Even though
stress is a normal reaction to
situations perceived as threatening or when a person must deal with an unusual amount of responsibilities every day, prolonged and intense experiences of stress can affect our physical, social, and emotional health. When this is the case, learning stress management techniques can greatly improve a person’s quality of life. These techniques are aimed at helping people balance the many aspect of life, the physical, intellectual, and emotional aspects as well as
work, relationships, and leisure, and so allow them to have more fulfilling and happy lives.If you are suffering from unhealthy levels of stress, the first step to manage the situation is identifying the causes of you stress. These may be related to work,
family, health concerns, having unrealistic expectations, a cynical and negative attitude toward life and situations, having gone through sudden traumatic events, or spending too much time and energy in one area of your life, neglecting the other, also important, areas. Workaholics tend to spend too much time at work, and not enough time with friends, family, and at leisure. Housewives might spend too much time
taking care of home and family, and not enough socializing, and taking care of themselves. Students might spend too much time preparing for tests, working on projects, and not enough time with family or at leisure. Everybody has their own personal combination of stress trigger situations, but in all cases there are certain strategies for that help
reduce stress, and
cope with it a healthier way.Live a more balanced life; make sure you eat well, exercise regularly, and not using drugs or alcohol to help you cope. Also share responsibilities with others at work and home, avoid taking on more than you can do, and rely on others to support listen to you and help you. Learning relaxation techniques and practicing them regularly also helps.Manage your time effectively; if necessary, reorganize your schedule to make your life more balanced. Having a ‘to-do’ list, prioritizing activities, scheduling extra time for tasks in case of interruptions, and scheduling time for relaxation are very useful tools to balance your life and reduce stress.Accept support from others; many times just being able to talk about what is stressing us out does much to reduce stress. Talking usually eases the pressure we build inside when we are stressed out. Spend time developing a strong network of friends and family members on which you can fall back on when stress becomes too much to handle by yourself. Make sure to include people you can express your feeling and thoughts to, and who will listen without judging you, people with which you can establish relationships based on emotional honesty.Develop coping skills for stress relief; stress many times derives from our own attitudes and feelings related to events and situations we go through, as well as our expectations toward ourselves. Humor is a very good way of relieving stress; finding humor or absurdity in stressful situations helps to minimize the stressful effects of those situations on us. It is also important to be realistic about our own expectations. Remembering that we are not perfect but only human and that we can’t control all situations helps us deal with them more effectively, as well as thinking positively and being flexible enough to give in sometimes.Organize and simplify your life; having too many things to do and not knowing where to begin can be very stressful. To cope with this situation, plan your day, prioritize your activities, eliminating or delegating those you won’t have enough time to do and can be done by someone else. Break down big tasks into smaller, manageable parts and work through them one by one.Nurture yourself; stress comes hand in hand with feelings of anxiety and frustration. These can be reduced by eating a balanced diet, exercising, getting enough sleep, practicing relaxation techniques, avoiding caffeine, drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, and doing simple, fun things such as reading a book, taking a nap, going for a walk, or any other activity that brings you pleasure.Take a break; take many short breaks during your workday, stretch yourself, look out the window, go for a drink of water, walk around a little bit. Setting aside personal time daily and weekly to socialize, participate in sports, or any other activity not related to work is a positive and healthy way to reduce stress.Keep a journal; writing down things helps to put them into perspective and see them more objectively. It may also help to identify stress-producing situations in your life, evaluate your own personal stress coping strategies and modify them if they are not working.Seek professional help; Research shows that stress can damage the brain, heart, joints, digestive and immune systems. If you feel you can’t cope with stress on your own, or want to learn how to do it, there are professional who can help you. Seeking professional help is especially important if stress is so intense you feel depressed or extremely anxious, or if you are abusing drugs or alcohol, feel like injuring yourself, and if you have suicidal thoughts. Stress can be treated, you can learn to manage it and make your life better, but it’s not always easy, it takes time, practice, and patience.
Published: November 16, 2006
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