We all have stress in our lives, there is no avoiding it. And that is one of the easiest ways TO cope with stress. Sometimes we have the mistaken impression that if only our lives were stress free, things would be so much easier. One of the first things you need to do is adjust your mindset and accept the fact that there will always be some kind of stress in your life. Rather then spending a bunch of time trying to avoid it and pretend it isn't, just accept it and cope with it the best you can. There are many types of stressors, money, jobs, people, illness, death, moving, fires/floods or other disasters, terrorist attack, etc. It seems like there is always something to worry about or stress out over. And that's life - it can not be avoided, so the best strategy is to learn healthy coping skills. How do we cope with stress? Here are some ways NOT to cope with it. Avoid using alcohol and drugs and other negative substances or behaviors as a coping mechanism. When the buzz wears off, the stress is still going to be there and it's going to be magnified because you tried to avoid it in the first place instead of just dealing with it. One of the easiest things to do when you feel stressed out or overwhelmed is to talk to someone, be it a friend, family member, minister or health professional. They can probably give you some sound advice and help you put your problems in perspective. Sometimes just talking your problems out with someone can be the best solution. You can also journal about your stress, many people find writing to be therapeutic. Sometimes after writing about your problems you can read what you've written and go "Duh! There's the solution!" because writing things down can make your choices more clear. Exercise is also a good way to deal with stress. The endorphins released when you exercise can improve your feeling of well being and help you clear your head and take your mind off your problems. As long as you don't start exercising obsessively to avoid what is causing stress in your life, then exercise can be a very good way to reduce feelings of stress. There's nothing like a GOOD tired feeling at the end of a day as opposed to a strung out stressed out WORN tired feeling. Another thing that one sometimes forgets to do is BREATHE. When you feel like things are spinning out of control, just sit down and take a few good deep breaths. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, nice and deep, fill the diaphragm up before you slowly exhale. That will do more good than you can imagine. Another technique that goes along with breathing is meditation. There are many ways to meditate, too many to cover here, but there are tapes, cds and dvds that take you through a relaxation journey of the body, you should try it sometime. It will also do you a world of good in dealing with stress. Some stressors will take some time to get over, like a death in the family or a major illness. Don't push yourself, realize that it will take time for the stress to dissipate and don't hold to unrealistic expectations because that will just make the stress worse. Hopefully these simple coping strategies will help you deal with any stress you may be experiencing in your day to day life! |
