Each of us experiences stressful situations. It's well known that the same situation doesn't elicit identical reactions from different individuals. Responses to stress are varied and dependent on numerous factors, such as experience, personality, self-esteem, priorities, values hierarchy, temperament, behavioral patterns, etc. How to cope with stress?
Every one of us encounters stressful situations. It's understood that a given situation won't necessarily evoke the same reactions in all individuals experiencing it. Responses to stress are diverse and contingent upon multiple factors, including experience, personality, self-esteem, priorities, values hierarchy, temperament, behavioral patterns, etc. How to manage stress? There's no unequivocal answer to this question. However, one thing is certain. Everyone needs to find their own, golden approach to dealing with stress. Below, you'll find several tips on how to reduce tension when experiencing stress and familiarize yourself with commonly employed constructive methods of managing stress. I hope that everyone will find an approach suitable for them.
Strategies for Coping with Stress:
- Take Action: Focus your efforts on solving the problem. Taking action can help control anxiety and tension.
- Plan: Create an action plan to address the issue. Think intensively about what to do to tackle the problem and seek information.
- Defer Other Activities: Put aside other matters temporarily to concentrate on what triggered the stress.
- Delay Actions: Force yourself to wait until the right time to act; refrain from doing something too quickly. Remember that sometimes you need to give yourself time for the right idea to emerge as a solution. Don't act hastily.
- Seek Instrumental Social Support: Ask people who have had similar experiences what to do in the situation; seek advice from specialists.
- Seek Emotional Social Support: Express your feelings to someone; look for understanding and acceptance from others, connect with people you feel comfortable and safe with.
- Activate Positive Reinterpretation: Seek the positives in what happened; grow as a result of the experience; draw lessons for the future; treat the situation as an opportunity to learn.
- Acceptance: Learn to live with it; accept what happened and the fact that it can't be changed.
- Focus on Emotions: Express your emotions; if you feel worried and anxious, share these feelings with your loved ones - family, friends. Talk about what you think and feel, share your concerns.
- Engage in Substitute Activities/Avoid Problem Thinking for a Moment: Distract yourself with thoughts of other things; go to the cinema or watch your favorite TV show to minimize thinking about the problem.
- Think Optimistically: Cultivate the belief that difficulties will be overcome, that you need time to solve them, and that you'll surely find a suitable solution.
- Apply Relaxation Techniques: Employ autogenic relaxation, meditation, breathing exercises, or biofeedback - entering these states reduces stress reactions, induces a state of relaxation, and aids in psycho-physical rejuvenation.
- Practice Affirmations: Use positive affirmations to consciously reorder your thought patterns and facilitate change; they're the first step toward altering thinking patterns.
Below are a few suggestions for tasks to repeat with conviction in your thoughts:
"I deserve..."
"I am worthy of..."
"I am capable of..."
"I succeed with ease."
"I ACCEPT MYSELF!"
"I am okay."
"I am valuable, I appreciate myself."
Practice using appropriate exercises and methods.
Below are a few simple exercises that can help reduce tension easily:
Body Awareness:
This exercise helps you distinguish between what's outside and what's inside, teaching you to focus on your body.
Learn to shift your attention from external to internal.
- Sit or lie down comfortably.
- Focus your attention on the external, observing objects, people, light.
- Close your eyes, calm your breath, smell the environment, listen to the sounds outside.
- Shift your focus to your body, concentrate on different parts of your body, do you hear your heartbeat? What's your breathing like? Is anything bothering you?
- Now shift your attention back, from the external world to the inner world.
Relaxation at Work and Beyond:
- Sit with an upright spine on the edge of a chair. Smile. Take short breaks every now and then. Breathe. Take five slow, deep breaths and clear your mind of all worries and thoughts. Disengage your thoughts from what you were just occupied with.
- Shoulders. Raise your shoulders, trying to touch your ears. At the same time, extend your arms in front of you. Tense the muscles of your arms and shoulders for five seconds. Then relax. Raise your shoulders again. This time, extend your arms to the sides. Tense your arm and shoulder muscles for five seconds. Then relax. Gently turn your head: twice to the right and twice to the left. Don't forget to breathe.
- Back. Stretch your arms above your head and pretend you're using them to climb a ladder. Slowly and rhythmically do this for ten seconds. Then relax. Look straight ahead while sitting on the edge of the chair. At the same time, slowly and carefully turn to the right as far as you can, trying to grab the backrest of the chair.
- Legs. Raise your right leg. Circle your foot five times. Repeat the exercise with your left leg. Repeat the entire exercise. Raise both legs. Pull your toes towards yourself to feel tension in your calves. Hold this position for five seconds. Then relax.
- Breathing. Imagine yourself in a pleasant, peaceful place. Close your eyes. Relax every part of your body where you feel tension. Breathe slowly and deeply for the next minute.
- Reality. Return to your tasks refreshed and relaxed. Use this relaxation technique whenever you feel tension increasing.
Several Other Practical Tips:
When your eyes are tired:
- Cover them with your hands and keep them covered for a moment.
- Blink rapidly several times.
- Look into the distance. Peer out the window or close your eyes and imagine looking into the distance.
- Occasionally give your eyes exercise. Look up first, then down, left, right, lower left corner, lower right corner. Finally, draw circles with your eyes - both clockwise and counterclockwise.
- Place your favorite plant or an object that brings you positive feelings near your computer, and take breaks to look at it.
When experiencing tension-related headaches, tired eyes, and difficulty focusing.
- Pressing the forehead. Place the tips of your fingers on your forehead and gently press while moving them outwards, from the center of your forehead to your temples. Repeat three times.
- Temple massage. Keeping your shoulders and elbows relaxed, touch your temples with your middle fingers. Gently massage with small circular movements. Repeat six times.
- Releasing tension in the jaws. Use the middle fingers to gently massage the sides of your face, making small circular motions. Gradually move downwards, towards the hinge of your jaw, just below your ears. If the tension is particularly strong, continue the massage until you distinctly feel your jaw "dropping." Repeat six times.
- Pressing the temples. Fit your hands into the hollows of your temples. Gently press with your wrists and make slow, wide circular movements. Repeat six times.
Remember that these exercises and techniques can provide relief from stress and tension. However, if you find that stress is overwhelming or leading to health issues, consider seeking advice from a professional such as a psychologist, who can help tailor appropriate strategies to your needs.