How To Manage Stress

The first step to manage stress is to hold onto the notion that the hours in a day won’t change for you, the financial upheaval won’t get any better and your personal life’s responsibilities won’t cut down either- and having believed all that, you must also know that all of these CAN be under your control. It only calls for relaxation and believing that you can take charge of your life.

Knowing that you can control and manage your life lies at the roots of what we call stress management. This involves managing your time, career, finances, family, friends and leisure- all directed to attaining balance in life.

In order to wipe out stress from your life, first you need to identify the ‘genuine’ sources that cause stress. Most of the times, the stress you face is only because of your own thoughts and emotions which, when added to other problems, make the perfect recipe for a stressed brain.

Next, you use the methods of altering and adapting to change the situations that cause you stress. Using unhealthy ways to manage stress only make you more vulnerable to it. These involve smoking, drinking, overeating, seeking escape in unhealthy leisure activities, withdrawing from people, procrastinating, oversleeping and spilling over your stress on others. Instead of these, you should use healthy ways to cope stress. The 4 A’s are the best tools for stress management: avoid, alter, adapt, or accept. You ‘ll either have to change the situation or change your reaction to a particular situation. Whatever the case, you must focus on being calm and composed and not to generate anger, frustration or fatigue.

You need to learn to avoid all the unnecessary stressors. One of the components of taking charge of your life is to take charge of what you accept and what your reject. One of the greatest stressors is a person’s inability to say ‘no’ even when he cannot fulfil it. Learn to refuse to people, opportunities or tasks that are not favorable for you. Take decisions assertively and stick to your limits.

There is no one solution that can fit everyone who is under stress. Since everyone has a unique way to cope with stress, it is best to ask yourself how you can alter and adapt to a stressful situation while being unruffled and calm. You’ll need to reframe your reactions, thoughts and perceptions in order to build a balanced life with productive time for work, family and leisure.