How Do You Handle Stress? (3 Easy Steps)

Everyone experiences stress both at work and in personal life. It often causes by changes in the world around us that we cannot control. So, how do you handle stress? Coping and managing stress is essential because it can bring down your overall health if you do not manage it properly. Dental anxiety, for example, can limit you from receiving the proper dental procedures that you need. Click here to know more.

What is stress?

Stress is a state of being under unusual pressure. This pressing factor can emerge from various parts of your everyday life. For example, an increased workload, existing financial worries, a transitional period, and an argument you have with your family may all lead to stress and anxiety. In addition, you may discover that it has an aggregate impact, with every stressor expanding on top of each other.

During these stressful situations, you may feel upset or threatened. In addition, your body may develop a stress response, such as anxiety attacks. This can result in various physical manifestations, change your behavior, and lead you to encounter more extreme emotions.

Stress influences us in several ways, both physically, mentally, and emotionally and in different intensities.

Signs and Symptoms of Stress

Every people encounter different stressful situations. Suppose you cannot handle pressure, and it is influencing your life, health, and wellbeing. In that case, it is imperative to tackle it as early as possible. To answer the question of how do you handle stress, first, let us identify the common signs and symptoms you can watch out for:

• difficulty concentrating
• depression
• feelings of nausea or dizziness
• low self-esteem
• feelings of constant worry or anxiety
• difficulty relaxing
• eating more or less than usual
• irritability or having a short temper
• feelings of being overwhelmed
• aches and pains, especially muscle tension
• mood swings or changes in your mood
• changes in your sleeping habits
• using alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs to relax
• diarrhea and constipation
• loss of sex drive.

Suppose you encounter these manifestations for an extended period and feel they influence your regular daily activities or are causing you to feel unwell. In that case, you should address it with your doctor. In addition, you can inquire for data about the help services and treatment accessible to you.

Moreover, you can also experience anxiety attacks when facing stressful situations. The symptoms of anxiety attacks include fear, chest pain, lightheadedness, racing heart, irrational thought, and difficult breathing. In this event, try to close your eyes and focus on your breathing.

How Do You Handle Stress? What Should You Do?

Knowing how to handle pressure during stressful situations can help prevent anxiety attacks and bring stress relief.

Here are the three steps to take when feeling stress.

Understand When It Is Causing You a Problem

Attempt to form a connection between feeling drained or sick and the pressing factors you are facing with. For example, you can look out for physical symptoms like over-tiredness, tense muscles, headaches, or migraines.

Analyze the Causes

Try to detect the primary reasons for your stress. Sort the potential causes into three groups:

1. Those with a simple solution
2. Those that will improve by a given time
3. Those you cannot do anything about

You can release your worries by giving your stress a solution and time and letting go of the things you do not control.

Check Your Lifestyle

You cannot experience stress relief if you are trying to do everything at once. Check and evaluate your lifestyle to help you handle pressure correctly. You may need to focus on things you are attempting to accomplish and re-organize your life.

Seven Ways to Protect Yourself from Stress

The best way to handle stress is to protect yourself from it.

Here are the different ways to protect yourself from the danger of stress.

Eat Healthily

When a person is stressed, he or she may tend to eat more as a form of stress relief. Instead of eating anything, choose to eat healthily. Also, even in normal mood conditions, eating healthy can protect your feelings of wellbeing. This guarantees that diet provides sufficient amounts of brain nutrients like essential vitamins and minerals, and water.

Be Aware of Smoking and Drinking Alcohol

Try to avoid or lessen the amount you smoke or drink alcohol. Although it may appear to diminish pressure at first, this is misdirecting as it regularly worsens issues.

Exercise

Exercise has a lot of benefits. It includes improving your mood. Try to incorporate a physical workout into your lifestyle, as it can be very effective in relieving stress. In addition, you can do some simple activities like going for a walk.

Take Time Out

Have time to relax. A balance in your life is necessary to prevent stress from happening. Taking a break is one of the essential ingredients for good mental health.

Be Mindful

Mindfulness is a mind-body method to deal with life that helps us to connect differently to experiences. It includes focusing on our thoughts and feelings, which builds our ability to handle stressful situations and make good decisions. Try to always practice mindfulness.

Get Enough Restful Sleep

Having a proper sleep is a common issue when you are stressed. Try to make your room dark and comfortable, and limit your screen time to help you get the amount of sleep you need.

Try Not to Be Too Hard on Yourself

It would be best to keep things in perspective. Keep in mind that having a terrible day is a general human experience. Once you feel bad or telling bad things about yourself, try to discover truth and exemption for what is being said.

In case you stumble or feel you have failed, do not beat yourself up. Be kind and supportive. Act as though you were your own best friend. Take a couple of moments every day to see the value in yourself.

References:

Why stress happens and how to manage it

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/145855

July 03, 2015. The Top 5 Most Stressful Life Events and How to Handle Them

https://www.uhhospitals.org/Healthy-at-UH/articles/2015/07/the-top-5-most-stressful-life-events

How to manage stress

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/dealing-with-pressure/