What Is Emotional Stress
Stress is a normal reaction to the pressures of everyday life. Worry, fear, anger, sadness and other emotions are also all normal emotional responses. They are all part of life. However, if the stress that underlies these emotions interferes with your ability to do the things you want or need to do, this stress has become unhealthy.
8 Remember That Only Allah Has Control:
In various situations, you find yourself helpless because you cannot control everything. That is the time when you should call upon Allah because He has control over everything. You must rely on the fact that Allah is the most merciful and He loves you when you ask Him. Dont feel alone and stressed out as Allah is with you and he sees you. Ask Him, and He will provide you surely. You do not have control over what has happened to you but always remember that Allah has full control. He can change your sorrow into happiness.
How To Deal With Sadness
Sadness is something everyone experiences in life. What can you do when sad thoughts weigh you down and make it difficult to focus? How to deal with sadness? How to become more resilient?
Ive been thinking about this because of late, we are afraid of what the news may be when there are phone call or message alerts. The pandemic has claimed the lives of so many close friends and family and continues to do so, that we feel we might never get over the loss.
While we do try to carry on with our routine, denying or suppressing our emotions usually backfires. Our feelings only build up and complicate our lives even more. How do we cope?
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How Can I Identify The Signs Of Stress
Everyone experiences stress. However, when it is affecting your life, health and wellbeing, it is important to tackle it as soon as possible, and while stress affects everyone differently, there are common signs and symptoms you can look out for:15
- feelings of constant worry or anxiety
- feelings of being overwhelmed
For full details on tips on getting a good nights sleep read our guide How to sleep better and ten top tips for good sleep
7. Dont be too hard on yourself
- Try to keep things in perspective.
- Remember that having a bad day is a universal human experience
- When your inner critic or an outer critic finds faults, try and find truth and exception to what is being said
- If you stumble or feel you have failed, dont beat yourself up
- Act as if you were your own best friend: be kind and supportive
- Take a few minutes each day to appreciate yourself
Now, we would like to move on to a more detailed look at the causes and effects of stress. In this section we will focus on the effects prolonged stress has on your body, behaviour and emotions, and look at key causes such as relationships, money, work, alcohol and drug use.
1 Make Dua And Be Grateful To Allah :
Recite the duas mentioned above daily to avoid all the worries. Allah stated in the Quran, If you are thankful, I will give you more Al-Quran . He is the Most Merciful. Whenever you make dua, He listens to you and provides you in many ways you cant even imagine. We should be thankful to Allah for everything. Indeed, we are in much better condition than millions of others in terms of all the necessities.
May Allah protect us from all grievances, worries, stress and depression and make us among those who walk on the right path and obey Allah , Ameen.
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When Should I Get Help For My Emotional Stress
If you have any of the symptoms of emotional stress and have tried one or more of the remedies discussed in this article and havent found relief, seek professional help. If you feel overwhelmed and cant manage your emotions and stresses on your own, seek the help of a professional. Dont stay frozen or feeling like youre holding your breath waiting for your feelings to be over. If you are stuck in a rut and cant get yourself out, seek professional help.
Counselors and mental health therapists are trained professionals who can find ways to help you cope, reduce the effects of emotional stress, help you feel better and become more functional in your day-to-day activities.
If you or a loved one have thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK . They are available 24 hours/day, seven days a week.
Enjoy The Emotional Benefits Of Exercise
Exercise offers physiological benefits that can help people going through depression. Physical activity relieves stress and can make you feel great. Plus, the satisfaction you get from finishing an engaging and challenging workout can boost your self-esteem as you get stronger and more physically fit. When you fight depression with a regular exercise routine, youll feel better emotionally and physically.
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5 Make Yourself Familiar With 99 Names Of Allah
If u know the 99 names of Allah which are also called His Attributes, your stress and depression will go away. All the names are blessings, and each name has a different effect on us. Try to memorize and read these names daily. They will remind you of how merciful your Lord is! And will make you realize that this world and its problems are all temporary. You need to be more focused on building your relationship stronger with Allah .
How To Beat Stress And Depression: 4 Steps
In summary, you can immediately stop being stressed and feel more calm and relaxed by changing your thinking. Indeed, if you ever find yourself being stressed, use the following steps to reduce and eliminate the stress in 5 minutes or less.
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Get Help With Difficult Emotions
Sometimes, no matter what you do, you can’t shake a tough emotion. If you find yourself stuck in feelings of sadness or worry for more than a couple of weeks, or if you feel so upset that you think you might hurt yourself or other people, you may need extra help.
Talk to a school counselor, parent, trusted adult, or therapist. Counselors and therapists are trained to teach people how to break out of negative emotions. They can provide lots of tips and ideas that will help you feel better.
Tips On Managing Stress
Stress Management Techniques Are Useful In Coping With Depression. Stress Relief Can Also Help Prevent Depressive Symptoms From Developing. Some Helpful Stress Management Techniques Include:
- 1. Getting Enough Sleep
- 2. Eating A Healthy Diet
- 3. Finding A Relaxing Hobby, Such As Gardening Or Woodworking
- 4. Doing Breathing Exercises To Lower Your Heart Rate
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Get Enough Sleepbut Not Too Much
The thought of hiding away under the covers sounds pretty great when there’s so much to deal with beyond your bedroom door, but sleeping too much isn’t the answer. Research shows that the more you sleep, the more tired you actually feel. Plus, studies that have shown an association between chronic oversleeping and diabetes, heart disease, weight gain, and even higher rates of death . Adding health problems to your already heavy load is only going to exacerbate your stress levels. That said, too little sleep can make stress worse, too. “When you are tired and depleted, things look worse and less manageable than when you’re rested,” Smith says. The sweet spot to aim for, per the National Sleep Foundation, is between seven to nine hours of shut-eye a night.
Handle On Your Household Chores
Depression can make it difficult to complete household chores, such as doing the dishes or paying bills. Depression can make you not to say thank you messages for friends, happy birthday wishes to girlfriend and boyfriend, but a pile of paperwork, the stack of dirty dishes, and floor covered in dirty clothes will only magnify your feelings of worthlessness. Take control of your daily chores. Start small and work on one project at a time. Getting up and moving can help you start to feel better in itself. But, seeing your progress in the home can be key to helping you feel better.
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Dealing With The Winter Blues
For some people, the reduced daylight hours of winter lead to a form of depression known as seasonal affective disorder . SAD can make you feel like a completely different person to who you are in the summer: hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities you normally love. No matter how hopeless you feel, though, there are plenty of things you can do to keep your mood stable throughout the year.
Remember To Seek Help And Support When You Need It
Remember, that it is okay to ask for professional help. If you feel that you are struggling to manage on your own, then you can reach out. It is important to know that you can get help as soon as possible, and that you deserve to get better.
The first person to approach is your family doctor. He or she should be able to give advice about treatment, and may refer you to another local professional. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness based approaches are known to help reduce stress. There are also a number of voluntary organisations which can help you to tackle the causes of stress and advise you about ways to get better.
Anxiety UK
Anxiety UK runs a helpline staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety from 9:30-5:30, Monday to Friday. Call 08444 775 774.
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice provides free, independent and confidential advice for a range of problems as well as providing information on your rights and responsibilities.
StepChange
StepChange provides help and information for people dealing with a range of debt problems. Freephone 0800 138 1111.
Mind Infoline
Mind provides information on a range of mental health topics to support people in their own area from 9.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. Call 0300 123 3393 or email .
Rethink Advice and Information Service
Rethink provide specific solution-based guidance – 0300 5000927 Fax: 020 7820 1149 email .
Samaritans
Specialist mental health services
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Coping With Depression Tip : Reach Out And Stay Connected
Getting support plays an essential role in overcoming depression. On your own, it can be difficult to maintain a healthy perspective and sustain the effort required to beat depression. At the same time, the very nature of depression makes it difficult to reach out for help. When youre depressed, the tendency is to withdraw and isolate so that connecting to even close family members and friends can be tough.
You may feel too exhausted to talk, ashamed at your situation, or guilty for neglecting certain relationships. But this is just the depression talking. Staying connected to other people and taking part in social activities will make a world of difference in your mood and outlook. Reaching out is not a sign of weakness and it wont mean youre a burden to others. Your loved ones care about you and want to help. And if you dont feel that you have anyone to turn to, its never too late to build new friendships and improve your support network.
How To Manage Stress Anxiety And Depression
Anxiety and depression go hand in hand. People with social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, anxiety disorder, or other similar disorders spend most of their time in a highly agitated state.
In recent years, mental health issues have been on the rise. This is because of the amount of competition that a person faces in their life.
People are more worried about their job, money, and other responsibilities today than they were before. These daily stresses have given rise to several health issues among people.
Not everyone is capable of managing and handling stress efficiently, and often, depression sets in.
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Draw On Social Support
It’s also helpful to have the release and support of sharing your troubles with close friends, family, or loved ones. While its not healthy to constantly complain, talking to a trusted friend about your frustrations now and then can help you process whats going on and enable you to brainstorm solutions.
If you dont have someone youre comfortable sharing your situation with, seeing a therapist or starting a regular journaling practice have benefits as well.
Sadness Is Different From Depression
Feeling sad does not mean you have depression. But if your mood starts to interrupt your life and how you function, then you may have become depressed.
Key differences between sadness and clinical depression relate to the cause for the change in mood and how long you have felt that way.
If your mood relates to a recent event, such as a relationship breakup, then you may well be feeling sadness. But if that breakup was months ago, or you can see no clear reason for your change in mood, you could be depressed, and it might be helpful for you to chat to your GP about whats causing you to feel the way you do.Lets look the differences between sadness and depression.
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How I Cope With Stress And Depression
1. Practice Mindfulness
I learned about mindfulness for depression in therapy. Mindfulness is about staying in the present moment and allowing yourself to acknowledge and accept your feelings. Often our stress gets out of hand because we’ve tried to ignore stressful situations or allowed ourselves to feel guilty about certain thoughts or feelings we have. We also have a tendency to worry about the past or be anxious about the future, and those anxieties increase both stress and depression.
Practicing mindfulness can help us overcome all of these tendencies. It has helped me slow down and truly experience life. It has also taught me not to feel guilty about my feelings. Sometimes I’ll even say aloud, just to myself, “I feel stressed and frustrated right now because . . .” And then I’ll follow that with a positive statement, which leads to the next point.
2. Speak Positive Thoughts
Speaking positive thoughts aloud helps me deal with stress and depression. As an example, I might add to the above statement, “You can get through this. You’ve done hard things before. You can do it again.”
You may feel silly at first, but in time, it will become second nature. Eventually, you may not have to speak the words or even concentrate on thinking the words the calm confidence in yourself will just be there.
Start small, take baby steps, and speak positively to yourself along the way. You may be surprised by how much of that stress is chipped away each time you accomplish another task .
Do Something You Love
The problem with being sad is that you may not want to enjoy doing something you love. The good news is, once you actually start doing it, youll enjoy it. Maybe it is something as simple as painting. Or just getting outdoors for a jog or a walk.
To deal with sadness, think about something you love to do. Do it. If you are struggling to decide what you want to do, think simple. Find a hobby youve always wanted to try.
My favorite therapeutic activity is writing to channel my sadness. Feeling sad makes us more creative and encourages self-reflection. And that for me, is writing. You may be inspired to cook or draw or work in the garden. Whatever it is, do it.
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Spend Time With Friends And Family
Social support from friends and family can help you get through stressful times.
Being part of a friend network gives you a sense of belonging and self-worth, which can help you in tough times.
One study found that for women in particular, spending time with friends and children helps release oxytocin, a natural stress reliever. This effect is called tend and befriend, and is the opposite of the fight-or-flight response .
Keep in mind that both men and women benefit from friendship.
Another study found that men and women with the fewest social connections were more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety .
summary
Having strong social ties may help you get through stressful times and lower your risk of anxiety.
Its hard to feel anxious when youre laughing. Its good for your health, and there are a few ways it may help relieve stress:
- Relieving your stress response.
- Relieving tension by relaxing your muscles.
In the long term, laughter can also help improve your immune system and mood.
A study among people with cancer found that people in the laughter intervention group experienced more stress relief than those who were simply distracted (
Try watching a funny TV show or hanging out with friends who make you laugh.
summary
Find the humor in everyday life, spend time with funny friends or watch a comedy show to help relieve stress.
Not all stressors are within your control, but some are.
One way to do this may be to say no more often.
