According to clinical psychologist Michael Friedman, dealing with stress boils down to two steps: “understanding and action”, but the truth is you do not need to be psychologist to understand your stress and act!
Take Time to Understand Your Stress
Stress is normal. Everyone feels stress related to work, family, making big decisions, or it can be caused by major life events such as illness, the death of a loved one, a change in responsibilities or expectations at work, divorce etc.
Smaller, daily events also cause stress. This stress is not as apparent, but the constant and cumulative impact of the small stressors adds up to a big impact and can have negative effect on your mental and physical health.
Without awareness of what’s stressing you out, many people come up with unrelated ideas that simply add to your already-high stress level. So, it is very important to detect the real triggers which turn on the stress response in your body and act to combat them.
Start simple and do not overthink. Sometimes stress can be related to our most basic human needs. Ask yourself: Did you sleep well the night before? Have you eaten recently? If you typically exercise, did you exercise today? Look if there was a change in your daily routine, because most of the times stress is simpler than you realize.
Every single person has had one of those mornings where one thing goes wrong, then another, and it feels like it just won’t stop! Psychologist Friedman explains that this “domino effect” results from people not taking that time to “understand what’s happening, and stop, take a break and afterwards make the right intercession.
In other words, if you truly take the time to breathe and check in with yourself, chances are, the fog will start to clear and you’ll realize what’s really grinding your gears and think of a proper way to fix that.
Act Accordingly and Combat It
Be direct with yourself and ask “How am I going to deal with this?” think about it and then act accordingly.
For example, if you’re stressed about a project you’re assigned to, start outlining your responsibilities or talk to your boss.
If you’re having conflict with your partner, give him a call, write an email, and set up a time to chat. Be direct as much as possible, because tiptoeing around the issue will only increase your stress levels.
On the other hand, once you start feeling more in control and proactive about what’s bugging you, your stress will begin to dissipate naturally whilst at the same time your self-confidence will start to rise.
If your daily routine is regularly adding to your stress levels, think about it, maybe it’s time to create new healthy habits. Whether it’s waking up earlier, cutting back on caffeine, or unplugging before bed, these changes can make a huge difference in your day.
It might not be easy to take a deep breath, try to understand your stress and make some positive changes at first, but the truth is it’s not easy being stressed all the time either!
Do not wait…be responsible take action, and combat stress now!