Stress plagues our everyday lives. It’s sad, but true. When we’re not worried about dodging deadlines at work, weaving through strangers on hot, overcrowded subways, or precariously avoiding family drama, we’re stressed about what to wear to that party on Saturday, and how on earth we’re going to make time to get our nails done before then.
The fact is, stress is everywhere, and it permeates all aspects of our everyday living.
And if you’re anything like me, getting bad news can take the relaxation out of my sails and make something as pleasant as a stroll in the park or a day at the spa somehow “stressful.” While I’m not trying to be Polly Pessimistic, it’s something that we have to embrace and deal with. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing we can do to help mitigate the unpleasantness and succumb to the terrors of stress (which for me, includes sleepless nights, terrible skin rashes, internal havoc, and periodic eye-twitching).
Because stress is but a mere symptom of our physiological and psychological breakdown, we can still alter the situation and manage to keep our sanity before things turn awry. When we learn to recognize and deal with burnout, we will have the power to do what we actually want and take better care of ourselves.
Being mindful of your stress, and integrating different practices into your daily routine can help minimize the likelihood that you’ll have a nervous breakdown. Here are some ways you can keep control of your stress throughout the day:
1. Pause and refresh
When you’re at work and you’re having one of those moments where you’re ready to kick over the water cooler, take a moment. And to prevent those inevitable freak-outs, try and pause for 5 or ten minutes every 2 or 3 hours. Stand up, stretch, and get fresh air. Meditate.
Also, throughout the day, try drinking an excessive amount of water and organic herbal tea. Not only is water great for flushing toxins out of your body, but it’ll force you to take more frequent bathroom breaks, which equates to more time away from your desk to help recalibrate your brain.
2. Try to take things one at a time
All day long, we’re multi-tasking to get a million things done. And sometimes, it feels like there is just not enough time in the day, week, or year. Well, that’s life. Embrace it. And instead of panicking about everything you have to accomplish this millennium, try to limit your anxiety to what you need to get done today. You have all day to worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
3. Give yourself some credit
I’m awesome. Go ahead, say it out loud. This may sound a bit narcissistic, but it’s important for us to recognize the accomplishments that we have made each day – no matter how insignificant they may seem. When we are stressed-out, everything around us seems chaotic and we get disappointed because we cannot put things in order no matter how hard we try. By giving yourself a little credit, it may give you an extra boost of optimism and that kick-in-the-ass you need to just get things done.
4. Make every day a “healthy” day
While smoking cigarettes, binge drinking, then sitting around all day eating Cheetos may sound fun, your system and your stress levels won’t agree. Going to bed by 10pm and getting regular physical exercise are basic steps of any stress reduction program because they helps calm the nervous system. Sustained exercise, like aerobic, produces more of the natural soothing hormone endorphins in the body.
Healthy balance can also be achieved by reducing our sugar intake. Too much sugar can deplete B-vitamins, which are essential for a healthy nervous system. More importantly, we have a tendency to stress out about our skin, our weight, and our overall health – so why torture yourself via self-destruction? Feeling good about our health and our bodies gives us one less thing to stress about.
5. You can cry if you really want to
Repressed feelings are often intense and destructive — like monsters that slowly eat us from the inside. We have to let go of our emotions when we feel like it. Modesty and professionalism should not stop us from expressing our feelings, but keep it balanced – nobody wants to be known as the office lunatic. Sure, crying not only helps release toxins from the body, and it is also liberating, but have some discretion. Cry under your desk or in the supply closet, and feel free to punch the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom to get some anger out. Just release your emotions before you attempt to discuss your frustrations with co-workers.
6. Laugh all day, at least at yourself
Finding humor in simple things is not synonymous with being mischievous. Instead, it means accepting the fact of life that we are imperfect and we put ourselves into awkward situations every now and then. When those awkward moments happen, try and let yourself appreciate how funny awkwardness actually is. It’s hard “not to take things so seriously,” but laughing at yourself is easier than it seems – and you can still take life seriously at the same time. There are lots of ways to have fun, and stay productive. So laugh – it’s a contagious de-stressor.
At the end of the day, it’s up to you to decide how to deal with stress. While we can’t control every stressful situation that surrounds us, we can certainly control how we let stress control us and our emotions.
What are other ways you’ve been successful at keeping stress at bay throughout the day?
Thanks so much for this. It sure will help me feel better. HUGS.
I always believe that stress is something we cannot prevent but we can control. I think it starts with ourselves. We need to know how to deal. Thanks for the tips!
I am very emotional, sometimes even the smallest thing can make me feel so stressed out. And I can cope up with stress by baking. When I bake, there is this feeling of relieved. Maybe the smell of the kitchen makes me happy and relax whenever I start baking. Try it sometime!
Stress is part of our daily life. All people experience stress at different levels and can be as minor as peeling an apple or as severe as losing a loved one. And stress can be deadly too, I have seen so many news where people took their own lives because of too much stress. So, this is something you should be aware of and open to a solution or cure.
These days, people even believe that if they can somehow, go “faster”, they will be able to get ahead of any stressful situations. Others try to manage their time more effectively by adding a few extra hours to their workday, at the expense of sleep. However, neither of these is a good solution, and pushing yourself to your limits will only put you further down the path to burnout. Many people believe that the importance you give time management in your life dictates the quality of your life.
In Japan, physicians have a diagnosis that is called “karoshi.” Karoshi literally translates to “death by overwork” and it refers to the sudden death of an employee, usually from a heart attack or stroke due to stress at work. If that doesn’t make you want to start getting rid of stressors, well, think again.
Whoa, this should be surprising but it’s not. Stress is a horrible feeling and it’s honestly close to death, but sometimes I’d say it’s worse. It’s like you’re dying, but not exactly, you just have the symptoms.
High stress levels can ruin pretty much any health goal you have: you’ll store more fat, you’ll struggle to gain muscle, you’ll have less energy, you’ll have a higher risk of heart attack and stroke, and dozens of other undesirable things. Stress isn’t something you’d want on a daily basis.
We all suffer from stress brought on by trying to meet deadlines while keeping up with our other responsibilities and yet, we never seem to get things done. Across the world, most of us wear one or more of these hats: a parent, a spouse, or an employee. Struggling to balance these roles takes a toll on most people, add the blessing (or curse) that is technology and you can begin to see why people are constantly stressed. It seems like no sooner have you reached inbox-zero and you suddenly have to put out yet another fire. I never thought that as soon as technology was invented to make things easier for us, life has just gotten a lot more complicated and stressful.
I must agree with you. Our lives got busier because of technology. Our breaks became opportunities to browse social media, instead of actual breaks that required resting and relaxing.
Stop and smell the flowers, that’s what they say. The faster the pace of your life is, the more you feel like you just want to go back in time and do it all over again. That’s stress for you.
Stress is everywhere, but it’s definitely manageable… especially if you’re smart about how you deal with it, and you read articles like this to get tips (great tips, BTW!)