Stress: How to detect and cope with it?

There are many things that can cause stress. Many situations are the same for most people such as: paying bills, doing errands at work & home, and changes in people lives even if they are positive like getting a job promotion. The way people react to them determines how it will affect them physically or emotionally. There are two general ways to deal with stress: one is to avoid the cause of stress (which in most cases is not possible) and the other option is to change the way you react to stress (which is more practical). In fact, the simple realization that you are in control of your life is the basis of stress management. Managing stress is about taking charge of your thoughts, emotions and reactions. You must be proactive in managing your stress. The ultimate goal is to have the flexibility to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on or one will, as people say, “crumble under the pressure”; which can be very bad for your health physically and mentally.

Feelings of stress are caused by the body’s instinct to defend itself. This is great in emergencies such as running out of a burning building. Consider the fight or flight feeling one gets during stressful situations. Your body is working overtime with no place to put all the additional energy. This can make you feel anxious, afraid, worried and uptight. This is a clear indicator of stress.

There are many possible signs of stress such as: anxiety, fatigue, problems with relationships, back pain, headaches, shortness of breath, constipation or diarrhea, high blood pressure, stiff neck or jaw, depression, trouble sleeping or insomnia, upset stomach, and weight gain or loss.

We must do several things in order to manage our stress:

• Identify the sources of stress in our lives
  
  • We must look at our habits and see if we might be causing our own stress.
  • Our attitudes play another vital role in stress. The way we feel about ourselves reflects how we may handle certain situations.
    
  • Until you accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining stress, your stress level will remain outside of your control
    
  • A good solution can be to keep a stress journal to track your causes of stress, your feelings during the episode, and how you acted during the event and what you did to make you feel better
• Look at how you cope with stress
  
• You should avoid bad habits when you are stressed such as: drinking, drug use,  smoking, over eating, procrastinating, withdrawing from people or keeping your schedule too busy to avoid facing problems
  
• Learn healthy ways to manage your stress by avoiding the stressor or be flexible when dealing with the stressful situation.
  
• Maintaining a  healthy lifestyle is also a great way to keep stress under control – Eating well, doing regular exercise and taking some time for yourself all contribute to better moods which leads to more positive reactions to different situations

Taking charge of a situation and looking at it with a positive outlook will help you manage your day to day stress.  Learning relaxation techniques will also help you in the long run.