We all come under some kind of stress at some point in our lives.
Every single person deals with stress differently. Some deal with it a little better than others, while many people find that they crumble under the pressure. If you’re one of the latter and you’re currently struggling to deal with something stressful in your life then you’re in the right place here. We have created a list with ten great tips on how to manage stress. We hope that these tips help and inspire you in some way today and we would love to hear your thoughts on them in the comments section below this article.
A Bit About How To Manage Stress
We all get stressed sometimes and too often the stress in our lives can become a little too overwhelming. To help you deal with the stress that you are currently experiencing, we have created this guide with some simple tips on how to manage stress.
Why is it sometimes difficult to manage stress?
It can be extremely difficult to deal with stress because in this day and age we have so much to stress about. With the pressures of work, the pressures of social media, of our image, of our family life – there is so much out there that can cause us stress. That is why it can often be difficult to manage stress.
Why is it important to learn how to manage stress?
Stress can be terrible for both your physical and mental health. If you stress a lot, this can sometimes lead to other problems such as anxiety or depression. If you choose to ignore stress, it can lead to physical health issues as well. Untreated stress results in high blood pressure which can lead to problems with the heart. For these reasons, it is incredibly important to learn how to manage stress.
Instructions — How to Manage Stress
Following is our simple guide on how to manage stress. This guide can help you when it comes to dealing with any stressful situations that you are currently going through. We hope that these tips help and inspire you today and we would love to hear your thoughts on them in the comments section below this article.
Step 1 – Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine.
Try to avoid or at the very least reduce your intake of alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Caffeine and nicotine are both stimulants and so this will result in them increasing your levels of stress as opposed to reducing them.
Alcohol is also a stimulant when taken in small quantities, however it it becomes a depressant if consumed in larger quantities. Both of these effects are negative ones and therefore drinking alcohol to relieve stress is never a good idea.
Instead of drinking alcoholic and caffein fuelled drinks, try drinking more water or fruit juices in or to stay hydrated. This way, your body will be able to cope better with the stress that you’re going through.
Step 2 – Indulge in Physical Activity
Stress can often ignite the “fight or flight” response. This is where our bodies automatically prepare for the worst by increasing our adrenaline levels, resulting in increased heart rate and extra stress on our bodily functions.
Exercising is a great way to get these symptoms under control. Exercise is a lot about our breathing, and when we focus on physical activity that results in us breathing heavily or in sequence, then we can calm our bodies down and use that adrenaline to do a great workout.
Regular physical activity is not only great for your overall health, but it will also help you to get better quality sleep. Lack of sleep is often another issue which arises when someone is stressed so physical exercise can work in many ways to relieve stress.
Step 3 – Get More Sleep
Lack of sleep can significantly add to your existing stresses. However, stress can also often affect our sleep, so this can be a difficult one to manage. As stated in the step above, physical exercise is great for helping you get better sleep. However, we can’t always rely on exercise as we may not always have the time to fit a workout in.
Instead, it is a great idea to make sure your bedroom is as relaxing as possible. Remove anything that is going to remind you of your current stresses. Avoid caffeine fuelled drinks or alcohol late at night as these can both result in us struggling to get to sleep at night. Avoid working too late at night as well so that your mind has time to wind down and calm down before it is time to go to sleep.
A great idea to help with sleep is to do something relaxing before bedtime, such as meditating or taking a nice warm bath. Reading si also a great way to help you sleep. Try reading something interesting before going to sleep to tire your eyes and help you to drift off. Also, try to go to bed at the same time each night so that your body clock can become accustomed to the appropriate bedtime.
Step 4 – Try Relaxation Techniques
Relaxation tchèques can be great for reducing stress. Each day, try to incorporate some kind of relaxation technique and see how that changes your mood. Try out different ones and see which ones work best for you.
Focus your mind on things other than the things that are stressing you out. Try out some mind techniques which involve focussing on things other than your stresses. Many examples of relaxation techniques can be found online. All of the techniques are different and work in different ways so it is best to try out a few and then see which ones work best for you.
It takes time and effort to learn how to completely relax, so don’t worry if you find it difficult at first to stay focussed and allow yourself to relax. You will get the hang of it over time.
Step 5 – Talk to Someone
Simply talking to someone about the stress your under can help an incredible amount. Talking can not only distract you from the stresses that you’re under, but can also allow you to release some of the tension that has built up inside of you. Arrange a time to meet up with a friend or family member and have a little chat about what you’re going through. You’ll find that it will be very helpful.
Stress can often alter the way you see things and can cloud your judgements, resulting in your making mistakes that could otherwise have been avoided. Talking your stresses through with someone else can help you to come up with constructive solutions to things and they may even be able to help you with your problems in ways that you hadn’t even thought of.
Step 6 – Keep a Stress Diary
A stress diary can be very helpful because it allows you to become more aware of the things that are stressing you out. Writing down your stressors and your feelings is also a great way of releasing some of the tension that is built up inside you.
Make a note of specific stressful episodes that you go through and write down all of the aspects of that episode such as where you were, who you were with, how you felt. You can then use the diary to correlate any trends in when and where you become most stressed and this can allow you to plan around those things to help you voice future stress episodes.
Step 7 – Take Control
Try to learn what it is that triggers your stress. Following the step above can help greatly with this. Once we understand what it is that triggers our stress, we can then begin to take action to control it. Learning to come up with appropriate solutions to our problems can help you feel much more in control and can ultimately result in you feeling much less stressed.
Try writing down a particular problem you’re facing and then come up with as many solutions to that problem as you can. Stimulating your mind in this way can result in you becoming inspired by and idea and finding a much better way to solve your problems than you ever thought possible. This can result in your becoming much less stressed as you learn to become a better problem solver.
Step 8 – Manage Your Time
A common cause of stress is feeling overwhelmed with our jam packed schedule. It is important that you realise that you can’t do everything at once, so you must plan your time accordingly. Prioritise your tasks at hand so the you get the most important stuff done first and the less important stuff done after.
A good way to manage your time is to make a list of all of the tasks that you have at hand and then list them in order of priority. Create a kind of diary which helps you organise your time and set specific time slots for each of the things that you need to do.
By jotting down your tasks and seeing them out on paper, you will find that you become a lot more organised and will feel less stressed and overwhelmed with everything that you need to do. Staying organised can significantly reduce stress.
Step 9 – Learn to Say No
When you’re overwhelmed with all of the things that you have to do, do you really want to put yourself under even more pressure by saying yes to new things? Instead, you must learn to say no. Learning to say no can reduce your stress levels and can even result in your becoming a lot more self confident.
Many people find it hard to say no because they like to please people or feel awkward turning down an opportunity to help someone. Others find it hard to say no because they want people to like them and fear that they may lose people’s trust or respect by saying no. That simply isn’t the case. Saying no shows your strength as a person and people will respect you more for being honest.
10 – Rest If You Are Ill
Stress can often result in you becoming unwell. In this case, you must allow your body time to rest and recover. If you try to pursue with the tasks at hand, you may end up doing a terrible job at it and losing your respect and reputation.
Instead, if you are feeling unwell, just let people know. Let the people involved know that you’re not feeling well enough to complete the task and use that time to relax and allow your body to recover. Illness at times of stress can be a cry for help form your body, and so you should listen, slow down, and allow yourself the time to get back to full health.
We hope that our guide on how to manage stress was helpful and inspiring to you.
Did you enjoy this list of tips on how to manage stress? Perhaps you have some tips of your own on how to manage stress that you think should be on this list? Or maybe you have some stories about managing stress that you would like to share with us? We would love to hear them! Please leave a comment in the comment section below this article.
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Martha lives in the Bay Area and is a dedicated reader of romance novels. She runs a yoga studio and taught yoga for many years. She always says that yoga fuels her writing. She’s also a vegetarian and advocate for living a healthy life. Martha has been writing for us for a while now, giving readers a glimpse into her lifestyle and work.
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