Let's break up with Stress!
Let’s break up with stress!
We all respond to stress differently and there is no “one size fits all” solution for everyone. Yet, stress management is very important so that we all can cope our stress from work, home, relationship, and money issues.
Here are 5 keys to good stress management that may help you feel better and less stressed in daily life. Try experiment with different keys and strategies and focus on the ways that make you feel relax and calm.
#1 Keep Moving
Exercise not only releases endorphins that boost up our mood and happiness, it can also serve as a valuable distraction to our daily worries. Although the maximum benefits comes from exercising for 30 minutes and more, we can start with short 10 minutes bursts of activity that elevate heart rate that make us break out into a sweat. Walking, running, swimming, dancing, cycling, tai chi, and aerobic classes are good choices.
#2 Be a social butterfly
When we making eye contact, listening in an attentive way, talking, laughing can quickly calm us down and put the brakes on defensive stress response “fight-or flight”. It may be difficult to have a pal close by to lean on, but we can build and maintain a network of close friends so that we can improve our resiliency to life’s stressors. Do you know that, the more lonely and isolated the person is, the greater his vulnerability to stress. So reach out to family and friends and let them be our good listeners.
#3 4A's
Sometimes stressors are predictable. There is a helpful 4A’s to handle these stressors – Avoid, Alter, Adapt and Accept.
Avoid unnecessary stressor by learning how to say “no”. We need to know our limits and distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts”. Taking on more than we can handlie is a surefire recipe for stress. Besides, we should avoid people who stress us out and take control of our environment. For instant, limit the amount of time spend with that person and avoid the traffic that make us tense.
Alter the situation by changing the way we communicate and operate in daily life. We should express the feelings instead of bottling them up. It not the resentment will build and stress will increase. Thus if something or someone is bothering you, be more assertive and communicate the concerns in an open and respectful way. Of course, we should be willing to compromise as well so that we can find a happy middle ground.
Adapt the stressor by reframing the problems and changing the expectations and attitude to stressful situations. It is super duper important to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective. Each time we think a negative thought, the body reacts as if it were in the throes of a tension-filled situation. Thus, look at the bigger picture of the stressful situation by asking ourselves how important it will be in the long run? Is it really worth getting upset over? Perfectionism is also a major source of avoidable stress. Set reasonable standards and learn to be okay wit “good enough”.
Accept the things that we can’t change. There are a lot of situation are beyond our control such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness. In such cases, the best way to cope is to accept it rather than stressing out over them. When facing the challenges, try to look as opportunities for personal growth. If our own poor choices contributed to this stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from them. Lastly, let go of anger and resentments. We must learn to forgive and accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world and that people makes mistakes. So free ourselves from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.
#4 Make time for fun
Don’t get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of life until forget to take care of our own needs. Nurturing ourselves are necessity, not luxury. So everyone should have some “me time”. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach because this is the time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge the batteries. We can do the things we enjoyed during “me time” such as playing piano, dancing, stargazing. Besides, keeping the sense of humor is important because the act of laughing helps us to fight stress better.
#5 Healthy lifestyle is a must
What kind of lifestyles are considered as healthy lifestyle? Don’t stress out, it is easy to adopt a healthy lifestyle. In addition to regular exercise, a lifestyle that eating a healthy diet, avoiding negative habits such as alcohol, cigarettes and getting enough sleep is the healthy lifestyle. Well-nourished bodies are better prepared to cope the stress, so start the day right with breakfast, and keep the mind clear and energy up with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day. On the other hand, self-medicating with alcohol or cigarettes may provide an easy escape from stress, but those are temporary escape. So don’t avoid or mask the issue at hand! Get adequate sleep to fuel the minds and body so that can deal with the stressors head on and with a clear mind and healthy body.
Stress Management Self-help Checklist
In order to know how well you cope the stress, here is the checklist to track the progress when you adopting these strategies to manage stress. Compare how you feel on days when you make lots of ticks on the checklist to those when you make few or none. Click here for a printer-friendly weekly checklist.
Reference: Stress Management How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress
http://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm
