Basically, there are two simple ways to cope with stress quickly, and almost everyone leans towards one way or the other. It’s about managing stress.
Simple Ways to Cope with Stress Quickly
•1 -The first simple way to cope with stress quickly offers a short-term reprieve. It doesn’t require much thought. In fact, it is often done as a reflex, an instant reaction against uncomfortable feelings and emotions, as a result of going through a stressful situation.
Examples of this type of stress management and stress relief include:
- Consume drugs
- Consuming food or alcohol in excess
- Spend money frivolously
- Engaging in other (often risky) mind-altering behaviors
•2 -The other way of managing stress offers longer-term results, but in the short term, it can be more difficult to engage in this way. It also requires more thought. That’s because, frankly, this way of doing things isn’t as much fun as the other simple ways to cope with stress quickly. Instead, these activities are more about calming down, slowing down, and settling down in healthy ways.
Examples of this type of stress management may include:
- Practice yoga or stretch at your desk
- Go for a run or hit a punching bag
- Take a bubble bath
- Clean your desk
SO… HOW DO YOU HANDLE STRESS?
If your answer is the first, you are not alone. In fact, many people deal with stress this way. That’s because it sucks to be stressed! Anyone would agree that it is a negative emotion that we all want to get rid of as soon as possible. Stress makes us sad, frustrates us and even makes us angry. As a result, it’s no wonder that stressed people want to feel good…as soon as possible, especially for their mental health.
This leads to the first type of stress management: those snap reactions you usually regret right after doing them: drinking too many beers, calling an ex, eating in front of the TV, eating too much junk food, avoiding your responsibilities, ignoring your exercise plans, etc. What you need is a proper stress management plan.
The good news is that if you can see yourself choosing this path, that’s the first step to getting off it and onto a smarter one.
THE WISE WAY TO HANDLE STRESS
We already know the smart and wise way to handle stress. It’s about calming down, slowing down and calming down in a healthy way and, if possible, avoiding stressful situations.
BUT IT ALL STARTS WITH NOTICING WHEN YOU’RE STARTING TO GET TOO STRESSED.
Think about it. How does he know when he is stressed?
Do you know when you’ve already had three or four Scots?
Or is it when he breaks down in a fit of tears that something relatively minor goes wrong? Do you know when you get into a big fight with your partner?
Ideally, you want to catch the early signs of stress long before these points are reached. This begins with learning to be very aware of your thoughts, feelings, and emotions. If you’re not used to self-control, this may be a new skill for you, but it will benefit you for the rest of your life, and stress management is an essential part of this, helping you cope with stress and pressure.
To learn self-control, an excellent starting point is mindfulness.
WHAT IS MINDFULNESS?
The practice of mindfulness comes from ancient Buddhist practices. At its core, mindfulness is about staying in the present moment and monitoring and observing as much as you can from your inner and outer worlds.
You can practice mindfulness anytime, anywhere. The goal is to stay present, and the best way to do this is to focus on your breath. That’s because your breath is always present and always happening.
However, it is inevitable that your mind will wander. You will drift into good and bad things, worries, happy thoughts, intense emotions, daydreams, and everything in between.
It’s okay.
Notice these thoughts, emotions, and feelings. Try not to judge them.
Instead, accept them for who they are and don’t reject them. As soon as you can, simply shift your mind’s focus to your breath.
In this way, you will learn to see exactly when your thoughts, feelings, and emotions begin to drift into a state of “stress.” For example, if you are practicing mindfulness at work and notice your mind wandering back to a terrible fight you had with your spouse last weekend, you will see that this is one thought and set of feelings that are bothering you. latently. That’s a good place to start to rectify the situation.
If many other stressful thoughts and emotions are filtering through your mindfulness practice on a frequent basis, these are signs that you are becoming overly stressed.
When you realize you’re overly stressed, it’s time to take a breather before taking immediate action.
This step is crucial and can be done even if you miss the early signs that you are becoming more stressed.
The main goal here is to stop before you act mechanically on your stress. Because remember: it’s those automatic reactions (reaching for candy or alcohol, telling yourself to skip exercise for the day…) that cause you trouble managing stress.
HOW CAN YOU STOP WHEN YOU KNOW YOU ARE STRESSED?
The best way is to find a quiet place to go for at least three or four minutes. This could mean excusing yourself to go to the bathroom if you are at work or school. It could mean going into the bedroom and shutting the door for a moment if he’s home. You can even find a moment for yourself in the car.
During this time, it is essential that you ask yourself a few questions:
1. WHAT BOTHERS ME?
Sometimes, you won’t know right away. It could be a combination of things that are bothering you, or maybe it’s just an elusive annoyance that you can’t pinpoint. However, if you can identify what is causing you so much stress, this can be helpful.
2. WHAT DO I WANT TO DO WITH THESE EMOTIONS RIGHT NOW?
What is your instinctive reaction to excessive stress? Do you want to lash out at your co-worker? Go to the grocery store and buy a bunch of junk food? Cancel exercise plans with your training partner?
Find out what you’re up against.
3. WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I DO WHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO RIGHT NOW?
Chances are good that you’ve done whatever you wanted to do before, and whether it’s fighting with someone or beating and ignoring responsibilities, chances are the results haven’t been positive. Try to focus on the negative consequences of acting mechanically and irrationally and not thinking about your actions.
4. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO NOW TO REJOICE THAT WON’T CAUSE BAD FEELINGS LATER?
There are other things you can do to feel better that are not unreasonable or harmful to your health.
Here are some of the best options for managing stress and anxiety, and remember that each and every situation will be different.
- Go for a walk outside
- Hit a punching bag
- Go to your favorite restaurant for dinner or lunch that is delicious and relatively healthy
- Take a nap
- Call a friend
- Do some yoga on the floor
- Take a hot bubble bath
- Write in a diary
- Light a candle and read a book
The goal here is to do something that isn’t detrimental to your health (like eating too much or spending money you don’t have), but does give you some much-needed relief from tension and stress.
Once again, what provides you with stress relief will inevitably change. That’s why it’s good to have a lot of options. You may decide to take a relaxing bath to reduce stress one week, while the next week, a lukewarm bath might sound awful and you might prefer to go to a boxing gym and work out some frustration on a punching bag.
Keep a running list of stress-reducing behaviors that can help you during difficult times.
LATER, IDENTIFY YOUR MAIN SOURCES OF STRESS.
Once you are in a calm and stress-free state , consider what caused your excess stress in the first place. The goal is to be able to identify your basic stress markers. That way, you can stop the “snowball effect” of stress before it starts or at least before it gets out of control.
In general, stress can be caused by feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities. Therefore, for many people, excess stress comes from saying “yes” to too many things.
If this is you, it’s time to start saying “no” to more things. Overworking is a recipe for disaster. Taking time for yourself and the things that matter to you can help you steer clear of life’s super-stressful moments, helping you feel more relaxed.
In some cases, on the other hand, stress cannot be avoided. For example, if your kids are sick at the same time you are, you’re super busy at work, and you’re getting ready to move house… can any of these things really be avoided?
The answer is probably no. So your best option is to first do the best you can. Take it easy. Use your healthy habits to reduce stress as often as possible.
Some examples of stressful situations that could be considered stress triggers include:
- Job interview
- Being asked by your teacher to answer a question
- Interview for a management position
- Common interview
- You were asked to describe your work experience.
- Why would you be a good candidate for a role?
- What are your soft skills
- Try to figure out how to solve a problem
- Know that the due date of a payment is approaching
- Present something to management that you think is a good idea.
- When you are asked a question like, “How do you handle working under pressure ?”
- How to stay motivated despite constant pressure or toxic environment
- The important takeaway from this is don’t stress, stay motivated and believe in yourself.
Second, you’ll want to lean into some new behaviors that can help reduce the impact of even unavoidable stress…on a larger scale:
ADOPT NEW HEALTHY HABITS AND BEHAVIORS THAT INHERENTLY REDUCE STRESS ON A REGULAR BASIS
There is no way to eradicate all stress, nor should we aspire to. Regular stress is not only a part of life, but believe it or not, it can actually be a good thing. Feeling stressed about a big presentation or an upcoming competition simply means that you are worried about these events.
By engaging it in regular activities, healthy self-care behaviors, however, you can reduce the overall negative effects of any stressful incident.
Here are habits you might consider trying on a regular basis:
- Meditation
- Mindfulness practice
- Yoga
- Healthy nutrition
- Regular exercise
The last two behaviors are pretty straightforward: Eat a well-balanced diet of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats, and move regularly. In some cases, yoga can also be a form of regular exercise (although cardio and strength training should also be a focus).
Meditation, mindfulness practice, and yoga are a bit more complicated, but their effect on stress levels can be life-changing:
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years and is one of the best ways to engage the “relaxation response”. With just 10 minutes of meditation a day, you can decrease stress and anxiety in your life, learn to focus better, and teach your body and mind to engage in deep relaxation whenever you want.
Meditation can be done alone, with a partner, in a group, or in a class. Many people find that short periods of meditation can help calm the mind during those times when you feel like engaging in unhealthy behaviors due to stress.
Mindfulness Practice is something we’ve already gone over, but it’s worth mentioning again. This practice can be used anytime, anywhere. In fact, you can even learn to be mindful all the time, an idea supported by ancient Buddhism and practiced by Buddhist monks.
Why is mindfulness so useful for reducing stress?
It teaches you how to avoid rumination and a wild mind that can’t stay focused. It helps you enjoy your life by emphasizing the importance of the present moment. Finally, it helps you identify the various thoughts, feelings, and emotions that might be bothering you so that you can learn to fix, deal with, or radically accept them as part of life’s up and down momentum.
Yoga can also be practiced almost anywhere. While you can certainly take yoga classes, you can also do yoga at your desk at work, at home on your bedroom floor, and even while waiting in line at the post office.
Yoga helps reduce stress by teaching you how to focus on your breathing and how to breathe more effectively in general. Yoga postures and movements relax the body, so they also inherently relax the mind. This can help you release emotional energy and develop a stronger connection between your body and mind. If you’re looking for pain relief, then a gentle yoga sequence could be your answer.
SLOWLY START REDUCING THE STRESS IN YOUR LIFE TODAY
Keep in mind that learning to live a more stress-free life will be a never-ending journey.
The good news is that you can start slow, but make sure you start. Add stress reduction practices one by one. While your progress may progress gradually, the rewards you’ll reap from a less hectic, stressful, and anxiety-ridden life can’t be matched.
