Stress Management - How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress

Stress produces numerous symptoms, which vary according to persons, situations, and severity. These can include physical health decline as well as depression. The process of stress management is known as one of the keys to a happy and successful life in modern society. Although life provides numerous demands that can prove difficult to handle, stress management provides a number of ways to manage anxiety and maintain overall well-being.

Stress Management

It may seem that there is nothing you can do about stress. The bills won’t stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day, and your career and family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have more control than you might think. In fact, the simple realization that you are in control of your life is the foundation of stress management. Managing stress is all about taking charge: of your thoughts, emotions, schedule, and the way you deal with problems

• Identify sources of stress
• Look at how you cope with stress
• Avoid unnecessary stress
• Alter the situation
• Adapt to the stressor
• Accept the things you can’t change
• Make time for fun and relaxation
• Adopt a healthy lifestyle
• Identify the sources of stress in your life
• Learn about hidden sources of stress

Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This is not as easy as it sounds. Your true sources of stress are not always obvious, and it is all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Sure, you may know that you are constantly worried about work deadlines.

Start a Stress Journal

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed; keep track of it in your journal. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure)
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally
• How you acted in response
• What you did to make yourself feel better
• Look at how you currently cope with stress

Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress in your life. Your stress journal can help you identify them. Are your coping strategies healthy or unhealthy, helpful or unproductive? Unfortunately, many people cope with stress in ways that compound the problem.

Unhealthy ways of coping with stress

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:

1. Smoking
2. Substance or Alcohol Dependency
3. Overeating or under eating (Binge eating)
4. Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
5. Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
6. Using pills or drugs to relax
7. Sleeping too much
8. Procrastinating
9. Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
10. Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Learning healthier ways to manage stress

If your methods of coping with stress are not contributing to your greater emotional and physical health, it’s time to find healthier ones. There are many healthy ways to manage and cope with stress, but they all require change. You can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose, it is helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.

Since everyone has a unique response to stress, there is no “one size fits all” solution to managing it. No single method works for everyone or in every situation, so experiment with different techniques and strategies. Focus on what makes you feel calm and in control.

Dealing with Stressful Situations: The Four A’s

Change the situation:

• Avoid the stressor
• Alter the stressor

Change your reaction:

• Adapt to the stressor
• Accept the stressor

More on each A`s coming up in next installment.