We all lead fast-paced lives these days. So it’s not surprising if we find ourselves struggling with bouts of stress.
Many of us tend to put off addressing our stress levels as we often think we don’t have time for it. But in reality, managing stress levels is an important step in making us more efficient in our work.
If we ignore how stressed we are in favour of keeping up with our busy lives, it will in fact leave us feeling even more stressed, overwhelmed and even experiencing physical symptoms.
This International Stress Awareness Week, here are a few useful stress management tips, according to Cheshire-based addiction rehab clinic Delamere.
Mindful meditation
When we think of relaxation, we often imagine putting our feet up and enjoying a movie or book at the end of a long day.
However, according to research, while this might make you feel calm in the moment, it doesn’t actually relax or rejuvenate you. It lead to your stress worsening and causes feelings of guilt in your mind.
When it comes to dealing with stress, you need to activate your body’s ’s natural relaxation response, which helps to slow your heart rate, lower blood pressure and balance your mind and body.
Techniques used to relax the mind and body are the best coping strategy for stress, such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing and visualisation.
Meditation has many health benefits and is a highly effective way to relieve stress, soften anxiety and improve your mental wellbeing.
Taking time to relax the mind with meditation gives you the space to separate your energy, attention and emotions.
Physical activity
Engaging in physical activities or any form of exercise helps reduce your stress levels and can have a massive influence on your physical and mental wellbeing.
When you exercise, you start breathing deeper, which triggers your body’s relaxation response.
Make exercise a part of your daily routine – even 10 minutes a day can help you cope better with symptoms of stress. For best results, try to walk outside for 20 to 30 minutes several times per week.
Writing
Writing can help you boost positive emotions and reduce stress and anxiety, according to research from the British Journal of Health Psychology.
Try spending around 20 minutes per day writing about positive experiences. The aim of this activity is to find something to be happy about during periods of stress.
Start by thinking of an experience that makes you feel unhappy or uncomfortable and begin writing about the positives you can take from the experience.
Social support
Never be afraid to reach out to family and friends for support in coping with stress.
Socialising increases a hormone within our bodies that can decrease levels of anxiety and make us feel more confident in our ability to deal with stress.
Limited social support has been linked to increased levels of depression, and loneliness and has been proven to alter brain function and increase the risk of alcohol use, drug abuse, depression and suicide.
Social interactions with family and friends can play a crucial role in how you function on a daily basis, spend time each day talking and interacting to relieve stress.
Nutrition
Adopting a healthy lifestyle through proper nutrition and diet is a great way to cope with symptoms of stress.
Certain foods are proven to help combat stress levels and improve emotional response.
While it can be tempting to indulge in a burger or greasy fries, try opting for green leafy vegetables to boost your feel-good chemical dopamine.
What does stress do to your body?
If you tend to get stressed out frequently, your immune system may be suppressed and almost every system in your body may be disrupted
Chronic stress can upset your digestive and reproductive systems, increase risk of heart attack and stroke, and speed up the aging process.
It can even cause mental health issues such as leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety, depression, and other mental health problems.
