Effective Stress Management
Causes of stress
Stress can be caused by different things and can affect how you feel physically, emotionally, mentally. It may also affect how you behave. You may experience some of the following as a result of stress:
Muscle pain or tension
Exhaustion
Headaches
Eating too little or too much
Sleep problems
Low self esteem
Fearful or anxious
Overwhelmed
Irritable
Persistently worrying
Difficulty concentrating and making decisions
Erratic behaviour
Smoking and drinking more
Avoiding people
❖ Identify the cause
If you feel you are stressed, the first step to feeling better is to identify the cause. This could be personal, day to day events, major life changes, a move or a loss, relationships and work issues. They may be happy or sad events. Knowing the causeof your stress will help you find ways to manage it.
❖ Don’t be passive – do something about it!
Be in charge. Do you constantly feel you don’t have enough time to do things? You may have to look at how you manage your time and prioritise key tasks/activities.. Don’t try to impress people by saying “Yes” to everything. Learn how to say No in a loving manner. Look for solutions that work out for you.
❖ Get active
Exercise – this could mean going to the gym or find any physical activities that you enjoy how can you fit this into your day to day life. Research shows physical activities may help to maintain and improve wellbeing. Walking, running, swimming, cycling and dancing are some of the physical activities you may wish to consider to improve your wellbeing.
❖ Don’t isolate yourself
As the saying goes, “no man is an Island”. We can’t always manage everything by ourselves. Don’t suffer in silence! Connect with people and seek support and help from a trusted friend or network. They may help you to identify solutions you have never thought of. Spend quality time with friends and family.
❖ Take time out
Take time out to do something you enjoy. The time spent relaxing on your own as opposed to doing things for other people may help to reduce stress and renew your strength. Consider a range of relaxing activities you enjoy. This may include reading, watching a film, cooking, spa activities. Slowly introduce a “Me time” activities into your routine more than once a week if permissible. Make sure these are positive activities that will help you feel good about yourself.
❖ Do not take up unhealthy habits
You may feel overwhelmed by the stress you are going through and this may lead to you engaging in unhealthy and bad habits such as drinking in excess, taking too much caffeine, overeating, smoking and compulsive spending. This may increase your stress level and cause new problems for you and your health. Do not rely on ineffective coping mechanisms as they will only add to the stress you are trying to improve.
❖ Accept the things you cannot change
Be willing to accept that there are some things in life you can’t change because you don’t have control over them. Life is not static and change is inevitable. You cannot change things like the weather or prevent restructuring taking place in your workplace. Focus on the things you can change and the courage to make the change.
Finally try to stay positive – focus your mind and thoughts on things that are good and lovely and of good report!
