HOW TO MANAGE STRESS
“It is not just Stress that kills us as human ; it is how we react to it”
– Hans Selye
In today’s world, stress is a word that’s easily tossed around in every sentence in any human language possible.
You hear friends say to each other “Do not stress me!” Or “You’re stressing me out” and this carries with it, negative connotations. Husband and wife or let’s say couples most times have been caught in this very act of accusing each other of inducing or causing stress on them as they clutch on to the side of their, face forehead buried deep in distortion, to show how much stress they are being inflicted with.
An interesting thing about stress which is also a fact is that everything and every person has that sort of ability to induce stress on us from work to friends, to strangers etc. It has become part of our day to day life and existence as human being; it is something that won’t stop soon or should we say it is quite inevitable.
This is backed up by myclevelandclinic.org definition of stress by which reads “stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or let’s say response.
The body most time reacts to these changes with mental, physical and emotional responses. Thus, it should be noted that before stress became synonymous to negative connotations, it is first good and healthy.
Nevertheless, stress is only beneficial to our health as long as it is moderate. When it is moderate, it can keep us motivated, alert, prepare us to avoid danger etc. But, the as soon as our stress levels goes up or skyrockets, it automatically becomes dangerously toxic to both our emotional, mental and physical health.
Hence, we become tossed and trapped with that feeling overwhelmed over and over again with the one million or a billion tasks clinging tight to our to-do list. While most times it seems like we can’t entirely get rid of this problem called stress, there are many ways in which we can be manage it effectively.
These methods do not often require you to trade a lot of money to get your peace and sanity back. Also, you do not have to wait till the next vacation to feel better and free of stress. Sometimes, you just need to pause or stop for a while, call the bluff of the many tasks wrestling for your attention and just… unwind.
Below are the ways you can stop stress from eating up your mental, physical and emotional health and re gain control.
- EXERCISE: When you check out the Instagram pages of most of your favorite celebrities, their status are probably always flooded with video recordings of them working out at the gym (Private or public) and this always looks cool. However, beyond doing just exercise to just look cool lies the immense benefit that it bestows you with as human. For starters, exercise is that great way that helps you to manage and reduce stress. It also helps you improve your mood. It should be noted that exercise only becomes very effective in stress management when it is done consistently and regularly. This doesn’t mean you should hit the gym everyday. What you will be needing is just 2 hours and 30 minutes of little exercise with moderate intensity so you don’t end up over doing it. If you find it a little difficult to hit the gym at given time, you could just allocate 75 minutes or thereabout of your time to vigorous exercise like swimming or you could jog for 30-75 minutes in the morning before heading to work. Remember, consistency is key to actually reduce stress and start feeling good.
- Relax your muscles: When multiple doses of stress hits you, your muscles gets tense or tightens and sometimes tend to begin to throb. In moments like these, all you should do is try to relax your muscles. You could possibly achieve this by streatching your muscles a while, taking a warm shower or bath or still giving yourself a spa treatment; a seriously satisfying massage. Most importantly, endeavor to have a good night sleep. This would leave you feeling better and almost stress free once you wake up.
- Deep Breaths: since you have been seeing a movie, Have you ever noticed that in movies, as soon as certain characters are stressed or most times experience panic attacks, the solution or way out often requires them to pause for some time, possibly take deep breaths slowly until they begin to feel much better? Well in most cases, this is not a problem that only exists or we get to find in a fictional world, it actually works. All you need to do is sit or lie down in a really comfortable position. If you’ll sit, ensure both hands are placed on your laps with your feet firmly on the floor. Close your eyes a while and let the image of you taking a rest in a properly ventilated house in Malibu, wine in hand and staring at the forward and backward motion of the ocean steal your mind. Then, take deep breaths in and out but slowly so you feel every strand of air flow in and out of your nostrils and lungs. Practice this exercise 5-10 minutes at a time and watch your body respond in releasing itself from the grip of stress.
There are other techniques and ways that can be effective to help you manage stress. Some includes; ensuring your diet is balanced. Also, try meditation and yoga.
Yoga is a really great way to help you manage and reduce stress. These techniques we have mentioned might seem difficult to stick because they are not part of us but honestly they are actually worth the shot.
Try one of these and kiss an overly stressful and overwhelming life a final goodbye.