Stress Management

You have to follow your work schedule, make time for exercise, prepare meals and eat

healthy, maintain your relationships, keep up with household tasks, and find time for leisure. On top of all this are the endless recommendations to do more, the pressure to do more at work, your own desire to do more in life, and encouragement to do more to support your emotional and physical health. It can seem impossible even when you're following the best time management tips and tricks. Whether you're a student, a parent, working from home, or whatever you have going on, there is probably more than one thing contributing to the stress you experience. Most of us can identify what causes us stress and maybe some different ways that we respond to that stress, but how do we manage and cope with it in a healthy way? There is lots of information on the effects of stress and compelling reasons that we should try to better manage it. We will discuss some ways you can start to get better control over the stress in your life throughout this post.

Make an effort to be aware of when you're feeling stressed, consider what is causing it and how you are responding to it. The more information you can gain about stress in your life the better you will be able to manage it. It may be helpful to keep a record of your stress, write down what caused you to feel stress, how you feel physically and emotionally when you're stressed, and what you do that makes you feel better. It often isn’t only major events that contribute to us feeling stressed but the daily demands such as heavy traffic, running late, or not being able to find your keys. Notice what the signs and symptoms of too much stress are for you. These can include stomachaches, headaches, muscle soreness, being irritable, low self-esteem, feeling depressed, or inability to focus. Stress can manifest in many more ways so make an effort to understand what being stressed looks like for you.

You can begin to manage stress by starting to avoid unnecessary stress. This won't always be possible, but you can try and avoid unnecessary stress by saying "no" to things in your life that force you to take too much on. Avoid relationships and people who bring you too much stress, limit your time around these people or end the relationship all together. Eliminate tasks from your to-do list that are unnecessary. Especially during high-stress times of your life, try to decrease the expectations and demands that you are placing on yourself. You can also do this by avoiding setting unrealistic goals for yourself. Be considerate of the time you have available and what you can realistically achieve at this time in your life. Adjust your goals to ensure they meet your personal needs.

Altering your situation and adjusting how you respond to a situation is another effective way to manage stress, especially when avoiding the cause of the stress is not completely available. Try to create a balanced schedule. This requires you to look at your current schedule and evaluate where you can make changes to create more balance between work and leisure. Managing your time better can help you find the balance you are striving for. Avoid over committing and scheduling things back to back. Try to schedule time for yourself that gives you an opportunity to practice healthy coping skills and avoid scheduling other tasks during this time. Prioritize the things you have to get done. If you know there is something stressing you out that you have to get done do it first to try and relieve your stress throughout the rest of your day. Try and deal with problems head on by anticipating them and preventing them. If there are things you can delegate to other people, be sure to do so. Stress is a part of normal life, sometimes the best we can do is adjust how we respond to it. Try to reframe problems and approach them from a more positive perspective. Avoid aiming for perfectionism, it is better to get things done and continue moving forward than to be overwhelmed by trying to do everything perfectly.

While trying to manage the stress in your life remember to practice gratitude and avoid only focusing on the negativity in a situation. Learn to accept what you cannot change. There are many things in life that we can’t control, the best thing we can do is to accept this and focus on how we respond to these things. Try to look for the positive side of things, when you are faced with challenges look at them as an opportunity for growth. Express your feelings and connect with other people. Talk with someone you trust about how you’re feeling, even if you can’t change a situation it can help us to feel better by acknowledging and sharing how we are feeling. Try to create a network of close friends and family members that you can connect with and open up to regularly. Accepting that there are things that we cannot change helps us find healthy coping strategies and ways that we can feel happy and positive despite our situations.

Once you become aware of what stress looks like in your life and you have made adjustments to try and manage your stress better, you can begin to explore healthy ways to relieve stress and discover what works best for you. Making time for leisure can be a helpful way to help relieve stress. Schedule time everyday to do something that you enjoy. This might include going for a walk, taking a hot bath, playing with a pet, getting a massage, or watching comedy. Choose an activity that is right for you. Finding ways to keep your sense of humour during stressful times can also positively affect the way you respond to stress. Creating a relaxation practice in your life is also a healthy and beneficial way to cope with stress. Relaxation can be done in a variety of ways such as through mediation, progressive muscle relaxation, tai chi, yoga, or breathing exercises. Two simple breathing exercises to try are exhalation breathing and deep breathing. Try to make relaxation a priority and schedule time for it into your routine, it may be beneficial to practice some of these techniques before going to bed or right after you come home from work. Finding positive ways to relieve stress will help you continue to be your best in other areas of your life. This stress management worksheet posted through positivepsychology.com may be a helpful tool to help you get started creating a plan to better manage and relieve stress.

Lastly, when it comes to better managing and handling stress striving to create a healthy lifestyle is always a great place to start. Try to eat a healthy diet that fits your current lifestyle, reducing or completely eliminating caffeine and sugar can help with some of the effects of stress such as anxiety and poor sleep. Avoid consuming alcohol, smoking cigarettes, or using any other drugs to try and cope with stress. These things may relieve stress for a short period, but can cause much more harm than good and cause even greater problems in the future. Make it a part of your everyday routine to get moving. Regular physical activity will improve all areas of your life helping to clear your mind, reduce tension, and boost energy. Try out activities like yoga and stretching for five to ten minutes a day to promote relaxation. Make an effort to get enough sleep, avoid cutting into your sleeping time to try and catch up on other tasks. Practice a regular bedtime routine and avoid staying in bed if you are unable to fall asleep. Getting up and doing something relaxing will help you feel more rested and reduce your anxiety about being unable to sleep, helping you fall asleep in the future. Making it a priority to be mindful of the stress in your life and prioritizing your health and wellbeing will help you live a more positive and fulfilling life. Try to check in with yourself every few days or weeks and make adjustments when you need to to better manage and reduce stress.