A frightened businessman shielding himself with his hands from the drawings of calendars and clocks on the grey wall. Business and time-management. Organizing and planning. Productivity and efficiency.
With school starting or new things in our lives popping up, it’s easy for us to get stressed out. Yes, Stress is natural and can be beneficial at certain times—it can even help motivate people—but it can also be detrimental if left to become chronic. Anxiety and stress can have a negative effect long-term on our health, so it is important to learn how to manage new stresses we haven’t had before.
You may be just starting university or a new job, or you may be starting a new relationship or going through a stressful time in your life. These short-term stresses can be managed through a variety of ways. The first step to manage and reduce stress is to label it. Find out what exactly is stressing you out. After you know what is causing the stress, you have a chance to remove the stress (if possible). For example, if the stress is about a broken-down car, get it taken care of or get another car. If the stress is about an unhealthy or toxic relationship, you may want to get out of it.
For anxiety caused by things that cannot be changed, it is time to do something different. The first thing I can think of that reduces my stress is, stretching and exercise. It relaxes your body and mind and improves your mood. The best amount you can get is two and a half hours a week, but you can start off with less (WebMD). Next, you can try some meditation or just simply deep breathing. The trick is to sit or lie down somewhere quiet and take slow deep breaths from your diaphragm and even slower breaths out. Doing this for just 10 minutes a day will really help with relaxation and stress levels. Next, you can make sure you eat healthy. Some foods raise stress levels, like chocolate, coffee and sugary foods. Eating veggies and fruit with some protein is a great way to increase healthy hormones. Some foods that promote relaxation are quinoa, chia seeds, or walnuts (Jamieson-Petonic, online).
Something else to consider is just slowing down your activities and life. Doing too many things in one day make many feel rushed and stressed. Break down larger jobs into smaller ones and take a break from doing too many activities that are not required. Set your clocks five minutes ahead so that you will have a little extra time. Finally, you can engage in activities that make you feel happy and relaxed, whatever that is. Things like listening to music, yoga, prayer, spending time outside, reading etc. … People have different hobbies and activities that will help them relax, so why not partake in those regularly.
As we all know, stress can come from a variety of sources, but the key is managing and reducing the parts that you can. Sometimes eliminating the source isn’t possible (kids, parents), but for things we can change, we should try to because it my help.
References
Unknown Author & date. WebMD. Causes of Stress. Retrieved from: https://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/tips-to-control-stress#1
Jamieson-Petonic, Amy. Stress Busting Foods. March 20, 2013. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/transcripts/1458_stress-busting-foods
