Do you feel stressed and anxious and are trying to find a way out of it?
Before getting into how to work on your stress, you need to understand that no human is immune to stress. It’s a part of our daily lives, and a healthy amount of stress can, in fact, be vital for keeping yourself energized and motivated to get things done.
However, when stress becomes overwhelming and stays for a prolonged period, you need to work on stress management to have a healthy and happy life.
In today’s blog, get to know about the reasons behind stress and the most effective stress management tips.
What Causes Stress?
Stress is the reaction of your body to certain situations and incidents. The reaction can be in physical, mental, or emotional form caused by internal or external factors.
External factors include the physical environment such as your job, your relationships with others, the death of a family member or friend, your home, and all the situations, challenges, and expectations you face daily.
Nutritional level, health and fitness levels, emotional health, and sleep schedule are the internal factors that influence your ability to handle stress. They decide the ability of your body to respond to external stress-inducing factors.
Symptoms and Signs of Excessive Stress
Various emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms of excessive stress vary for every individual.
Common physical symptoms often noticed in excessive stress conditions are:
- Insomnia, excessive sleep, or other disturbances in sleeping habits.
- Muscle pain
- Muscle tension
- Headache
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Fatigue
Common emotional and behavioral symptoms that imply excessive stress are:
- Anxiety
- Nervousness
- Overeating or undereating
- Sudden weight loss or weight gain
- Lack of energy and enthusiasm
- Frequent mood swings
- Depression and irritability
People under excessive stress tend to have unhealthy behavior. They indulge in a habit of excessive use of drugs and alcohol, smoking, and poor nutritional choices that can increase the severity of stress symptoms even more.
Importance of Stress Management
A tremendous level of stress puts one’s well-being at high risk. Stress disbalances your emotional equilibrium and affects your physical health as well. It diminishes your ability to have clear thoughts, function effectively, and have fun.
Oftentimes, it seems like you can do nothing about it since you can’t control every external factor – bills continue to come, you always run out of time, work and family demands never end. However, the fact is you can have enough control.
With effective stress management, you can release the unnecessary stress you are taking. It allows you to stay happier, healthier, and more productive. Moreover, you live a balanced life by managing your work, relationships, and leisure. There is nothing like one size fits all when it comes to stress management. That’s why you need to find out what works best for you. Here are some stress management tips that can help you reduce stress.
Stress Management Tips to Help You Feel Alive and Active
Begin Exercising
Exercising elevates your mood by stimulating your good hormones such as endorphins and endocannabinoids. As a result, it reduces pain, improves sleep quality, and keeps you calm.
People with a healthy exercise routine have less anxiety and have more positive feelings about themselves. It makes your body feel good that eventually impacts your mind.
Moreover, indulging in physical activities improves your sleep patterns. Along with normalizing your body clock, it increases your core body temperature that drops after a while, making you sleepy. The key here is to be mindful of the timing and not exercise too close to bedtime as the released endorphins can interrupt immediate sleep. After all, a deep night’s sleep is an essential part of stress management.
The most recommended exercises to relieve your stress are:
- Running
- Swimming
- Dancing
- Cycling
- Aerobics
- Gyming
If you are unable to take out time for an exercise program, don’t worry. You can find ways to move your body along with your daily chores. Try including these activities in your routine –
- Walk or cycle to the store instead of driving.
- Use stairs instead of an elevator in your office and apartment.
- Park your vehicle as far as from the entrance.
- Wash your car on your own.
- Clean your house on your own.
- Walk in the corridor or lawn on your lunch break.
- Walk while you are on a call on a mobile phone.
- Take your dog for a walk at least once a day.
- Play table tennis or badminton with your children instead of any video games.
Take Out Time to Meditate
Meditation is effective for both short-term and long-term stress management. There are various types of meditation to try, and each comes with its unique appeal.
You may repeat the mantra in your mind along with deep, slow breathing. Or you can also practice mindfulness meditation. You have to be in the moment and pay attention to what you are seeing, hearing, tasting, touching, and smelling.
When you keep yourself focused on the here-and-now, the thoughts and worries of the past and future do not pop up in your mind. Practice is required for meditation and mindfulness but once you know the proper technique, you will observe a huge difference in your stress levels.
Must Read: How to meditate at home
Indulge Your Time in Creative Activities
Most of us used to have creative activities as our hobby in our childhood days. However, if you have lost touch with your artwork now, it is never too late to get back to it again.
And don’t worry, you do not need to be an art expert. Remind yourself, you are doing it for your mental state and not for others. You can start with anything as small as coloring. Coloring books for adults are extremely popular these days and for a good reason. Coloring activity can be a good stress reliever.
Research suggests that coloring consistently has a meditative effect. A study found that people who color complex geometric shapes such as mandalas reported experiencing a decline in stress levels.
Practice Acceptance
Some stress sources are unavoidable such as the death of a family member, a severe disease, or recession in the nation. In such cases, accepting things as they are is the best way to manage your stress. You may find it difficult to accept the situation in the beginning but it is necessary for relief in the longer run.
Stressing about a situation that you cannot change is pointless. There is no meaning in trying to control the uncontrollable. A fight with your loved one or a failed exam attempt, or the response of other people – such events are done and happened in the past. Rather than stressing over uncontrollable things or past events, choose to respond to the problem in positive ways.
Build resilience so that you can manage to get yourself out of stressful or negative situations. In simple words, one of tthe most effective stress management tips is to accept the situation, if there’s something to learn – grab it, and move on.
Learn to Say “No”
Having too much to do and very little time is the most common cause of developing stress. However, even though we can’t manage everything at once, we still agree to take additional responsibilities.
Identify why you find it difficult to say no. For many people saying no is difficult because they want to help others and make a good impression. For others, it is because they do not want to miss a single opportunity. Learning to say no to unimportant and unrequired things helps to reduce stress and boosts your self-confidence.
At first, you may find it difficult to decline a request or order straightforwardly. So prepare some phrases that let you say no more gently. Practice using phrases like:
- I am sorry, I want to help you with this, but I have other priorities at the moment.
- I think it is not the right time as I am in the middle of something. Can I do it later for you?
- I would love to do this, but…
Saying no in a gentle manner will help you work on stress management without feeling bad.
Proper Diet
One of the best stress management tips is to ensure having a proper and nutritious diet.
Have you noticed yourself unconsciously eating junk food in stressful situations? For many, the appeal to eat unhealthy food with excessive sugar and fat content increases when stressed. However, you should be mindful of it since your eating habits impact your mental health by a great margin.
The benefits of having a proper diet are beyond managing your waistline. A healthy diet reduces the symptoms of stress, builds a strong immune system, elevates your mood, and maintains your blood pressure level.
To stay healthy, include some carbohydrates, lean protein, and fatty acids in your diet. Antioxidants are also helpful as they protect against cell damage due to chronic stress. They are found in foods like beans, berries, spices, veggies, and more.
Try to avoid processed foods, random food temptations, and mindless eating. Make a shopping list for healthy food items only and take healthy snacks with you while leaving the house.
Scientists recommend including nutrients such as vitamin C, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids that can help in decreasing the effects of stress on your body and mind.
Choose the Right Company
When you talk to your close ones, it naturally calms you and reduces your stress. Your body releases hormones that put a full stop to your fight or flight response and makes you feel relaxed. Therefore, spend time with your loved ones, your family, and friends, who will listen to you with patience.
Remember, people you talk to cannot fix your stressful situation, but they can be good listeners. Do not burden yourself with the thought of looking weak as it will prevent you from opening up. The people who care for you help you get some solution, and sharing your thoughts strengthens the bond between you and them.
Most of us struggle with our mental health at some point in our life. Try to implement these tips in your life. If you find dealing with your stress difficult, do not hesitate to take professional help.
Follow us for more health and lifestyle posts!
Feature Image Credits – Photo by Markus Spiske from Pexels
