Stress Management – 6 Ways to Reduce and Cope with Stress
Stress Management – 6 Ways to Reduce and Cope with Stress
Article by Aditya
Are you being victimized by stress for long and continuous periods? Is it getting difficult for you to manage your stress and schedule simultaneously? If yes, it may always seem impossible to beat stress, due to its long standing effects. Your monthly expenditure on bills and stuff isn’t gonna come down, your family responsibilities aren’t gonna come down and neither can you escape from your work at office or school or college or at home. It seems quite impossible, Doesn’t it? Read on to find out!
No, It can be tackled, In fact it comes from the simple realization that you’re in control of your life and so applies to your Stress Management too. Managing stress is all about taking your own decisions in the best possible way, controlling your thoughts and emotions. It comes from balancing your life, to have a balance between your work and family/relationship and have some fun. It also comes from taking a challenge with succumbing to the pressure.
Stress Management is a systematic process, which is quite easy to follow. Mind you, there are unhealthy ways in it too, but it is left for you to decide which way you’ll choose. Let’s see,
Identify the Stressor, or sources of Stress in your Life Stress management begins with the identification of the sources from which you’re getting stress. Identifying the true sources of stress can get a bit difficult. For this you have rethink or check the way you think, the way you respond to others, your attitude, your habits and the way you excuse yourself at your mistakes. Remember you should take up the responsibility for whatever you do and the way you express yourself. You should also own up responsibility for your habits and attitude, after all these things are under your control. If they aren’t then stress management is not under your control, it’s as simple as it looks. So take up responsibility, think twice before you do anything, especially when the stressor comes in your way and don’t buckle under stress.
Writing down the things you do can easily give you the sources from which you’re getting stressed, Make a guess, if you’re unsure what is causing you to get stressed. Write down how you feel both physically and emotionally. How you responded to your actions. How did you feel after your response. Assess your current situation and how you are coping with stress Now that you are writing down things are able to identify the stressors, assess the way you are managing it and what ways you are employing to cope with it. There are both healthy and unhealthy ways to cope with stress,
Unhealthy Ways Smoking Excessive Drinking Intake of Drugs and Pills Stress-Eating (Overeating) or Undereating Withdrawal from friends and family Angry outbursts, Physical Violence on others Negative Thinking Avoiding things to avoid stress
Healthy WaysPranayama and Meditation Socializing and Sharing your thoughts with friends and family Healthy Eating Positive Attitude Doing things which will make you calm and give you control of yourself Listen to good Music Watch comedy shows Enjoy the nature Long Baths (Hot-Water Baths) Physical Workouts (Within your limits) Other Stress Management Methods Avoiding Unnecessary Stress Learn to do things your way – Do what’s within your limits. Avoid People who stress you out often Control your life – Again, Do things that calm you down, avoid the things that aren’t necessary to you and stress you out. Avoid discussing things that stress you out Maintain a To-Do list – Make sure that list has only the things important TO YOU. Changing the Situation Be assertive – Tell the other person what you feel about it. Share your feelings – Your trusted friend(s) or your life-partner are always willing to help you. All the same, Be Compromising – Even if you are assertive, be compromising if the other person agrees to your terms. Adapting to the Source of Stress Settle down and assess your problem – Think of your problem with a more positive approach. Be Positive Change your terms – Don’t aim to be perfect always. It is an imperfect world and being imperfect isn’t a crime. Adjust your standards accordingly to the stressor. Accept things you can’t change Don’t try to control the uncontrollable Forgive People – It’s an imperfect world and people commit mistakes. Forgiving them will help you a lot. Look for the positives in the uncontrollable Share your feelings Have fun everyday and relax (Music, Playing with a pet, Reading, Comedy Shows etc.) Maintain a healthy lifestyle Get Proper Sleep – About 8 hours a day. Also make sure, your sleep wake cycle is maintained. Avoid Drugs, Alcohol and Smoking Reduce Caffeine and Sugar in your diet – Stress causes Diabetes and other disorders in the body. Maintain a healthy diet – Consult your dietician
I’ll say, Not all the above mentioned steps are easy to follow, But start slowly and try to implement these steps into your daily schedule. Start with the stress journal (writing down things) and things will be easy to follow. I hope these tips will prove to be useful to you, In case you have anything to ask or clarify, Feel free to drop a comment below.
Source: http://likelitelife.blogspot.com/2011/07/stress-management-6-best-ways-to.html
About the Author
Helping you with my tips and advises on my blog about Mental Health and Lifestyle. See more at http://www.likelitelife.blogspot.com
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