How to Create a Coping Card for Anxiety (With Examples)
When anxiety is high, it can be difficult to remember the strategies you've learned.
You may know that avoidance isn't helping. You may know that repeatedly checking, Googling, or asking for reassurance keeps the anxiety going. You may even know exactly what you'd normally tell someone else in the same situation.
But when your nervous system is activated, knowing what to do and actually remembering to do it can feel like two different things.
That's where a coping card can help.
A coping card is a simple, portable reminder of how you want to respond when anxiety shows up. It doesn't eliminate anxiety, and it isn't a substitute for treatment. Instead, it gives you something concrete to refer back to when anxious thinking makes it harder to access your usual strategies.
What Is a Coping Card?
A coping card can be as simple as a note card, a note in your phone, or a photo saved somewhere easy to access.
The format doesn't really matter.
What matters is that the information is:
Short enough to read when you're anxious
Specific to your patterns
Practical rather than overly reassuring
Easy to access when you need it
Think of it as a prompt for how you want to respond…not a list of things you need to do perfectly.
You may want one on your nightstand, in your bag, in your car, or saved on your phone. If there are particular situations where anxiety tends to show up, make sure your card is accessible there.
What Should You Put on Your Coping Card?
There's no single right format, but I recommend keeping it simple.
1. Identify What You Tend to Do When You're Anxious
Start by writing down the behaviors you tend to fall into when anxiety gets loud.
For example:
Avoiding situations
Leaving as soon as anxiety increases
Repeatedly asking for reassurance
Googling symptoms
Checking your body
Trying to make certain that nothing bad will happen
Distracting yourself every time you notice an uncomfortable feeling
These behaviors often make sense in the moment because they can reduce anxiety temporarily.
But temporary relief can sometimes reinforce the anxiety cycle.
Putting these patterns on your card can help you recognize them when they show up.
2. Write Down How You Want to Respond Instead
Now create a short list of responses you want to practice.
For example:
Stay with the situation rather than automatically escaping.
Allow some uncertainty instead of trying to solve every “what if.”
Notice the anxious thought without automatically treating it as a fact.
Let the physical sensation be there without constantly checking it.
Return my attention to what I'm doing right now.
These statements are more useful than generic instructions to “calm down.”
You're giving yourself a reminder of a behavior you can actually practice.
3. Choose a Few Coping Statements
You can also include a few short statements that help you respond differently to anxiety.
For example:
“I don't have to figure this out right now.”
“I can allow this feeling to be here without immediately trying to get rid of it.”
“An anxious thought is not the same thing as a fact.”
“I can experience uncertainty without solving it.”
Notice that these statements aren't promising that everything will be okay.
That's intentional.
For some people, repeatedly telling themselves that nothing bad will happen can become another way of seeking reassurance. A useful coping statement doesn't have to guarantee safety. It can remind you how you want to respond to uncertainty.
4. Add One or Two Things You Can Actually Do
Your coping card can include practical strategies that help you shift your attention or regulate your body.
Depending on what you've learned in treatment, this might include:
Slow, comfortable breathing
Grounding exercises
Mindfulness
A brief walk
Returning to the activity you were doing
Following an exposure plan
Using a previously learned therapy skill
Choose strategies that you've practiced before.
The goal isn't to create a huge emergency checklist that you have to work through every time you feel anxious.
Keep it simple and manageable.
Be Careful About Turning Your Coping Card Into Reassurance
This is an important distinction.
A coping card can become unhelpful if you start checking it repeatedly to convince yourself that you're safe.
For example, if you have a fear of having a panic attack, you might read:
“Panic attacks aren't dangerous.”
Then anxiety rises, so you read it again.
And again.
And again.
If the purpose of the card becomes “I need to read this until I feel certain and calm,” the card may be functioning more like reassurance (which only helps in the short term).
Instead, the card should help you remember:
“I know what I tend to do when I'm anxious, and I know how I want to respond.”
That's a very different goal.
Keep Your Coping Card Simple
When anxiety is high, you don't want to read a two-page document.
Choose the few reminders that are most relevant to you.
You might even organize your card like this:
When I'm anxious, I tend to:
Avoid / check / Google / seek reassurance / escape
Instead, I want to:
Stay / notice / allow / continue / return
What I want to remember:
I don't need certainty before I can move forward.
What I can do right now:
[Your specific strategy]
That's enough.
Your coping card doesn't need to contain every anxiety strategy you've ever learned.
Practice Using It Before You Really Need It
Don't wait until you're at your highest level of anxiety to figure out whether your coping card is useful.
Try using it when anxiety is moderate.
Notice which statements feel helpful and which ones make you want to keep checking for reassurance.
You may also find that your card changes over time as you learn more about your anxiety patterns.
That's okay.
The goal isn't to create the perfect card.
It's to create a practical reminder of the response you want to practice when anxiety shows up.
Need More Help With Anxiety?
A coping card can be a useful tool, but it works best as part of a broader understanding of what's maintaining your anxiety.
If avoidance, reassurance seeking, checking, or other anxiety-driven behaviors are taking up a significant amount of your time or limiting what you do, working with a therapist can help you understand those patterns and learn different ways of responding.
At State of Mind Therapy, our team specializes in anxiety and OCD treatment using evidence-based approaches.