Published on September 5th, 2018 | by Guest

How To Cope With Stress And Become More Resilient

According to the American Institute of Stress, 77% of american adults regularly experience stress induced physical symptoms, with another 73% experiencing psychological symptoms. The big 2 causes are money and work, with 3 out of every 4 Americans experiencing stress citing one of these as their #1 gripe. And it’s not just the person under stress who is affected. Research says employers in the US lose $300 billion a year on stress-related health care and missed work.

There’s no doubt that everyone gets stressed at different point in life, however, it’s about how you manage stress that makes the difference to your overall happiness and wellbeing.

Even the most cheerful person you know will have to deal with stressful situations but perhaps they hide it well or they know how to work through it to maintain that happy disposition.

There are lots of stressful events, divorce, death, redundancy, moving home, exam stress, work stress, illness and more. Some people just seem to have the ability to get through stress better than others because they know how to take control.

Living with constant stress, might take its toll on your physical health. Why? Simply because stress stops you from thinking clearly and being able to deal with other aspects of life, more worryingly, stress stops you enjoying anything pleasurable.

If you find it difficult to tolerate anxiety or periods in life when there are a few bumps in the road, you will find these tips helpful.

1. Understand what your source of stress is

You need to identify the source of your stress. Obviously, there are major events that bring on stress such as divorce, moving house and redundancy but sometimes, you can feel stressed for ongoing periods without actually knowing what it is that’s causing it.

Think about your lifestyle, your working environment and your attitude to life too. Perhaps it’s an unloving partner, a very stressful job or a hard commute to the office. Once you understand what your stress is, you can control it.

It could be re-evaluating where you work and taking the plunge to change jobs, or maybe you need to discuss a better work routine with your superior? It might be you need to address your relationship with your partner or deal head-on with family anxiety.

ou will find it useful to start a stress diary and mark down when you feel stress, what you’re doing to feel under pressure and how you react. After a few days or weeks, you will start to see patterns evolving.

2. Get active

Physical activity is excellent for busting stress because it releases feel-good hormones. There is no reason to join a gym or start punishing daily workouts but you can get outside, go for a walk, go swimming or perhaps take up gentle jogging. If you don’t like exercise – try dancing! Doing exercise isn’t just great for overall well-being; it distracts your mind from stress.

3. See friends and family

Don’t hide yourself away when you feel stressed. Many people think that they don’t want to be sociable but actually, human interaction is vital because it is calming and helps you to feel needed and loved.

Also, talking to someone else about their lives takes the pressure off of your own stresses. Of course, talking to friends or family about your personal worries is a huge weight off of shoulders. The people who love you will listen and help you to unburden yourself and that strengthens your bond too, which makes you feel loved and looked after. So, once or twice a week, make it a priority to get in touch with someone you love, go for a walk, go for lunch or meet up for a coffee.

4. Have some me time

Easy to say when you’re under stress but making time for relaxation and enjoyable activities is one of the best stress busters there is. You need to make sure you have time for yourself – remember; time out is not luxury it is necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

So, every day, set aside some leisure time to factor in rest or something you love to do. This is your time to break away from the stress in your life. Put on some great music, catch up on your favorite TV program, go and see a movie or why not have a really deep tissue massage which is excellent for removing tension from your body. Most people who have a massage report feeling relaxed and calm afterwards.

5. Use relaxation techniques

If you don’t believe that relaxation techniques work, think again. Yoga, meditation, deep breathing, Osaki Admiral massage chair – all are excellent techniques to help you feel rested and relaxed. They also decrease stress levels so you feel calmer.

6. Learn to say no

If you’re the type of person that takes on more than you can manage, learn to say no. People will continue to take advantage of your good nature if you let them and if you are over-burdened with your own life, you cannot afford to take on extra!

If your social life is getting too busy or you find yourself burning the candle at both ends, you need to manage your time better to achieve an equal work/life balance. Factor in that me time we talked about earlier, learn to say no to extra work at the end of the day and leave on time.

If you feel you have too much work, prioritize your tasks and tackle the high priority jobs first. Always get unpleasant tasks completed first, that’s the nasty jobs off your shoulders and lessens stress that might be hanging over you.

Don’t over commit your social arrangements. Limit socialising to once or twice a week, build in that chill-out time and don’t do overtime more than a couple of times a week.

Don’t forget to delegate tasks too, especially you have family living with you – you don’t need to be the person that does everything! That way you’ll have more opportunity to relax and you won’t be saying yes to everything that comes your way!

Author Bio:

Clara Masters is an entrepreneur and content marketer. In a former life, as a corporate business executive, she relied on yoga, reflexology and other alternative practices to fight stress, anxiety and find balance. At Massageaholic.com she’s on a mission to bring massage therapy closer to those who want to live a balanced, healthy life, connecting body, mind and spirit. You can follow her on Facebook and Pinterest.

Tags: become, cope, how to, resilient, stress