Stress is part of our daily lives. It makes us want to work harder or improve ourselves. However, too much stress can take its toll on your body. You could lose sleep and even increase your risk of chronic disease.
There are, in fact, several effective and easy-to-do ways to cope with stress. Here are some ideas for dealing with stress to help you avoid unnecessary strain on your physical and mental health.
How Do You Handle Stress?—10 Effective Ways to Relieve Stress
1. Avoid Too Much Caffeine, Alcohol, or Nicotine
The worst way to deal with stress is to use cigarettes, alcohol or coffee to stimulate your mind and body to be able to work harder. However, these stimulants may increase your stress levels further. Then you may ask, how do you handle stress without these stimulants?
Instead of these substances, try drinking herbal tea or natural fruit juice to give you more energy and hydration. However, remember to avoid added sugars, which can cause your energy to crash quickly.
2. Do Some Exercise
Stress increases the production of cortisol and adrenaline in your body. These stress hormones are released as your "fight or flight" mechanism to protect you from harm. To counteract these, engaging in more physical activity, as an agent to metabolize the excessive stress hormones, can help you have a good mood and restore your mind and body to a more relaxed state. It will also improve your sleep quality.
3. Sleep More
How do you handle stress? Sleep may help with your stress issue. Stress causes loss of sleep and lack of sleep causes stress. But instead of taking sleep medications, try to relax before going to bed. Use your bed only to sleep and avoid doing other activities such as reading, using the computer or watching TV on your bed. You can also take a warm bath to relax before sleeping. Aim for regular sleeping hours so that your body gets used to a healthy bedtime routine.
4. Talk to a Friend
One of the most common answer to the question "how do you handle stress?" is to take to your friend. Stress can get bottle-up inside you. It can cloud your judgment when you have problems to deal with. Just talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling. Talking can distract you from stressful thoughts and it can help release some of the tension that is building up inside you.
5. Keep a Journal
Keep a stress diary as an effective tool to help you become aware of things that cause you to feel stressed. Jot down situations, including the place, date and time, which are stressful to you, and how they affected you. Rate each situation on a scale of 1 to 10. Find out how you were able to deal with these situations and how to avoid them in the future.
6. Manage Your Time
Lack of time management is a common cause of stress, especially if you have a long list of things to do during the day. Instead of trying to do everything, you can practice time management by prioritizing important tasks. Break big tasks into smaller ones, which are more manageable. Delegate or remove other tasks, which are of less importance. Don't forget to include time for relaxation and exercise in your daily tasks.
7. Join a Volunteer Group
How do you handle stress? Some find a volunteer group can help a lot. Get involved in a community. Volunteer your services or support a community, which can give you a break from daily stress.
8. Know What Triggers Your Stress
Find out your stress triggers. Common sources of stress come from work, school, family, or relationships. Look for patterns of behavior that may be contributing to your stress.
9. Be Positive
Practice positive self-talk or self-hypnosis; focusing on a positive mantra (I deserve serenity, etc.) or words (likes love peace, calm, etc.), and disregarding negative thoughts. If you are disturbed by the bad minds or get tense again, just repeat the positive words or mantra in your heart. This may take some time to develop, but with practice you can learn the art of relaxation.
10. Try Relaxation Techniques
Try practicing some stress reduction and relaxation techniques. These includeTake time to listen to music, practice yoga, meditate, or just get a relaxing massage. Take in deep breaths and slowly exhale.
11. More Quick Tips
There are also some quick tips help with the question "how do you handle stress?"
- Eat nutritious, well-balanced meals. Avoid skipping meals. Boost your energy with healthy snacks.
- Count slowly when stressed until you relax.
- Do your best always but don’t worry if you do not achieve perfection all the time.
- Remember that you cannot always control everything. But even so, things will work out even if they are not exactly as you wished them.
- Laugh more often. Laughter, after all, is the best medicine.