Stress is a sense of physical or emotional tension and thus is our worst enemy of all. But contrary to popular belief, all stress is not bad. Stress can also be positive because a normal amount of stress under any circumstance, only helps you give your best and reach your maximum potential there is.
But the positive effect of stress can quickly turn into a negative one. Therefore, here is a list of ways to handle stress wisely to utilise the positive effects of stress.
The art of Acceptance
One of the best and the most common ways to keep stress at bay is to have a positive outlook towards things and to be able to accept the fact that everything is not in your hands. It is of utter importance to accept that as well as the outcome because you cannot change it, but only make sure that you try better next time and avoid the same mistakes.
- Learn to be assertive. Instead of being passive-aggressive about something, try changing it to assertiveness and notice the change!
- The phrase “be positive” might seem an overrated one, but it has only proven to one of the most effective ones as well. Try using it in daily life scenarios first to develop a habit of it.
- Be calm, along with being positive.
Staying Fit
How does exercising help in managing stress you ask? Here’s how:
- Regular exercise helps to maintain an overall balance of both your body and your mind. This is because it tends to pump up those chemicals that the body produces to relieve stress and pain, which are called endorphins. This is a direct and one of the simplest ways to manage stress.
Apart from exercise involving cardio, activities like meditation and yoga have proved to be highly effective in releasing stress and calming one’s mind and soul. Meditating, after waking up, in the early morning, has amazing benefits on your body and mind.
- A healthy diet
Staying fit also includes keeping your eating habits in check
- Have healthy meals and a balanced diet
- Develop a habit of eating a healthy breakfast every morning for a better and energetic day ahead
- Eat well-balanced meals and on time to avoid stress
Time Management helps with Stress Management
If you learn to manage and utilise your time wisely and properly, you will automatically feel relieved and ahead of work, thereby managing your stress levels. One of the best ways to ensure that you don’t get loaded by work is to make a schedule and following it. Following a schedule will help you to attend to tasks in an organised and orderly fashion due to which you would be able to dodge futile stressors. Time management is, therefore, of immense importance for one to manage and handle stress.
Apart from work, try making time for yourself. For instance, allot some time for relaxation or for a hobby or an activity which would be refreshing for you. This will also help you with multi-tasking skills.
Also, do not forget the most important part where you need to give yourself an ample amount of time to sleep for your body and mind need rest. It is like recharging the battery but of yourself.
Journaling
To make sure that you do not repeat the same mistakes or to reduce stressors, you should start writing it all down. Journaling helps you to stay on track and keep your progress in check. For instance, the next time you get stressed, immediately note down the stressor (the cause of the stress) so that you can avoid that stressor. Examining stressors like this will help you with a relative reduction of stress.
Writing down positive thoughts and feelings, daily affirmations or simply expressing your gratitude is also highly likely to help you handle stress and pressure.
Cut down Bad Habits
Reducing and gradually cutting down bad and unhealthy habits have proven to be highly effective in stress reduction.
- Quit smoking and drinking. Not only is this one of the major reasons for stress but is also highly dangerous and damaging to the body.
- Avoid unhealthy eating and drinking habits, like skipping meals or drinking too much caffeine.
- Procrastinating is also one of the worst habits for one to cultivate. It piles up too much work which then turns into a stressful situation. Therefore, you should never procrastinate and finish up work as and when time permits.
- An unhealthy and irregular sleeping pattern is also one of the major causes of stress. Try sleeping at a proper time and make sure your mind and body are getting enough sleep and rest. After all, early to bed and early to rise should be put to the application too.
- Another potential stressor is continuous working. Do not get in the haste of finishing up work and not taking a break. Small breaks are as necessary as completing the task so save some time for yourself!
Practice Self-Development
The best way to get better at something is to practice it until you get the required results. Similarly, self-development will not come to you in a day or two. It needs practicing and regularity and involves ups and downs as well. Most of all, it involves you not giving up and requires your full concentration.
Here are some ways to work on oneself to make it easier for you:
- Take up responsibility for your actions.
- Work on yourself every day. Keep your progress levels in check and identify what areas do you need to work on more.
- Maintain your focus.
- Drop the negative attitude towards failure and try to learn from it instead of giving up.
- Practice daily affirmations.
- Learn to say no to things that you feel aren’t meant for you.
Handling Stressful Moments
Yes, you can apply the tips mentioned above to avoid and manage stress, but what about getting out of a stressful situation? How to tackle stress at that very moment? Do not worry! We have some helpful ideas which might just be perfect for you:
- Stop
- Pause for a couple of seconds and close your eyes.
- Take a few deep breaths and calm yourself down.
- Get rid of anything even remotely negative from your mind and think in an optimistic direction.
- Before reacting to the stressor, try coming up with at least two different possible responses to it and narrow it down to which one suits you the best. While doing this, think from the perspective of long-run.
- Relax
- Relax your body.
- Release the tension from your muscles by changing your body posture.
- Inhale and exhale slowly.
- Distract yourself a bit before getting back to the task.
Conclusion
Stressful situations occur all the time during our daily routine. But it is in our power to avoid the stressors which lead to those situations, the same way it is up to us to handle the situation, i.e., facing a stress-inducing situation calmly and wisely is the key to get out of it.
Keep practising these tips regularly and firmly to avoid and manage stress and to make proper use of positive stress for a healthy, stress-free, fun and a positive lifestyle!
Co-author: Khushi Shah
Khushi has just passed her school and is now studying at PDPU. Apart from writing, she likes to sketch and dance. She also has other blogs where she posts proses and poetry.
