14 Simple Ways To Manage Stress
It was a cool evening, so I decided to chill out with my friend who is a doctor, I was tired from the day work, so I called him to come to pick me from my office so we can breeze into our favorite Lounge and have something to calm our nerves before going home. It was almost getting past evening and Dr. Henry has not shown up as we agreed over the phone. I decided to drive to his hospital and drag him out as planned.
It was a 5 minutes drive from my office to his hospital, so I did not notify him of my coming. When I got to the hospital, he was just coming out from the emergency ward, I did not bother to ask him questions, he hopped into my car and we drove out, to ease off the day’s work at our favorite lounge.
While we sat down, I ordered chicken and chips with yogurt while he went for a bottle of Heineken drink then we got gisting and I asked him why he did not show up on time as we planned, he explained that he had an emergency case just as he dropped my call. A man slumped by the road was rushed in by some good Samaritans. He had to administer some injections before the man could be revived and then he placed him on a drip. After giving the man some time to rest, he asked the man what happened to him, the man started narrating his story to Dr. Henry my friend.
Mr. John, who was my friend’s patient, lives in Lagos Nigeria, and works as a security man for a company. Mr. John feeds four children and his wife, pays family bills with the support of his wife. He leaves his house by 4 am and trek for a few minutes to get to the junction where he could get a cab, so he can beat the traffic lock that occurs every morning on the road. He gets to work by 8 am and is faced with many pressures as he also doubles as an errand boy for most of the company’s staff. In a bid to stay awake while on duty, Mr. John usually takes coffee and some pills so as not to sleep on duty. When work closes by 6 pm, the family man tries to get home on time but meets another traffic jam, and ends up getting home late.
When he gets home, he fetches water for his pregnant wife and little kids before trying to catch a breath from the busy day. As if that is not enough stress for one day, his pregnant wife comes nagging at him for lack of attention, unsettled billed, and her pregnancy. Funny enough who will expect less from a pregnant woman. Mr. John faces this and gets a nap for the night only to wake up by 3:30 am in preparation for work and hits the road by 4 am then gets to work by 8 am because he lives far away from his working place.
On that fateful day, Mr. John was so tired and stressed before the stroke that broke the camel’s back came. His boss called him and shouted at him for slacking on duty, then he sent him on an errand, while he was attending to his boss’s demand, he slumped on the road.
The life they say is not a bed of roses and stress is inevitable but can be managed. I pitied the young Mr. John, stress has taken its turn on him. That could have been the end of that vibrant young man. However, taking it from another perspective, Mr. John’s stress situation could not have gotten so bad, if he knew the dynamics of managing stress.
Stress is a fact of life, irrespective of where you are and what you are doing. You cannot avoid stress, but you can learn to manage it so it doesn’t manage you. Changes in our lives such as getting married, changing jobs, or illness are frequent sources of stress. Keep in mind that changes that cause stress can also benefit you. That is why it’s important to know yourself and carefully consider the causes of stress. Learning to do this takes time, and although you cannot avoid stress, the good news is that you can minimize the harmful effects of stress, such as depression or hypertension.
WHAT IS STRESS
Stress can be defined as any type of change that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain. Stress does not only strain your body, it is also the over laboring and over-tasking of your emotional and mental capacity.
The body is limited to certain functions and capacities and when the body is stretched beyond its elastic limit, it will experience strain called stress. The truth is that the body can be overworked and when this happens appropriate measures need to be put in place so that the body does not break down.
However, it is factual that different people have different stress point, what could be stressful for me may not be stressful for another person. This implies that stressors are relative and peculiar to certain conditions and environments. For instance, what is stressful for a child whose parents are rich and live a flamboyant and wealthy life may not be stressful for a poor orphan who raised himself by hawking and doing menial jobs.
THE SAD REALITY ABOUT STRESS
The truth about stress is that it can minimize work efficiency. Digital product designing and even content creation can be very tasking, working under stress always can infuse a lot of mistakes into your work. Imagine typing a long-form article under mental stress only to discover that you have done a bad piece of work. Imagine having a flopped career due to the inability to manage stress. Unmanaged stress is harmful to one’s career. You cannot be working at 100% effectiveness when you are stressed. Instead of doing double work under stressed conditions why not take a chill pill and refire.
Asides from that, stress can make you emotionally unstable. Most often than not, stress could be the reason why some people experience frequent mood swings, unreasonable anger, etc. This can make you lose your job or have issues in your family. Being affected by emotional stress can affect your relationship with your work team.
Stress can affect all aspects of your life, including your emotions, behaviors, thinking ability, and physical health. No part of the body is immune. But, because people handle stress differently, symptoms of stress can vary based on individual differences. Stress symptoms may come emotionally, physically, behaviorally. You may experience any of the following symptoms of stress.
Emotional symptoms of stress may include:
Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody, feeling overwhelmed, like you are losing control or need to take control, having difficulty relaxing and quieting your mind. feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), lonely, worthless, and depressed, avoiding others, irregular mood swings
Physical symptoms of stress include:
Low energy, headaches, aches, pains, and tense muscles, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, insomnia, nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, cold or sweaty hands and feet, dry mouth and difficulty swallowing, clenched jaw, and grinding teeth
Cognitive symptoms of stress include:
Constant worrying, racing thoughts, forgetfulness and disorganization, inability to focus, poor judgment, being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side.
Behavioral symptoms of stress include:
Changes in appetite — either not eating or eating too much, procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities increased use of alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes, exhibiting more nervous behaviors, such as nail biting, fidgeting, and pacing.
Take another glance at these symptoms of stress, could you not agree with me that these stress-induced symptoms can quench a blossoming career. Unmanaged stress is a time bomb waiting for an explosion and when it blows up, it can cause a lot of damage to someone’s career.
TYPES OF STRESS
Stress is an essential part of life but is hazardous when not managed properly. It comes in different ways and not all forms of stress are negative per se. Stress can be typified as:
ACUTE STRESS: Acute stress is the type of stress that throws you off-balance momentarily. This is the type of stress that comes on quickly and often unexpectedly and doesn’t last too long, but requires a response and shakes you up a bit, like an argument with someone in your life, or an interview which you don’t feel adequately prepared for. Your body’s stress response is triggered with acute stress, but you can reverse it with quick relaxation techniques, and then go back to your day feeling less stressed again.
CHRONIC STRESS: Chronic stress is the type of stress that tends to occur regularly. This type of stress may leave you feeling drained, and can lead to burnout if it is not effectively managed. This is because when the stress response is chronically triggered and the body is not brought back to a relaxed state before the next wave of stress hits, the body can stay triggered indefinitely.
EMOTIONAL STRESS: The pain of emotional stress can hit harder than some other types of stress. For example, the stress that comes from a conflicted relationship tends to bring a greater physical reaction and a stronger sense of distress than the stress that comes from being busy at work.
BURNOUT STRESS: Once you reach a state of burnout, it is difficult to maintain motivation to work and complete what you need to accomplish, and you can feel chronically overwhelmed. In this state of stress, you are likely to break down.
HERE ARE SOME WAYS TO MANAGE STRESS.
- Breathing exercises: Great for acute stress because they work quickly. When you are stressed, take a long deep breath in and out till you feel relaxed.
2. Cognitive reframing: Learn to change the way you look at the situation to manage your stress levels.
3. Cultivate supportive relationships: Having a solid support system is a crucial coping mechanism.
4. Exercise regularly: Exercise and stress management are closely linked for several reasons.
5. Listen to music: Music can act as a wonderful, stress-reducing backdrop to everyday tasks.
6. Maintain a healthy diet: Fueling your body well can help with overall stress levels because your entire system will function better.
7. Meditate regularly: While quick meditations are great for dealing with acute stress, a regular meditation practice will help build your overall resilience to stress.
Let music aid you: Music can help relax your mind and body.
8. Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness can help keep you rooted in the present moment.
9. Talk to a friend: Learn about the several different types of social support friends can offer you.
10. Talk to a therapist: A therapist can help you identify the source of your emotional stress as well as which strategies and techniques may help you best combat your stress.
11. Indulge in hobbies: Don’t wait until your life calms down to engage in your hobbies.
12. Make your weekends count: Learn how to bring some of your weekends into your workweek for less stress.
13. Maintain a sense of humor: Use laughter to bring joy into you day and increase your overall health.
14. Take some time off: A little time away from the stresses of daily life can leave you feeling refreshed and better equipped to handle stress.
These stress relievers can help you to relax and more quickly recover from stress. In life you may not achieve all your goals and target in one push, take a break, relax, calm your nerves and refire.
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