9 Healthier Ways To De-stress
Stress is an experience all of us go through. Sometimes, a certain amount of pressure is essential to help us meet life’s challenges, release creativity and fuel our continued personal growth.
It is the reaction to excessive demands of time, energy, intellect, emotions, attention or even love, placed upon us. We may feel physically or emotionally drained while needing to keep going faster and harder. Prolonged periods of
stress deplete us and may be hazardous to our health.
Different people are comfortable with different amounts of stress, and how you cope varies from person to person and even from time to time. One day you may feel totally calm and laid-back, able to cope with everything thrown your way, while on another occasion the slightest extra pressure will overwhelm you, turning you into a crumbling wreck.
In my opinion, the key to successful stress management is to obtain the right balance between pressures you can handle and the overload that drags you down. In a perfect world, we gear up emotionally and physically to deal with an event, and once it passes, we return to "normality". Perhaps, that's how it's supposed to work!
But you and I know that often, it doesn't happen like that. As a result, I am still learning to deal with the beast on a daily basis!
Despite all well intended articles on “How to get over stress”, I don’t think that it’s something that can be totally eradicated; Stress is something that can be CONTROLLED and reduced. (This is my personal view, what are your thoughts on this?)
Stress can be made worse by...
Self expectations (Too much work? Money problems?)Other people’s expectations (Too little time?)
Worry
Fear
...
You list here
Adverse effects of stress
1. Being impatient with people2. Taking our frustrations out on others
3. Causing unnecessary conflicts because stress is clouding our judgment
4. Stress can cause problems to our physical and mental health if it continues for a long time (insomnia, headaches etc ).
5. If you are stressed out, you won't be productive and won't be much good to anyone!
What can be done...
The effect that stress has on your body depends entirely on how you handle it. No matter how awful your circumstances, no matter how emotionally fried you think you are, there is usually way through it. The problem is we don’t see it, at that particular time!1. Talk about your problems with your loved ones, your family and closed friends.
Sometimes stress doesn't seem so bad if you can talk it over with someone. I have come across situations where I realized that “big deal” was not such a “big deal”, after talking to someone. Don't bottle up your problems, they will become a time bomb and difficult to deal with as time goes by.
2. Ask for help when you need it.
If you can't do a job alone, ask a co-worker or your supervisor for help. If no one knows the load you have, it’s unlikely for anyone to help or deduce the load.
3. Eliminate energy drains
Most energy drains come in the form of people. Some people in your life could be toxic to your success: people who are negative, who frustrate you, who sabotage your efforts, and who try to hold you back. When you are surrounded by people who take energy from you, rather than give you energy in the form of support, the result is more stress in your life! By seriously evaluation your personal relationships you may be able to find more energy and reduce stress.
4. Tune your mind to positive
The way you think has a major effect on whether the stress you experience is beneficial or harmful. Some people are lucky and have learned a positive outlook on life from an early age. Others need to work hard to change the way they think. By thinking positive rather than negative thoughts, you can look on a stressful and difficult situation as a wonderful chance to learn new skills and acquire new experiences rather than seeing it through the fear of failure.
5. Aim to stop being an idealist or perfectionist
Accept that things can go wrong without it necessarily being the fault of yourself or others. Don’t automatically look for someone to blame.
6. Say No!
Setting limits...saying no to some tasks can help make you more productive and successful with the tasks you choose to take on.
7. Get more Sleep!
Sleep deprivation is chronic in our culture. When someone feels tired, it is not easy to deal with stress situations. Not having a good sleep is affecting every aspect of our day and can make any problem seem worse than it really is.
8. Massage
For many people stress relief is at their fingertips! Massage is one of the oldest alternative therapies relaxation and alleviation of tension.
9. Meditation
Meditation simply requires you to stop thinking(about your life, problems etc) and just be. By focusing your mind on a particular object or vision, you can screen out distractions and induce a state of profound relaxation and serenity which can reverse the fight-or-flight response.
Whether you like it or not, stress will always be around us. The question is how to best deal with our stress? What's your strategy?
Related Posts
- Minimize Stress, Maximize Success (Book Review)
- 31 Ideas To Escape The Monotonous Daily Routine
- 7 Effective Uses Of Quotes That Will Make You Memorable, Motivated & Healthier
- Is Heavy Thinking Ruining Your Life?
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