Managing Stress

Stress is something that affects us all at various times in our lives. It is often related to our work, studies, finances, health, families, friends and pets. Although some level of stress is somewhat normal, it can be harmful if not managed well, and chronic stress over time can lead to physical and mental health problems. There are, however, lots of ways to keep on top of stress levels.

Firstly, it’s important to make sure that you have a good work-life balance. In any given day, we should aim to look after our self-care (exercise, sleep, diet, hydration), achieve some goals (work, study, chores, hobbies), connect with others socially, and experience some fun/pleasure. When we feel stressed, most of these areas feel difficult to pay attention to but your mind and body will thank you. There are also effective ways to calm our minds and bodies, such as deep breathing, muscle relaxation, massages, tai chi, and mindfulness. And of course exercise is great for combating stress!

Managing our unhelpful thoughts is also necessary in order to limit stress. Are you asking too much of yourself? Imposing unrealistic standards or deadlines on yourself? Doing too much for others and not enough for yourself? Consider scaling back your goals for a while, putting yourself first and aiming for ‘good enough’ rather than perfect. Worry is another factor that contributes to stress and keeps it going. Try to work out if your worry is about things that can be problem-solved and take steps to address it. If your worry is hypothetical (it hasn’t happened yet and may never happen), then try to move your attention away from it and into something else. Hypothetical worry is circular and never goes anywhere - it just drains our time and energy.

And finally, stay away from unhelpful coping strategies such as alcohol and drugs, and avoidance.

https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/stress/managing-stress-and-building-resilience/