

1. Play Your Hand Wisely

Just as a skilled poker player values good cards, invest in foundational self-care habits such as sleep, nutrition, and regular movement. These basic cards determine your mental baseline. There are tons of coping styles, which one is the best? Research on coping strategies highlights that problem-focused approaches, imagine planning, organizing, and taking deliberate action are more consistently associated with lower stress and better adjustment than reactive avoidance measures, such as avoidance, emotional suppression, and disengagement.

Practice Tip: Start your day by identifying one nonnegotiable self-care task (e.g. go for a 10-minute walk, sit mindfully in a nature spot, or prepare a balanced snack).

2. Don’t Gamble with Your Thoughts

Unchecked negative or catastrophic thinking is like betting everything on a risky hand and it often leads to loss. Instead, employ cognitive strategies to challenge distorted beliefs. Reframing your thoughts helps reduce emotional reactivity and promotes healthier perspectives. A longitudinal study among Portuguese workers found that individuals using adaptive coping strategies (including reinterpretation and support seeking) experienced fewer depressive, anxiety, and stress symptoms and higher life satisfaction.

Practice Tip: Pause when you detect a negative thought (e.g. “I’m going to fail”). Ask yourself: What evidence supports or opposes it? What’s a more balanced way to interpret the situation?

3. Stack Your Chips on Support

In a casino, chips represent collective resource and value. In life, social support functions similarly: it increases our overall capacity to cope. Emotional support, instrumental help, and mentorship significantly buffer against stress. Numerous studies show that individuals relying on supportive relationships, the use of humor, emotional support, active coping, acceptance and religion were significantly associated with better mental health outcomes tend to have better mental health outcomes.

Practice Tip: Identify one person you trust (a friend, family member, counselor) and schedule a check-in or sharing session. Strengthening these channels ensures you have “chips” to lean on during tough times.

4. Know When to Fold

In poker, sometimes folding is the best strategic move. In life, this means recognizing when to step back from a harmful situation, set boundaries, or pause to preserve mental health. Emotional self-regulation research warns against habitual suppression of feelings — over time, it can increase distress and strain relationships. But, boundaries and assertive behaviors help maintain a balance between our needs and the needs of others, creating a stable and constructive relationship.

Practice Tip: Develop a “pause protocol” (e.g. stop, breathe for 30 seconds, assess, decide) that you use before responding in high-stress moments. This gives you space to choose a healthier path.

Mental health is not a single bet but an ongoing experience. People with lower self-esteem or with fewer adaptive coping styles are more vulnerable to distress and depressive symptoms. By integrating flexibility in coping strategies (i.e., being able to shift between planning, emotional adjustment, and support seeking), individuals enhance their self-efficacy and capacity to manage challenges.

Moreover, in high-stress environments—such as college campuses, workplaces, or during life transitions—having a “toolbox” of strategies rather than relying on one method is critical.

While gambling in a casino is about chance,
caring for your mental health is not.
It’s about choice, insight,
and intentional action.

By playing your hand wisely, challenging negative thoughts, stacking your support, and knowing when to fold, you can build resilience and work to improve your quality of life.

Citations:

Algorani EB, Gupta V. Coping Mechanisms. [Updated 2023 Apr 24]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK559031/

Chernata, T. (2024). Personal boundaries: definition, role, and impact on mental health. Personality and Environmental Issues, 3(1), 24-30. https://doi.org/10.31652/2786-6033-2024-3(1)-24-30

Meng, X., & D'Arcy, C. (2016). Coping strategies and distress reduction in psychological well-being? A structural equation modelling analysis using a national population sample. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 25(4), 370–383. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796015000505

Freire, C., Ferradás, M. D. M., Regueiro, B., Rodríguez, S., Valle, A., & Núñez, J. C. (2020). Coping strategies and self-efficacy in university students: A person-centered approach. Frontiers in psychology, 11, 841.

Rabenu, E., & Yaniv, E. (2017). Psychological Resources and Strategies to Cope with Stress at Work. International journal of psychological research, 10(2), 8–15. https://doi.org/10.21500/20112084.2698

Rodrigues, F., Morouço, P., & Santos, T. (2023). Testing the Associations between Coping, Mental Health, and Satisfaction with Life in Portuguese Workers. European journal of investigation in health, psychology and education, 13(7), 1245–1256. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe13070092

Saxon, L., Makhashvili, N., Chikovani, I., Seguin, M., McKee, M., Patel, V., Bisson, J., & Roberts, B. (2017). Coping strategies and mental health outcomes of conflict-affected persons in the Republic of Georgia. Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 26(3), 276–286. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796016000019