The Art of Managing Stress Effectively

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The art of managing Stress effectively.

Stress is an expression of feeling anxious or worried. We all experience a certain level of stress at some point in our life. A stressor can be physical, emotional or psychological.

It can be anything ranging from a school exam to an office meeting. But the intensity may vary from person to person.

If you face issues in managing stress or have trouble with stress control, some of the following tips might come in handy. 

But first, let’s understand stress better.

What is Stress?

When a person faces physical, emotional or psychological pressure in their daily life, they may develop a feeling of stress. Sometimes stress is nothing more than the body’s physiological reaction to deal with challenging circumstances.

For example, during a stressful encounter, adrenaline and cortisol (also known as stress hormones) are released in the blood, leading to a surge in sugar levels and blood pressure. As a result, the brain becomes highly functional and active to better deal with stressful situations. 

Stress is almost synonymous with our modern lifestyles. We experience external stressors from our jobs, family responsibilities, financial worries and many other places, resulting in unhealthy lifestyle choices. The result is an epidemic of stress and an increased risk for chronic diseases.

Common Causes of Stress

It can often feel like stress is all around us. However, stress can come in many different forms. For example, socioeconomic stress is a real burden for many people, as is the stress of taking care of several generations within a family or coping with health challenges. Stress can also come in the form of bad food and poor or inadequate sleep. 

With the unprecedented spread of Covid-19 worldwide, stress and anxiety have increased among the masses and managing stress has become even more crucial.

Symptoms and management

Too much stress can affect mental and physical health, particularly if it becomes chronic (ongoing) or overwhelming. Stress can affect your body, your thoughts and feelings and your behaviour.

In all its many forms, stress leads to inflammation and inflammation actually kills the brain cells that help us make good decisions, making those brain cells in the fight or flight part of the brain grow.

This leads to anger and opposition and supports negative behaviour and decision-making.

Chronic and severe stress can increase the risk of developing depression, anxiety, substance abuse or a range of other mental disorders and is associated with symptoms such as headaches, crankiness, insomnia and trouble relaxing. 

Is all Stress bad for us?

We know that chronic, long-term stress can wreak havoc on our health. However, short-term and/or mild stressors can have the exact opposite effect. Good stress is called “eustress”.

When the stress is acute, it can push you out of your comfort zone and help you to grow as an individual. 

Stress can lift your morale and mood. Stress can prove to be a prominent motivating and driving force when you want to work harder, reach further and strive better.

This type of stress keeps us alive and fills us with excitement about life.

Some tips for managing Stress:

  • Practice loving, touching and squeezing (your friends and family): You don’t have to be an expert to know the benefits of a good hug. Positive physical contact with friends loved ones and even pets is an instant pick-me-up. One research study on this subject had a waitress touch some of her customers on the arm as she handed them their bills. She received higher tips from those customers than from the ones she didn’t touch.
  • Practice meditation: Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace. 
  • Eat a balanced, nutritionally dense, unprocessed diet. Drink 2-3 liters of water a day. Many foods provide the nutrients we need to stay calm and in control, such as magnesium found in green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds.
  • Sleep 7-9 hours a night. Everything seems more peaceful and more manageable with a good night’s sleep.
  • Remind yourself of the things you are grateful for: stress and challenges don’t seem quite as bad when you constantly remind yourself of the good things in your life
  • Workout: Get your body moving. Go for a jog. Do that cardio. Let your worries wash away with your sweat. Even a small physical activity routine like games, dancing and cycling can instantly help manage stress. 
  • Let it all out: Talking is the best remedy. Bottling things up can lead to a lot of stress. Phone a friend. To eliminate the stress, you might need to seek help.

Conclusion

The key to busting stress is making sure that you look after yourself. As your happiness levels increase, your stress levels decrease. Have a look at your work life, personal life and social life to see if there are any areas where you can reduce your stress levels. 

Be aware that you can’t always change a stressful situation, but you can control how you respond to it.  

Hypnotherapy for stress provides you with an opportunity to release and heal those negative feelings associated with stressful situations and it equips you in dealing with similar stressors in the future calmly.

To use Hypnotherapy to help you to live a fulfilled life of peace and calm and to create a happy and bright future, contact Marcelle, at Enlighten My Health, by clicking on this link: http://bit.ly/callwithMarcelle

Resources

  1. https://www.southerncross.co.nz/group/medical-library/stress-causes-symptomshttps://www.helpguide.org/articles/stress/stress-management.htm
  2. https://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/what-is-stress
  3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4214609/
  4. https://drhyman.com/blog/2020/12/25/podcast-minisode68/

Medical Disclaimer:   This article is for information purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. For medical advice, always consult your physician.

The information provided in this blog is based on the author’s best knowledge of writing. We do not assume liability for the information within this blog, be it direct or indirect, consequential, special, exemplar or other damages.

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