Stress has been a constant in our lives. No one escapes this fact. This has become more of our reality presently. It is not easy to save yourself from getting stressed. Life is too fast, and we are not able to juggle our responsibilities on time. There is always something that needs to be done. And when we are not able to complete those tasks, that creates stress.
Stress is not always bad. It is a part of human's life. That is how humans are created. And it is actually good to some extent. Stress is also a factor that can help you motivate yourself to do something. However, problems arise when the stress situation gets out of control.
Importance Of Stress Management
It is essential that you understand the necessity of stress management. When you are too stressed, you more or less lose the ability to function normally. And it will not be just about you. If the situation gets out of control, your work and relationship will also be affected by that. So won't it be better if we just end the problem before it even starts?
Causes of Stress
There can be indefinite reasons that cause stress to a person, depending on their situation. But the most common one is stress due to pressure.
We, humans, are almost always surrounded by different pressures depending on the different reasons/situations. But whether you are a student or a professional, you are stressed. Sometimes an unwanted change or the change you were not prepared for that occurs in your life can also create stress.
Overthinking and over worrying are also reasons causing hyper stress. Other than that, uncertainty pertaining to something, physical changes, not getting enough time for things you like, psychological factors, stress due to lack of sleep, and lack of work are also a few reasons causing stress.
Ways to deal with stress
Now that we have briefly discussed the importance and causes of stress, the next thing to pay attention to is how to deal with it? What are the ways we can adapt to that?
We can barely do anything about the situations causing stress for us. The majority of the time, they are out of our control. However, we can try out a few things to make our life less stressful. Let's have a look at them.
Identify The Problem
The first and foremost thing to do is to identify the problem or reason that is causing you stress. If you do not know the root of the problem, how are you going to solve it? So take time to identify the problems that are causing you stress. A quarter of your work will be done with this step.
Problem Solving
Now that you know what problem was causing you stress, you must focus on solving it. Do not fret over the problem. Instead, try to have a problem-solving approach. If we are only focusing on the problem, it may appear more serious and critical than it actually is. This is just your mind playing tricks on you. Don't let your mind wander off in the unknown possibilities of the problems and focus on solving it rather.
Have a Healthy Lifestyle
We often neglect the benefits and importance of having a healthy lifestyle, especially in this era. We are too flexible in our ways and lack discipline. This causes a chemical and psychological imbalance in our bodies. And these can lead to both mental and physical diseases or ailments. So try to get your lifestyle as healthy as you can.
Diet
What diet we follow is one of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle. A healthy diet reduces unnecessary toxins from our body. And it is not just good for the body but our mind as well.
Also, we are running on components of caffeine more than we should. The majority are practically having more caffeine than water in the system. And it can be really harmful later in your life. So it will be beneficial if you reduce the amount of caffeine in your everyday diet. It is unhealthy and can cause psychological stress.
Proper Sleep Pattern
The sleep pattern in humans presently is really disturbed. It has several adverse effects. You are going to experience fatigue and tiredness all the time. You would not be able to focus and function properly if you didn't sleep well. It is also one of the causes of stress. So you can reduce stress by just having a proper sleep. Proper sleep is also going to increase your productivity. So why not have a good rest?
Worry Less
If you pay more attention, you will observe that worrying too much about anything is the root cause of stress, more often than not. Worrying about things or situations will not get you anywhere. It will do the opposite, actually. Worrying will hinder you from thinking straight. So stop fretting over things that you can't change. Just let them go.
Relaxing Technique
When our mind is relaxed, our decision-making ability is better. We also function better when we are calm and relaxed. So it is important to learn techniques to relax when you are panicking.
Breathing exercise is one of the most basic and effective techniques to let yourself relax. Breath in deeply, hold your breath for 5 seconds, then release the breath. Repeat this many times, and you will feel yourself relaxing and mind getting calm, not panicking.
Exercise
Doing an exercise or having a schedule for it makes you healthy, and there is no doubt over it. Exercise benefits your body and brain from getting healthy. This further eliminates the stress from you. You can just go to the gym or go running when you are feeling stressed. These are really effective stress busters and will help you think straight.
Pray
There is nothing more calming and satisfying than praying. As per several studies, people who are avid about praying generally lead a stress-free or less stressful life compared to those who don't. And I think this should be enough to realize what importance praying holds in dealing with stress.
Meditate
Meditation is one the easiest exercises one can do to reduce stress. It does not take much effort and is absolutely cost-free. You just need to motivate yourself to meditate, that's all! Meditation can lead to improving breathing, stronger lungs, and a calm mind, apart from the reduction of stress from your life.
Listen To Music
You might agree with me that music has healing power. You must have felt it even if you never acknowledge this fact. After grabbing your earphones and listening to your favorite music piece will make you feel relaxed. You can practically feel the tension caused by the stress leaving your body. You will feel that you were stressing worthlessly. It might give you enough calm to deal with the reason as well.
Laugh More
Laughter is the best medicine. This quote is still very much true even today. There can not be any medicine like laughter while fighting against stress. Positive is the only weapon when you need to fight negativity. If you have reason to laugh, that means you have something positive in your life. When you laugh, you stir clear the negative emotions in you. And that includes stress too.
Art
"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."
This is a famous quote from the movie "Dead Poets' Society." You will realize how true every word of the statement is when you have no liking for art or do not practice it. Trust me, my pals, you are missing out on a huge time. You will only know how important it is to have something artistic to do. It does not have to be perfect or extraordinary; it is just for you. It enables you a fine and harmless medium to let your frustrated emotions out. And you learn new things and develop your skill as well by practicing them.
Activities That Make You Relax
All of us are not gifted in the field of art. Neither of us has any interest in that. In that case, we can do activities that are to our likings. That brings happiness and peace to us. Gardening, cooking, swimming, stitching, playing, reading a book, etc., all these and many more, will be great for reducing stress.
Gratitude
Practicing gratitude is a great way to reduce stress. Because when you do that, you will find more reasons to be happy about. And happiness reduces stress and also helps to deal with it. You will find so many things in your life that you will be so thankful for. It will not only reduce stress but will also make you appreciate your life more.
Keep Your Expectations Low
Nowadays, people have so many unrealistic expectations, either from others or from themselves. When they are not fulfilled, we begin to feel frustrated, stressed, and anxious. We do not need to complicate our lives by keeping such expectations.
We will only make our lives harder and harbors negativity. It literally kills our happiness. This is damaging, and you are not going to get anything out of it. So a better way is to not indulge yourself with these and keep expectations low. Yet also be optimistic.
Time Management
As I stated before, our lives are getting busier day-by-day, and we don't have enough time to complete each task in our hands. There will always be something left out to be done. And the uncompleted task keeps getting procrastinated. This is going to create stress until you finally are able to do them. Hence it is important for us to manage our time efficiently.
Prioritize your tasks
See to it which ones are of utmost urgency and finish it off first. Select three tasks to be done on the same day if your list of tasks is too big. Complete the easiest out of it first. Make a time-table if it helps. Keep checking out the things from the list once you are done. And keep some time to relax after that.
Spend Time With Friends
Friends make life better. So take time to meet or talk to your friends. It has also got easier with the technology. You can connect to them virtually if personally meeting them is not possible. You will get your mind off the stress when you get to spend quality time with them. One can also do this with family or loved ones.
Go On A Vacation
I know this is not always possible. Many factors work behind to make this thing possible. But you don't always have to go to someplace extravagant. Just find a camping place near you and go there. Even a day or a weekend is enough to get you stress-free. Or you can go on a one day picnic with family or friends. Solo trips are just as enjoyable and effective for this. This will also cost you less.
Take Control Of Your Life
When you feel too overwhelmed and stressed out with problems, you lose control over your life temporarily. You will feel lost on what to do. Once you calm down, you will realize that the problems were not even that huge to begin with. Take your control back, and you will find it easier to handle the stress.
Take Breaks
Get your mind off of things once in a while. Routines are great and important. But it gets tedious and dull with time. You are going to get frustrated and stressed with them. So it is more than necessary to have pauses between your work. It can depend on the work how long a break should be. Just take time to rewind!
Connect With Nature
Did you know that the molecules of moving water have a calming effect on your mental health? It is a scientifically proven fact. That is why you feel good and calm when near water.
This is just one example. Nature has many such great effects on our overall life. So it is advisable to stay connected to nature in your life as much as you can.
Medication
This is the last resort. It is generally not needed if you follow the above steps. However, there are instances when there is the benefit to these things, and stress still prevails for a human so much that they start to show symptoms of a physical/chronic disease.
When this happens, do not waste time and consult a doctor. Take medications as per the prescription they provide, if absolutely needed.