Managing Stress

Take the pressure off, reduce stress

Your first line of defense is to identify your stressors and try to eliminate them from your life, if possible. For example, you can change your job, modify your schedule or avoid certain people who stress you out.

One way to avoid stress is to make sure you don’t set yourself unrealistic goals. If your goals are too difficult to achieve, you won’t reach them and you’ll feel stressed.

Try setting personal goals using the SMART approach:

Specific: Choose a small goal and write it down. Be sure to include as much detail as possible about your goal (when, where and how).

Measurable: Make sure you can count it or check it off a list.

Achievable: If your goal is too difficult, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Realistic: Make sure you’re willing to work to achieve your goal.

Time-bound: Set a specific, realistic date for achieving your goal.

When you can’t avoid excessive stress, you need a strategy to help you cope.

There are three types of coping strategies:

• Physical/behavioral skills,
• thinking (cognitive)/mental skills and
• personal/social skills.

Physical/behavioral adaptability

These are skills that involve taking care of yourself and staying as healthy as possible. Examples include being physically active, doing yoga, stretching and relaxation exercises, eating a healthy diet and getting enough rest.

Reflective (cognitive) and adaptive mental capacity

These skills involve using your thoughts and mind to counter the negative effects of stress. The activities below offer some ways of coping.

Problem solving

If you’re feeling overwhelmed and panicky in the face of a stressful situation, try some classic problem-solving.

• Make a list of all the possible solutions or ways of dealing with your stressful situation.
• Rank the solutions according to their feasibility and effectiveness.
• Implement the solution you ranked at the top of the list.
• Evaluate whether this action has solved your problem. If it has, great! If not, choose the next solution on the list and see if it works, and so on.

Reassess

Sometimes your interpretation of a stressor amplifies it, making you feel more stressed than you need to be. If you think this is happening to you, follow these steps to make sure you haven’t exaggerated the situation.

• Identify your thoughts about the situation. Ask yourself: What am I telling myself about this situation?
• Question the ideas you have about the situation. Ask yourself: Is what I feel realistic? Am I basing it on facts, not fear?
• Reassess your position. Ask yourself: How can I change my way of thinking to be more realistic about this situation?

Meditation

Meditation can help you calm your mind and think more calmly. It also allows you to live in the present moment and observe the flow of your thoughts.

Meditation isn’t a miracle solution: it requires patience and practice, but it has many advantages.

Start by meditating for 10 to 15 minutes once or twice a day. Increase this to 20 minutes, twice a day at most. Avoid meditating just before going to bed, as you may have too much energy to sleep.

There are many different meditation techniques. So it’s best to do your research to find out which one suits you best.

Here’s a technique you can try.

• Choose a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted.
• Take time to relax. Don’t rush into meditation.
• When you’re relaxed and breathing slowly and evenly, close your eyes. You can slowly repeat a pleasant-sounding word or mantra, such as peace or harmony, in your mind as you breathe. Do this for 10 to 20 minutes. When your mind wanders, gently bring it back to your mantra or breath.
• When you’re ready to finish, you can say your mantra aloud, deliberately and slowly. Then open your eyes and look around you. After a minute or so, stand up and stretch.

Note: if you overdo meditation, you can cut yourself off completely from feelings of anxiety. This is not healthy. Everyone needs a certain amount of stress to function.

Personal and social coping skills

Taking the time to do things that give you pleasure and nourish your spirit is an important coping tool. Some of the most effective activities include

• Spending quality time with friends and family.
• Exploring your spirituality.
• Developing your hobbies and personal interests.
• Getting out into nature, whether it’s a city park, a beach or a country lane.
• Try volunteering, it will help you redirect your anxious thoughts to something else.
• Take a vacation or get away from your usual routine, but only if it doesn’t cause you stress.