In personal life, stress adds challenge, which in turn results in anxiety and pressure. It might affect the physical and mental well-being and lead to the decline in self-confidence, relationships, and also performance at the office or academics. Hence, it is important that one learns to manage the stress effectively.
Everyone has stress but how do you know if it’s serious? Check out if you have such behaviors:
• Feeling over-loaded or burdened
• Unexplained irrational fears
• Anxiety and mood swings
• Loneliness
• Feeling powerless, low, inferior
• Loose temper easily
• Increased nervous habits like biting nails and hair twisting
• Isolating yourself from others in purpose
• Difficulty in making decisions / poor judgment
• Lacking concentration
• Repetitive thoughts
In addition to these, there are three common symptoms that people respond when their stress levels are “out of control.”
1. An agitated response, where the person is highly emotional, heated and unable to even sit still.
2. A depressed response, where the person shuts down from the environment, isolates, and show little or lack of energy and emotion.
3. Both a tense and frozen stress response, a state in which the person “freeze” under pressure and feel like he/she can’t do anything. The person then looks paralyzed, but under the surface he/she may feel extremely agitated.
If you have any of these, then it’s advisable that you must undergo certain practices or meditations to control your mind and jump out of stress. If not, in future it leads to psychological or cognitive problems.
Types of stressors:
We always have been made to understand stress is something bad and it affects a person’s happiness. But in real, situations are the factors that stimulates stress. It is not always a bad one.
Stress management plan:
Tip 1: Identify and tackle the problem
First identify the source of the problem. It might seem easy to point out the stressors like job, academics or relationships, but marking the exact point of stress is extremely hard. To identify that, observe your habits, retrospect your attitude and changes. Ask yourself – “Do I blame others for my stress or view it as entirely normal?” Until you accept the responsibility on your shoulders, your stress isn’t going to decrease.
Tip 2: Practice the 4 A’s
1. Avoid: Learn to say ‘no.’ Don’t burden yourself with jobs which you aren’t capable of handling.
2. Alter: If a person is causing you stress, avoid them. If it’s important, try to alter your timings, reduce the amount of time you spend with them. Similarly, if it’s a situation or job try to reframe it. For example, if you are struck up in a traffic jam, take it an opportunity to listen to your favorite music or make a call to your friends, instead of pressuring yourself.
3. Adapt: Try to adjust your standards. Perfectionism may be one major reasons for stress.
4. Accept: Many things in this world are beyond our control. We cannot change certain things like how others behave to us. Rather than stressing them, try to focus on things that you can control, or opportunities for better improvements.
Tip 3: Get moving
When you feel stressed, stress it out by physical exercise, dance, mindfulness or breathing exercise. Take a walk with your pet or a cycle ride to a nearby store. Movement can change your mindset; it diverts you when you are down.
Tip 4: Connect
Tip 5: Manage your time better
First, prepare a to-do list every day, by prioritizing the tasks. Work according. Take regular breaks to relax like a small conversation in phone or a chit-chat with your co-workers or friends or a coffee break. Because poor time management causes a lot of stress. When you have too much things, it’s easily possible to lose concentration and thus, stress yourself. So manage your time effectively by organizing things.
Tip 6: Drop your stress in a moment
When you are tensed by your friends or a meeting at work or an argument, you need to reduce the stress levels right then. There are quick stress relieves like taking a deep breath, using the senses. Look at any picture you like or a cartoon episode or listening to your favorite music, tasting a particular sweet or hugging your pets. Not everyone will be back normal after such sensory experiences. However, there is a possibility of reduction in their stress levels.
SIMPLE LIFESTYLE CHANGES:
- Be early to bed and wake early.
- Find some time to meditate or walk even if it’s short.
- Have breakfast and relax a bit. Do something which you enjoy like hearing to a music or meeting a friend.
- Organize your work. Make a to-do list.
- If possible, try to sit or work in a calm and pleasant environment, with low noise.
- Turn simple events like birthdays and outings into a special day.
- Enjoy the most on holidays. Surround yourself with the persons you like.
- Avoid people who are ‘stress-carriers.’
- Give yourself a pat whenever you feel like. Appreciate yourself which boosts you.
- Be assertive and positive for the changes and happenings around you.
- Seek emotional help from your well-wishers whenever you feel like.
- If you are a pet lover, adopt a pet. If not, if you are a garden person, try talking and relaxing with plants.
- If you are a spiritual person, speak to God for guidance.
- Show less aggression and increased flexibility.
There are yet thousands of ways to manage your stress. One simple tip is that you can write down 5 things that made you happy by the end of each day. And be grateful for that. And never forget to wear a smile on your face.
SMILE 😊