One thing that every human species of the modern world needs, apart from the basic necessities like food, water, and air, is stress management. This is because we’ve failed to handle the different situations in our life in the correct manner.
That’s the reason why, despite having alternatives to react, we react to our boss in the same way as the prehistoric man reacted to a tiger – either fight or flee!
Stress plays havoc with your body. Once it becomes chronic, your body becomes vulnerable to diseases. And if you reach the “stage of exhaustion”, it proves to be fatal. So, if you don’t want to die of stress, read on…
Stress Management Steps
CONFESS: One of the first steps towards combating your stress is becoming aware of it. You must admit that you’re stressed. Notice how your body reacts to a stressful situation. Does your stomach get upset? Do you get a headache? Or do you become nervous or lose concentration?
CHANGE: Find out things that you can change. If you’re stressed due to long working hours, how about taking well deserved breaks in between? If your job freaks you out, how about changing it?
CONTROL: Try to work out your emotions during stress. Sometimes, we overreact to a situation, causing unnecessary stress. So, when your boss gives you a deadline, don’t scream with panic. Fix your schedule, stick to it, and complete the project. If you can’t handle tight deadlines, talk to your boss about it, simple!
Control on your emotions is important for successful stress management. If things don’t go as planned, make a new plan! Don’t gloom over the “what ifs” in life. Analyze situations from various angles. Another thing to remember is: you can’t please everyone in this world. So, stop brooding over what people will think about you. Do remember, they haven’t got time to think about you!
Quick Tips To De-Stress
• Breathe deeply, slowly.
• Learn relaxation techniques.
• Meditation helps to ease your physical reactions.
• Exercise. Walking, swimming, jogging, cycling are moderate, rhythmic activities that are good for your heart. They de-stress you.
• Take a nutritious diet and check your weight. Deficiencies as well as obesity cause lethargy, poor concentration, and stressful reaction to situations.
• Cut down on your caffeine and nicotine intake. They stimulate your nerves. It’s okay to down a cup of coffee once in a while to activate yourself, but excessive stimulation of the nervous system can stress it out.
• Get your beauty sleep of 6-8 hours every night. Also, maintain a fixed sleeping schedule.
• “All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. How true!
• Be social. Develop relationships. Mix with people.
• Set goals that are realistic. It’s good to dream big, but you must be ready to face failures, delays, disappointments, and other unexpected twists in your pursue of goals. Well, that’s life!
• Manage your time well. Many stressful situations are created due to procrastination.
• Don’t hold grudges, as far as possible. Life is too short to waste in avenging.
• Learn to let go in life.
• Spare some time to admire nature. It’s a real soother.
• Smile often!
Keep A Stress Diary
List out the things that stress you out, the level of stress that you can handle, and how you react under pressure. Do this everyday. Analyze the diary after a few weeks. You’ll come to know the level of stress that you’re happy with and the one that pisses you off. You can also evaluate your performance under different levels of stress. The idea is to find out at what point, your stress starts getting detrimental to your health.
Stress is a silent killer. Therefore, start stress management from today, before it kills you!