It is a common thing for most people to get stress due to various matters of life. Too much stress is highly destructive and can lead to stroke, heart disease, weight loss, depression, memory loss and even death in the worst case.
It is therefore wise to learn how to minimize and also cope with stress. Below are ten practical ways of dealing with tress.
Get to know the leading cause of what stress you most
Instead of feeling like we are wildly swinging every day, it’s good to identify the primary cause of the stress. It could be a project at work, disputes with colleagues or your boss, an upcoming exam, lots of laundry or even a fight with family members.
By understanding the specific causes of stress, you move a step in the process of reorganizing yourself and taking the necessary action.
Identify and work on what you can control
While it is impossible to control your in-ways, how your boss behaves or shifts in the economy, you can control your reaction, your diligence in work, the way you manage your time and how you spend your income.
Trying to control what is within your capability will only add more stress to you since the high chances are that you will fail. It even makes you become desperate and feel hopeless. So after identifying what is stressing you, deal with what you can control as you determine how to handle what you cannot manage.
Do what you like and makes you happy
It is very easy for factors that are causing stress to you when your life is surrounded by activities that you love and enjoy doing. If your job is the primary cause of stress, you can try to find one hope so that you can make your world colorful.
Look for something you are passionate about, and if you are not sure, try to experiment with various activities that could be fulfilling and meaningful to you.
Be careful to manage your time well
Lack of time is a major stressor for many people. They have a lot to do at a limited time. But this is just a perception because the truth of the matter is that we all have adequate time to do most of the necessary things in life.
The problem is that our priorities are not right. If we manage our time well and put our priorities right, we will have enough time to do all that we desire to do and hence avoid much stress.
Create a toolbox of techniques
Since stress comes from different things, we cannot rely on a single method to relieve our stress. We, therefore, need a variety of techniques which shall be suitable at different moments. Some of these techniques include:
- Deep breathing
- Muscle relaxation
- Listening to cool music
Pickoff things that are negotiable
Review your day to day or even weekly activities and pick off what matters less. Reducing the bulk of tasks that are not a must is an effective way to reduce your stress. Some of these things include calling too many meetings in your department or even stealing your time in voluntary activities aimed at pleasing friends.
Do not expose yourself to stress
Your state of body and mind plays a significant role in what you perceive as a cause of stress. For instance, denying yourself enough sleep or regular exercise will only increase your susceptibility to stress. You realize that depriving yourself enough sleep and living a sedentary life magnifies little stresses to cause a and huge impact.
Maintain good boundaries
Some people find it so hard to say no to requests from friends, and they always want to please others. While it is a good thing to maintain good relations with people, trying to please them at all times can lead to self-inconveniences and hence stress. You need to learn the art of keeping boundaries and being conscious of your time.
Differentiate between caring and worrying
Worry destabilizes our functionality while caring helps us become more organized, create realistic budgets and pay bills in time. Shifting your mind from a worrying state to a caring one enables you to react positively to stress.
Embrace mistakes
It is normal for human beings to make an error in life. People who are perfectionists are disturbed by petty things that could either be ignored or adjusted merely. To overcome perfectionism you need to embrace yourself and appreciate that nobody is always right.
The takeaway
Applying the methods mentioned above will help you minimize stress or at least cope with it when it cannot be avoided. More to that, it is good to take life easy and appreciate the fact that we are all different in one way or the other.