Comprehensive Coping Inventory

Instructions: The items in this inventory are different ways of dealing with problems. As
you complete this inventory, think about difficult or stressful events in your life. Do your
best to rate each item in terms of how frequently you use it. There are no right or wrong
answers, so choose the most accurate answer for you, not what you think is most
acceptable, or what most people would say or do. RATE EACH ITEM ON A SCALE
OF 1 TO 5, WHERE 1 MEANS YOU DON’T USE THAT STRATEGY AT ALL, AND
5 MEANS YOU USE IT A GREAT DEAL.

1.1 If I think I might get anxious, I plan ahead to find things I can do to 1 2 3 4 5
protect myself from feeling really uncomfortable.
1.2 When I’m nervous or worried, I seek reassurance from others. 1 2 3 4 5
1.3 In situations that trigger my anxiety, I use specific rituals or 1 2 3 4 5
routines to try to alleviate my fears.
1.4 I try to stay away from things that make me anxious or 1 2 3 4 5
uncomfortable, rather than face them.
1.5 I try to replace upsetting thoughts with pleasant ones when feeling 1 2 3 4 5
uncomfortable.
1.6 I try to put worries and concerns out of my mind. 1 2 3 4 5
1.7 I think about all the bad things that could happen in the future. 1 2 3 4 5
1.8 I try to avoid certain physical sensations that are upsetting or 1 2 3 4 5
scary to me.
1.9 I try to avoid or blank out my emotions when I'm upset. 1 2 3 4 5
1.10 I often act on my emotions without thinking; I tend to do what 1 2 3 4 5
they push me to do.
1.11 When I get upset by a situation, my negative thoughts often don’t 1 2 3 4 5
turn out to be completely true.
1.12 I tend to see the negative or frightening aspects of situations. 1 2 3 4 5
1.13 I judge the ways others handle things, and get angry about it. 1 2 3 4 5
1.14 I blame myself for things that go wrong. 1 2 3 4 5
1.15 I dwell on problematic events in the past. 1 2 3 4 5
1.16 After an interaction, I find myself repeatedly thinking about 1 2 3 4 5
mistakes I might have made.
2.1 I do certain things to feel safe when facing experiences or 1 2 3 4 5
situations that feel scary to me.
2.2 When I'm uncertain about something that makes me anxious, it’s 1 2 3 4 5
important for me to find reassurance that everything is OK.
2.3 Over and over, I do certain things to seek relief from distressing 1 2 3 4 5
feelings, thoughts, or images.
2.4 I tend to avoid situations, people, places, or things that make me 1 2 3 4 5
 feel anxious or upset.
2.5 I distract myself from painful thoughts with hopeful and 1 2 3 4 5
reassuring ones.
2.6 I push away memories and thoughts that bother me. 1 2 3 4 5
2.7 I focus on all the negative outcomes that might result from a 1 2 3 4 5
decision.
2.8 I'm vigilant for certain physical sensations so I can try to stop or 1 2 3 4 5
avoid them.
2.9 I usually try to push painful feelings away. 1 2 3 4 5
2.10 Sometimes I act based on how I feel. For instance, If I'm feeling 1 2 3 4 5
scared, I tend to avoid; if I'm angry, I tend to attack; if I'm sad, I
tend to withdraw.
2.11 I tend to assume things will be worse – more painful or scary – 1 2 3 4 5
than they turn out to be.
2.12 I often find myself on the look-out for threatening situations. 1 2 3 4 5
2.13 I tend to criticize others for their mistakes and faults. 1 2 3 4 5
2.14 I judge myself and/or feel ashamed for my faults and mistakes. 1 2 3 4 5
2.15 I get lost in thoughts trying to understand or analyze why things 1 2 3 4 5
happened the way they did.
2.16 Shortly after an event, I think about all the things I wish I'd done 1 2 3 4 5
differently.
3.1 I have items I carry with me that help me feel safe in case I get 1 2 3 4 5
really anxious.
3.2 I repeatedly review and check things to feel reassured and reduce 1 2 3 4 5
my anxiety.
3.3 I repeat words or behaviors to feel better when certain thoughts 1 2 3 4 5
make me feel fearful or uncertain.
3.4 If I feel anxious or uncomfortable, I avoid situations altogether – 1 2 3 4 5
even though I wish I didn’t have to.
3.5 I immediately try to change my thoughts when I have scary or 1 2 3 4 5
upsetting ones.
3.6 I try to avoid or stop thinking about things that make me sad or 1 2 3 4 5
anxious.
3.7 Wherever there’s a problem, I tend to dwell on the worst things 1 2 3 4 5
that could happen.
3.8 I try to prevent having certain physical feelings that seem 1 2 3 4 5
dangerous to me.
3.9 I try to numb or shut off my negative feelings. 1 2 3 4 5
3.10 My emotions tend to drive my behavior. 1 2 3 4 5
3.11 When situations are especially upsetting to me, I tend to have a 1 2 3 4 5
string of thoughts about myself or others that feel true at the time,
but often aren’t.
3.12 I find myself often focusing on potential threats. 1 2 3 4 5
3.13 When things go wrong, I tend to blame others. 1 2 3 4 5
3.14 I get angry and/or ashamed with myself for things I should have 1 2 3 4 5
done differently.
3.15 I keep thinking about, reliving, or trying to understand things in 1 2 3 4 5
the past that upset me.
3.16 I look back on interactions to figure out what I did wrong. 1 2 3 4 5
4.1 I check to be sure that nothing will happen that might make me 1 2 3 4 5
really anxious or uncomfortable.
4.2 I look for ways to get reassurance when I'm uncertain and anxious. 1 2 3 4 5
4.3 When some situations feel especially threatening, I seem 1 2 3 4 5
compelled to do, say, or think certain things in an attempt to
reduce the sense of danger.
4.4 There are situations or things that make me anxious, and I try to 1 2 3 4 5
avoid them.
4.5 Whenever I have distressing thoughts, I say something reassuring 1 2 3 4 5
and calming to myself.
4.6 It’s important for me to block out painful thoughts. 1 2 3 4 5
4.7 I find that I tend to overthink bad scenarios that could happen. 1 2 3 4 5
4.8 I try to head off or get rid of uncomfortable physical sensations. 1 2 3 4 5
4.9 I shut down when feelings get too overwhelming or too painful. 1 2 3 4 5
4.10 I act on my emotional urges. 1 2 3 4 5
4.11 I easily jump to conclusions when I'm upset by something – and 1 2 3 4 5
my conclusions aren’t usually accurate.
4.12 I tend to notice what’s dangerous more than what’s going well in a 1 2 3 4 5
situation.
4.13 Most of the time, if things don’t go well, I tell people what they did 1 2 3 4 5
wrong.
4.14 I criticize myself for decisions and choices I have made. 1 2 3 4 5
4.15 When I have regrets about things in the past, I tend to think about 1 2 3 4 5
them over and over.
4.16 I relive conversations over and over when I don’t feel good about 1 2 3 4 5
what I said.
5.1 There are certain things I feel I must do to protect myself from 1 2 3 4 5
feeling too anxious.
5.2 I seek people who can calm my worries with comforting words of 1 2 3 4 5
reassurance.
5.3 I have difficulty resisting urges to engage in certain behaviors to 1 2 3 4 5
reduce my discomfort when my anxiety is triggered.
5.4 I try to avoid things that feel frightening or upsetting to me. 1 2 3 4 5
5.5 I try to control my mind so I don’t think about things that upset 1 2 3 4 5
me.
5.6 I try to avoid painful thoughts about bad things from the past. 1 2 3 4 5
5.7 My problems trigger a lot of thinking about all the bad directions 1 2 3 4 5
things could take.
5.8 There are some physical feelings that I can’t stand so I try to stop 1 2 3 4 5
them.
5.9 When I feel bad, I tend to turn it into anger or some other emotion 1 2 3 4 5
that makes me feel better.
5.10 If I feel shame or self-hate, I can feel driven to drink, use drugs, 1 2 3 4 5
and/or cut or hurt myself in some way.
5.11 In difficult situations I can have one negative thought after another 1 2 3 4 5
that makes things seem worse than they really are.
5.12 My mind seems to zero in on threats and dangers. 1 2 3 4 5
5.13 I notice and get angry when people don’t act as I think they should. 1 2 3 4 5
5.14 I get down on myself for wrong or stupid things I’ve done. 1 2 3 4 5
5.15 My tendency is to try, over and over again, to figure out why things 1 2 3 4 5
happened.
5.16 Again and again I review how I handled myself in interactions with 1 2 3 4 5
other people.
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in your practice?

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