Maybe that was his way of coping with the loss of his wife.
Dean left the cell confident that the old man was coping, but he was beginning to mirror Fred's concern with his past.
They are also meant to be used when you feel you need them, for example if you are faced with an emotional situation and you need help coping with your feelings of anger.
Coping with stress can be summed up with one word - action.
It won't be possible to completely eliminate all causes of stress from your life, but there are some things you can to do make coping easier.