INTRO
I guess we can all agree that stress is part of us so long as we breathe and go about our daily activities. You can even be stressed out doing what you love to do, not because you have run of passion but because your emotional and mental faculties are getting tired of doing something or responding to a negative outcome.
An outcome other than what you hoped for can stress you out, and an unforeseen event can make you lose interest for whatever that lies ahead and all these are not good for us as far as reaching for our goals are concerned. We must learn to manage stress by all means in order to stay on top.
Stress and anxiety are common experiences for most people. In fact, 70% of adults in the United States say they feel stress or anxiety daily.
One thing we must all learn to do when it comes to stress and management is to learn to know ourselves, our limit, and our ‘turn on’ points. Some of the easy ‘to go’ ways of managing stress are discussed below;
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Cut Down On Worrying
If you worry too much about every little thing, you will die before your time. As individuals, the biggest gift we have is the gift of choice and how we choose to react to events happening around us. Truth is, worrying too much will create a very high level of stress which will at the end of the day, make us unproductive and lead us to other health issues. One way to manage stress is to find out if it is as a result excessive worrying. It is important to learn how you train your mind to respond to any negative circumstance by focusing on all the other many positives around you. This will help prevent overthinking and reduce the level of stress. At the end of the day, when you see things from a brighter note or the positive perspective, you will soon find out your level of worrying over minor issues is totally reduced or completely taken out.
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Practice Deep Breathing
For some, the simple act of taking a couple of deep breaths regularly can do the magic for them. Mental stress activates your sympathetic nervous system, signaling your body to go into “fight-or-flight” mode. During this reaction, stress hormones are released and you experience physical symptoms such as a faster heartbeat, quicker breathing, and constricted blood vessels.
The goal of deep breathing is to focus your awareness on your breath, making it slower and deeper. When you breathe in deeply through your nose, your lungs fully expand and your belly rises. This will make you feel relaxed as you gradually shift attention from whatever is happening and to gain momentum to focus on the task at hand.
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Get Entertained
This could be the first ‘go-to’ for most people searching for ways to manage stress. A source of great entertainment helps to release tension, anxiety, and depression. One of the things stress does is to make you resentful and unapproachable, but finding that channel on your TV that takes you out of that mood is all you need. Consider making a list of great channels on YouTube and pages on social media that produce funny videos that will turn your moment around.
Another thing to do is to listen to good soothing music. Listening to music can have a very relaxing effect on the body. Slow-paced instrumental music can induce the relaxation response by helping lower blood pressure and heart rate as well as stress hormones. Some types of classical, Celtic, Native American and Indian music can be particularly soothing, but simply listening to the music you enjoy is effective too. Nature sounds can also be very calming. This is why they’re often incorporated into relaxation and meditation music.
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Avoid Procrastination
Another way to take control of your stress is to stay on top of your priorities and stop procrastinating. Procrastination can lead you to act reactively, leaving you scrambling to catch up. This can cause stress, which negatively affects your health and sleeps quality. Get in the habit of making a to-do list organized by priority. Give yourself realistic deadlines and work your way down the list.
Work on the things that need to get done today and give yourself chunks of uninterrupted time, as switching between tasks or multitasking can be stressful itself.
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Hangout with Friends and Family
Social support from friends and family can help you get through stressful times. Being part of a friend network gives you a sense of belonging and self-worth, which can help you in tough times.
One study found that for women, in particular, spending time with friends and children helps release oxytocin, a natural stress reliever. This effect is called “tend and befriend,” and is the opposite of the fight-or-flight response. Keep in mind that both men and women benefit from friendship.
Another study found that men and women with the fewest social connections were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety (14Trusted Source).
