Stress Management
Today, with the busy work life, immense competition, and the food habits many of us do not know how to respond to stress. Most of us think there is nothing you can do about it since the work and family responsibilities are always going to be demanding. The fact is we all have control over stress, and it is all about managing and taking charge of one’s lifestyle. You also need to handle the thought process and emotions, no matter how stressful the life is. There are steps and solutions to regain control over your life.
What is Stress Management:
All of us respond to stress differently, so there is no one solution fits all. But if you feel like the stress in your life is making things increasingly difficult then it is time to take action. Stress management is all about learning healthier ways to deal with stress and about changing the stressful situation whenever you can. It is about changing your reaction to a particular situation and making time to relax and rest. The below-mentioned steps can help you deal with stress:
Firstly, there is a need to recognize the cause of stress in your life. It is possible to identify the source of stress by overlooking your own thoughts, behaviour and feelings and things that contribute to the stress levels. To determine the exact source, look closely at the attitude, excuses and habits. Is your stress temporary??? Or is it part of an integral part of your lifestyle? Do you blame other people for situations for your stress? Until you accept and maintain responsibility for the role you play, your stress level can remain out of control.
Secondly, have you taken steps to cope with stress? Are those steps healthy or unhealthy? Unfortunately, many people cope with stress the wrong way and that eventually compounds the problem. These unhealthy coping strategies are:
- Smoking
- Drinking
- Eating too much of Junk Food
- Zoning out in front of the TV or computer
- Withdrawing with family and friends
- Using drugs or pills
- Sleeping too much
- Increasing the workload to avoid facing the problem
- Lashing others, angry outbursts, and physical violence.
It is imperative to learn healthier ways to deal with stress. If your day to day activities are not contributing and helping, try to focus on something that makes you feel calm and in control of your life.
Stress Management Strategies:
- You have to move on, and physical activity plays a significant role in preventing and reducing the effect of stress. For this you do not have to spend hours at the gym, any form of activity is just about enough to reduce stress. It helps in relieving you from the anger, frustration and thus boosts your mood and assist in distracting you. Add some music to your life, take your dog for a walk, walk or cycle to the grocery store, use stairs at work, spend time with people you love.
- Social engagement is the quickest and most efficient form of relieving stress. There is nothing in life calmer than communicating with others,
- Alter the situation if it is stressful, change the way you communicate, learn to say no and express your feelings instead of bottling them up. Also, manage your time better, and spend time on your hobbies.
The bottom line is you should have time to do things you like. It helps in nurturing and also enables you to have fun and relax. If you still feel stress contact a psychiatrist doctor in your locality and solve it. Some of the best psychiatrist in Chennai have conducted camps arround various IT companies to bring down stress among the employees.
