Whether stress is getting to you due to your job or something more personal, the initial step to resolve this issue is to recognise the cause. To identify the cause, observe what makes you angry, worried, frustrated or irritable?
Sometimes stress occur due to a simple thing like waiting in a line, which cannot be recognised easily, however, job or relationship related stress can be known easily. Furthermore positive life events like buying a house or marriage can also cause stress, hence knowing the cause can help to deal with it and it is a good starting point.
The most dangerous way to deal with stress is by turning to unhealthy options like smoking and drinking, this would be a temporary solution and it has more negative effects then positive effects to your body.
Here are some potential stress busters that would help you deal with your stress in a healthy way.
1. Take control of the situation
The most important thing to remember is that every problem has a solution, thinking that there is no solution to your issue will make the situation worse. One of the main reasons of stress and lack of well being is thinking that there is no solution to your problem.
Taking control of the situation is an important part in finding a solution and it gives you confidence in handling the situation in a better way.
2. Be active
Evidence show that there is a link between being physically active and good mental well being. Therefore, one of many ways of de-stressing yourself is by doing exercise and being active. This will not make your stress go away, however, it will help you decrease some emotions and give you a clear vision to think about solutions.
3. Connect with people
Connecting with friends, family or work colleagues would ease your stress and also help you look at things in different ways. Connecting with people would help you to have people to turn to when you need help and would also help you to relieve your stress. They can help you relieve your stress by doing activities with them or just by having a good laugh with them.
4. Work smarter not harder
Learn how to prioritise your work load and focus on the tasks that would help to make a difference. Managing your time effectively will also help you to be more relaxed and have more control of the situation. Making a list to do, focusing on results and working out your goals would aid in working smarter.
5. Try to be positive
Instead of looking at the glass half empty look at the glass half full. Try to look at the positives in life and things that you are grateful to have. One way of doing this, is to write down things that you are grateful for and ponder over them, automatically this will allow you to avoid having unhelpful thoughts.
6. Challenge yourself
By challenging yourself with new goals in life, you continue learning new things and that would help you to become emotionally strong as a person. Furthermore, this helps you to build your confidence which would help you to deal with your stress in a better way. Challenging yourself shields yourself with knowledge and makes you to look at things in a different perspective rather than being passive.
All in all stress is not something that disappears from life and hence stress management is a continuously ongoing need. However, paying attention to what causes your stress and finding solutions, can avoid bad effects of stress and increase your ability to cope with challenges in life.
