Tip : Practice The 4 As Of Stress Management
While stress is an automatic response from your nervous system, some stressors arise at predictable times: your commute to work, a meeting with your boss, or family gatherings, for example. When handling such predictable stressors, you can either change the situation or change your reaction. When deciding which option to choose in any given scenario, its helpful to think of the four As: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept.
Tips For Managing Longer
Over time you may find you need additional tension reducing exercises. These are the state-of-the- art therapeutic approaches for reducing both stress and anxiety. They can be helpful when performed on a daily basis for a few minutes, as well as utilized in the middle of a stressful experience. They can lead your body and mind to calm down. They may also lead you to be less reactive to stress within a few weeks.
Try This: Affect Labeling
Focus on labeling your emotions clearly and be as specific as you can be. You might start by saying something general such as I feel bad, but work on going further to really identify the source of the distress and how you feel about it.
After some thought, you might realize that you feel bad because you are worried, angry, or disappointed. Acknowledge and accept your emotions without judging them.
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How To Avoid Stress And Anxiety By Being Hopeful Grateful And Mindful
Happy New Year to all my readers and followers! The only new year resolution I made this year is to avoid stress and anxiety. But how? I found the answer to this question in a beautiful quote from a good friend, Seung-Ah Kim who is a stroryteller from South Korea.
Looking forward makes me hopeful. Looking back makes me grateful. Being present makes me peaceful.
Seung Ah- Kim
In just one sentence Seung-Ah managed to capture what life is all about, which is quite a tour de force. For my first blog article of 2022, I thought that it would be a good idea to develop this a little bit and share with my readers some thoughts on how to avoid stress and anxiety by being hopeful, grateful and mindful.
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Watch Your Caffeine Intake
Caffeine might be the most commonly consumed drug in the world, but its psychological effects are often underestimated. While low to moderate doses can make you feel more alert and energetic, too much can leave you feeling jittery and anxious.
It is important to remember, however, that everyone’s tolerance for caffeine is different. Some people may be able to drink a moderate amount of coffee each day, around four or five cups a day, without noticing any ill effects.
For other people, just a small amount of caffeine can cause feelings of shakiness or nervousness. If you feel like caffeine might be contributing to feelings of anxiety, consider gradually reducing your intake. Slowly lowering your intake over time can help minimize the unpleasant symptoms of caffeine withdrawal.
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Worry Can Cause A Stress Response
Ongoing worry can quickly evolve into chronic stress. When you have a stress response, you may have a tough time identifying exactly what worrying thoughts got you there.
Over time, repetitive negative thoughts can trigger other stress responses in your body. While it may seem like your mind is going a mile a minute, tracking your thoughts and the physical sensations in your body can help slow stress.
Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive muscle relaxation involves relaxing all the muscles in your body, group by group. To practice, you can start with a few deep breaths.
Then, practice tightening and relaxing each muscle group, starting with your forehead and moving down to your toes.
With practice, you’ll learn to recognize tension and tightness in your muscles and you’ll be able to relax more easily. Each time you practice, however, you should experience a feeling of relaxation sweeping through your body.
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Learn To Avoid Procrastination
Another way to take control of your stress is to stay on top of your priorities and avoid procrastinating.
Procrastination may harm your productivity and leave you scrambling to catch up. This can cause stress, which negatively affects your health and sleep quality .
A study in 140 medical students in China linked procrastination to increased stress levels. The study also associated procrastination and delayed stress reactions with more negative parenting styles, including punishment and rejection .
If you find yourself procrastinating regularly, it may be helpful to get in the habit of making a to-do list organized by priority. Give yourself realistic deadlines and work your way down the list.
Work on the things that need to get done today and give yourself chunks of uninterrupted time. Switching between tasks or multitasking can be stressful in itself.
Summary
If you find yourself regularly procrastinating, staying on top of your to-do list may help ward off related stress.
Practise Muscle Relaxation Techniques
Also called a body scan, this technique helps you to focus on yourself and release tension youre holding in your body.
Breathe in and tense the muscles in your face, squeezing your eyes shut. Clench your jaw and keep your face tensed for five seconds. Gradually relax your muscles over the time it takes to count to ten, then take a deep breath. You can say relax as you relax. Next, move on to your neck and shoulders, and gradually move down your body. Be careful with any injuries or pain that you have. Get more info on how to practise progressive muscle relaxation here.
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How To Overcome Anxiety
Allow your brain some positive reinforcement. Take a time out to breathe and be. Be sure to get enough rest. You need 8 hours of sleep a night, and sleep deprivation can affect your mood. Rest nourishes your brain. Dont forget to exercise. Sitting at your desk or in bed all day can also affect your mood, and your weight. Get up and move around. You can also calm down with affirmations and positive self talk. We Your writing skills will improve considerably while in college if you write for fun as well as assignments, and youll meet plenty of new friends and colleagues whom you can network with.
Overcoming anxiety is all about looking for the positives, tuning out the negatives, and doing the best you possibly can. Its okay to step away and take a break when going gets tough. College is a small part of your life, and you need to maintain your wellness for your whole life.
Joanne Elliot is a professional copywriter, content manager, and social media specialist. Her academic experience has enabled her to write papers, essays, and articles on trending education and personal development topics. Joanne spends her free time journaling, cycling, and spending time with her friends and family.
When To See Your Gp About Your Stress Levels
If you’ve tried self-help techniques and they aren’t working, you should go to see your GP. They may suggest other coping techniques for you to try or recommend some form of counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy.
If your stress is causing serious health problems, such as high blood pressure, you may need to take medication or further tests.
Mental health issues, including stress, anxiety and depression, are the reason for one-in-five visits to a GP.
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Stop Constantly Checking Your Symptoms
Whether its with a thermometer or a Google search, constantly checking your behavior is unproductive, Dr. Oken says. It gives you transient reassurance and it causes you to believe that you need to keep checkingThe more you monitor, the more questions youre going to have, and youll become more fearful and continue to panic.
Try Supplements Or Change Your Diet
Changing your diet or taking supplements is definitely a long-term strategy. Research shows certain supplements or nutrients can help anxiety reduction.
These include:
However, it can take a few months before your body is actually running on the nutrition these herbs and foods provide. If youre taking other medications, make sure to discuss herbal remedies with your doctor as there can be adverse reactions.
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Effects Of Too Much Stress
“If constantly under stress, most of us will eventually start to function less well,” says Malaika Stoll, M.D., chief medical officer of SutterSelect. Multiple studies link chronic stress to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, weight gain, memory loss and even premature death, so “it’s important to recognize the warning signals,” she says.
Talk to your doctor about ways to manage stress if youre experiencing any of these symptoms:
- Prolonged periods of poor sleep
- Regular, severe headaches
- Unexplained weight loss or gain
- Feelings of isolation, withdrawal or worthlessness
- Constant anger and irritability
- Loss of interest in activities
- Constant worrying or obsessive thinking
- Excessive alcohol or drug use
- Inability to concentrate
How Can I Treat Anxiety
Anxiety can be treated in a variety of ways. One common treatment option is cognitive behavioral therapy , which helps provide people with tools to cope with anxiety when it occurs.
There are also certain medications, like antidepressants and sedatives, that work to balance brain chemistry and prevent episodes of anxiety. They may even ward off the most severe symptoms.If youre looking to go a more natural route, though, there are little and big ways you can help combat anxiety.
You can make adjustments to habits, like exercise, sleep, and diet. You can also try something totally new, like aromatherapy or meditation. No matter what your lifestyle demands, theres a natural way to help reduce anxiety for everyone.
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Tips For Managing Your Automatic And Negative Thinking
These approaches are very helpful for changing the automatic and distorted negative thinking that can lead to long-term worry and anxiety.
- Self-Compassion: Self-compassion is the way to achieve well-being and relaxation through responding to yourself with kindness and understanding when you struggle with feelings of inadequacy, embarrassment, and other negative feelings. Self-compassion reduces the negative feelings caused from being relentlessly self-critical and may even lead to improved performance. This approach uses meditation and positive affirmations.
- Reducing Perfectionism: By setting impossible goals and failing to meet these goals, you may end up with feelings of guilt, anxiety, disappointment, and lowered self-esteem. Frequently, you may set a new unrealistic goal because you believe achieving it will blot out the original sense of failure. More failure is usually the outcome. Reducing perfectionism and substituting healthy striving is crucial to improving the sense of self and achieving personal peace.
Keep Your Immune System Balanced
Dr. Oken notes that there are four pillars of a balanced immune system: nutrition, exercise, sleep, and stress management. The first three are standards in conversations of health, so most people know what to do already . But if youre chronically stressed, these healthy habits cant carry all the weight. Stress has been shown to weaken the immune system and make the body more vulnerable to infection. Think of the immune system as a platform thats nice and steady, Dr. Oken says. If anyone of those pillars is off, it tips the platform and makes our immune system more vulnerable.
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Identify And Learn To Manage Your Triggers
You can identify triggers on your own or with a therapist. Sometimes they can be obvious, like caffeine, drinking alcohol, or smoking. Other times they can be less obvious.
Long-term problems, such as financial or work-related situations, may take some time to figure out is it a due date, a person, or the situation? This may take some extra support, through therapy or with friends.
When you do figure out your trigger, you should try to limit your exposure if you can. If you cant limit it like if its due to a stressful work environment that you cant currently change using other coping techniques may help.
Stress And Physical Illness
When we feel under stress, our body kicks into high gear to deal with the threat. Our heartbeat, breathing rate and blood pressure all go up. The longer we feel stressed, the greater the demand on our body.The more often we are placed under stress, the more often we have to use energy to cope. There is growing evidence that stress may contribute to physical illness such as cardiovascular disease , high blood pressure, proneness to infection and chronic fatigue.Whatever the cause, physical diseases need appropriate medical management before any attempt is made at stress management. Discuss with your doctor how stress management may be used to support treatment of your physical symptoms.
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Verilux Happy Light Luxe
Research has shown that a lamp with light intensity of 10,000 lux set 16 to 24 inches away at a 45-degree angle from the eyes for 30 minutes can help in treating seasonal affective disorder and other mood disorders. This SAD lamp was our winner for the best SAD lamp of 2021 due to its well-thought-out controls and sleek packaging.
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Accept The Things You Can’t Change
Changing a difficult situation isn’t always possible. Try to concentrate on the things you do have control over.
“If your company is going under and is making redundancies, for example, there’s nothing you can do about it,” says Professor Cooper.
“In a situation like that, you need to focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for a new job.”
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Try The 54321 Technique
Experiencing intense anxiety often results from internalizing your worries. The 54321 technique can help bring you back into the moment.
Heres how to do it:
- Look around and identify five items in your environment. Then, name and count each one as you see them.
- Find four things to touch. These items could be a pencil, the shirt youre wearing, or even the ground youre standing on.
- Listen for three sounds around you and focus on what you hear. Maybe its the wind blowing, the sound of traffic, or a clock ticking.
- Locate two things you can smell, like a cup of coffee or your own cologne or perfume.
- Search for one thing you can taste, like a piece of gum or a food item.
Smoking Drinking And Drug Use And Stress
You might find that you smoke, drink alcohol or use recreational drugs to reduce stress. However, this often makes problems worse.28
Research shows that smoking may increase feelings of anxiety.29 Nicotine creates an immediate, temporary, sense of relaxation, which can then lead to withdrawal symptoms and cravings.
Similarly, you may use alcohol as a means to manage and cope with difficult feelings, and to temporarily reduce feelings of anxiety. However, alcohol may make existing mental health problems worse. It can make you feel more anxious and depressed in the long run.30 It is important to know the recommended limits31 and drink responsibly.
Prescription drugs, such as tranquillisers and sleeping tablets, which may have been prescribed for very good reasons, can also cause mental and physical health problems if used for long periods of time.32 Street drugs, such as cannabis or ecstasy, are usually taken for recreational purposes. For some people, problems start as their bodies get used to repeated use of the drug. This leads to the need for increased doses to maintain the same effect.33
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Read How To Manage And Reduce Stress
Stress affects us in a number of ways, both physically and emotionally, and in varying intensities. Research has shown that stress can sometimes be positive. It makes us more alert and helps us perform better in certain situations. However, stress has only been found to be beneficial if it is short-lived. This guide aims to give you tips on how to manage and reduce stress.
Stress affects us in a number of ways, both physically and emotionally, and in varying intensities.
Research has shown that stress can sometimes be positive. It makes us more alert and helps us perform better in certain situations. However, stress has only been found to be beneficial if it is short-lived. Excessive or prolonged stress can lead to illness such as heart disease and mental health problems such as anxiety and depression.
During situations that make you feel threatened or upset, your body creates a stress response. This can cause a variety of physical symptoms, change the way you behave, and lead you to experience more intense emotions.
People react differently to stress. Some common symptoms of stress include: sleeping problems, sweating, or a change in appetite.
As a result, you may experience headaches, muscle tension, pain, nausea, indigestion and dizziness. You may also breathe more quickly, have palpitations or suffer from various aches and pains. In the long-term, you may be putting yourself at risk from heart attacks and strokes.
When you are feeling stressed, try to take these steps:
Take Control Of What You Can
While youre experiencing anxiety, you may feel like everything is out of control.
Sometimes, gaining control over one small thing can help redirect your focus and instill an overall sense of calm.
You could try cleaning something, organizing a drawer, or tidying up your desk anything that makes you feel more empowered at the moment.
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