Top 5 Ways to Manage Stress

Is another deadline looming over your head? Do you need to travel and give a presentation to your head office? Are the bills piling up while business is running slowly?

When you are faced with stressful situations, what stress management techniques do you employ? If you don’t have a clue, don’t fret. Just read on because we have put together some tips to help you navigate away from stress.

Defining Stress

There are plenty of stressors that people encounter in their daily lives. While a healthy amount of stress can be helpful in some situations, prolonged exposure to stress can lead to dire consequences.

Before we talk about how we can prevent and manage stress, we should first have a clear definition of what stress is.

Stress is your body’s reaction to a certain amount of pressure. Sometimes, this reaction is not at all bad because it triggers your fight-or-flight reflexes. Short-term stress exposure can help you become more alert and help you react better to some situations, such as fires or medical emergencies.

However, prolonged exposure to an abnormal amount of pressure can put your emotional, mental, or physical health on the line.

Stress can come from different aspects of your life. It may be work-related stress, family squabbles, financial difficulties, and other concerns. How you respond to these stressors can present a variety of symptoms. These symptoms may be behavioral, emotional, or physical and affect you in varying intensities.

Signs of Stress

There are some tell-tale signs that you can observe when you get a stress overload. An excessive amount of pressure can cause physical problems such as digestive and intestinal difficulties or lower immunity levels. Mental health problems can also crop up, such as anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.

Watch out for other signs of stress such as the following:

• Aches and pains, mostly muscle tension
• Changes in sleeping habits
• Constipation and diarrhea
• Depression
• Difficulty concentrating or relaxing
• Feeling dizzy or nauseated
• Feelings of constant anxiety, pressure, or worry
• Feeling overwhelmed often
• Irritable, having a short temper, or going through constant mood swings
• Low self-esteem
• Loss of sex drive
• Overeating or eating less than usual
• Resorting to alcohol, illegal drugs, or tobacco to relax
• Withdrawal from family, friends, or hobbies and interests

Stress Diagnosis

When you observe the above-mentioned signs, it is best to talk to someone who can help you understand and manage stress. Trouble managing stress or having a more prolonged and more intense reaction to particular events call for a specialist’s intervention. This can lead you to discover information about support services or treatments that are available.

Tips for Managing Stress

1.        Pamper Yourself

Going to a salon and spa may help you de-stress and take your mind off things. A study on over 3,000 Japanese government workers found a link between spa use frequency and better mental and physical health. The study also found that spa days resulted in better sleep quality and fewer sick days.

Another study using German data conducted by Florida State University and George Mason University also found that spa therapy led to a decline in hospitalizations and work absenteeism.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed, why not drop by your favorite salon or spa and get that soothing shampoo and blow-dry or have a professional therapist massage your cares away?

2.        Watch What You Eat

A growing amount of evidence points to food having an impact on people’s moods. Based on these studies, experts recommend that eating a regular, well-balanced diet can help you control your moods and feel better in general.

Aside from reducing the risk of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and osteoporosis, eating healthily can lower blood pressure and shore up the immune system. Comfort food can help boost serotonin levels, a brain-calming chemical, while other foods dial down levels of adrenaline and cortisol, both stress hormones.

To help prevent stress and protect your well-being, go for a diet that provides adequate amounts of essential vitamins and minerals that nourish your brain. You should also drink more water and eat fruits, lean protein, vegetables, and whole grains.

3.        Get Moving

Physical activity can also help manage stress levels. Aerobic exercises like running or playing tennis can boost the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters, more popularly known as endorphins.

Regular workouts of moderately intense exercise like hiking or brisk walks can help relax your mind and body. Similarly, 75 minutes of vigorous activities such as jogging, swimming, or playing other active sports can also improve your mood. Walking around the mall, gardening, or doing house chores can also be considered light physical activity and contribute to better sleep.

Create a realistic fitness goal and try to integrate it into your daily life.

4.        Cut Yourself Some Slack

When you find yourself getting overwhelmed, it is best to step back and give yourself a breather. Take the time to relax and strike a balance between your responsibilities to others and to yourself.

Tell yourself that it is normal to put self-care first. If you have difficulty sleeping, make a conscious effort to make small changes in your lifestyle or change your environment so you can sleep better.

Practice mindfulness and pay attention to your thoughts and feelings. Doing so will equip you with the ability to manage your reactions to difficult situations better and make wiser choices.

5.        Try Neurofeedback

Neurofeedback is a revolutionary technique that helps you manage stress. With the use of EEG sensors, your brain is trained to handle stress well. Neurofeedback teaches people’s brains to identify and distinguish signals that reflect what their brain is doing and react accordingly to these indicators.

If you find that stress is taking over your life, you can go to a reputable neurofeedback clinic and discuss your specific goals and needs with the physician. Next, you will go through a neuropsychosocial assessment where a certified therapist will do an in-depth evaluation of your brain’s current strengths and weaknesses.

Your neurofeedback physician will give you a customized brain-training plan to address your specific needs. You will then attend neurofeedback training sessions to sharpen your brain and get you on your way to better stress management and a calmer, more focused, and relaxed state of mind.

Step Away from Prolonged Stress

A lot of people encounter stress in varying degrees, stemming from different causes. Stress seems to be part of everyday life. However, it doesn’t have to be that way, or impact you negatively. From treating yourself right to experiencing neurofeedback therapy, there are things that you can do to manage stress better and live a more carefree life.