5 Great Tips to Handle Stress

These simple steps can help you handle stress and feel more relaxed.

By Sara Jensen

Stress has always been a part of our lives. In this hectic time, people lead an increasingly stressful life. Experts state that a little stress can be good; it keeps you sharp and ready to move forward and is sometimes vital for achieving optimum performance. However, medical research has determined that prolonged stress is very bad for the body, and can block the body’s natural ability to repair, regenerate, and protect itself. More than 90% of disease is caused by stress. Stress is both a physical and psychological response. It can lead to chronic disease, obesity, insomnia, deteriorating relationships, depression, and more.

Stress is such a powerful and harmful force that it is vital to learn effective stress management techniques to live a successful, happy, and healthy life. We will always come across inevitable factors that cause pressure and anxiety. But it is not really the problems that are difficult to deal with, but our attitude toward them. So basically, our attitude toward these things causes us stress. What, then, is an effective way to deal with stressors?

Below are five great tips to handle stress

1. Identify what makes you stressful and uneasy. Making a list of your stressful experiences is useful. Immediately deal with the issues that you can change, for instance waking up earlier for work in the morning, not leaving things till the last minute, and delegating tasks if you are taking responsibility for everything. Forget about the issues that you cannot influence like being stuck in a traffic jam or not fitting into a full elevator.

2. Calm down. A few minutes break would do you good. Wash your face, breathe slowly and deeply, and notice if there is tension in any part of your body and release it. Or listen to relaxing music or call a friend. Releasing your inner feelings to a friend is healthy option.

3. It will pass, and it will be over before you know it. Reminding yourself that the stressful event will end sooner or later can make you see the positive sides of things. At the same time, calm down your emotions, and think of what the best thing is to do, rather than taking your energy away from what needs to be done.

4. Know yourself. Ask yourself: “What triggers my anxiety?” For example, if it is your job, then maybe it’s time for you to consider a less stressful job. You can also make your job more tolerable by allowing yourself to get that needed vacation or use your leave.

5. Learn to use your relaxation response. Just as we all have within us the stress response, we also have a relaxation response. Try eliciting that on a regular basis. The relaxation response involves two steps. First is repetition, which can be a word, a sound, an expression, or a movement. The second step is to ignore other thoughts that come to your mind while you’re doing the repetition and come back to the repetition. The technique should be used once or twice a day for about 15 minutes. Sit quietly and choose a suitable repetition, like a prayer, the sound “Om,” or the word “love” or “calm.” Or you can do a repetitive exercise, for instance yoga, jogging, or Reiki. Additional repetitive activities are knitting or handicrafts. When you incorporate this into your everyday life, you become calmer and better able to handle the stressors. Practice makes perfect, and the more you practice relaxing your mind, the easier it gets.

So, remember. The true causes of stress are not the problems or negative experiences you encounter, but your attitude toward them. The trick is to change your attitude and to develop a relaxed state, because you cannot be stressed and relaxed at the same time. It is important to understand that what we focus on, we energize. The more you continue to think about the factors that cause your stress, the more energy you give them. So, let go, and focus on relaxation instead. Consequently, you’re less likely to be upset by a stressor, and thus less likely to suffer its harmful effects. Eventually, it’s your choice. You could either continue to react in the same stressful way, or you could choose to improve your life by changing your attitude and becoming relaxed. There’s no other way around it.