Coping With Stress
Stress Management For A Healthy Life
Coping with stress, what does that actually mean? It sounds rather passive doesn’t? Like just getting by or putting up with but that is not the case at all.
The definition of to cope is:
To contend with difficulties and act to overcome them.
So coping with stress means to recognise that we are suffering from stress and to find ways to overcome its negative affects on our daily lives and health.
This is what the next section of this stress relief workshop is all about, finding stress management strategies which fit in with our individual lifestyles.
Assertiveness
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Being assertive is often misunderstood, it is often interpreted as being aggressive or demanding but it actually means being able to communicate your feelings and thoughts effectively.
Assertiveness is a very positive and effective way of managing stress. It puts you in the driving seat and allows you to actually change some causes of stress, in the workplace for instance.
However it is not a skill we are all born with and so we must learn how to be assertiveness so that we can handle and deal with stressful situations in our lives. It certainly is a skill worth having.
Effective Time Management
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Hands up if you are disorganised all the time, find it difficult to delegate or have unrealistic goals which you just can’t achieve. Thought So, it is not a uncommon cause of stress especially in the workplace.
Time management and learning to have realistic goals is fundamental in leading a stress free life. If you are putting too many pressures onto yourself and feel as though you are never able to keep up, then it is not surprising that stress occurs.
Learning time management skills is just like learning to ride a bike. Small steps at first and then when you get the hang of it you’ll be flying along and not only coping with stress but even banishing it from your life.
Exercise for Stress relief
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Now we all know that exercise is good for us, it keeps us fit and healthy and keeps our weight down. But also has an affect on how we react to stress.
If we are fit and healthy we feel good about ourselves and if we feel good we are far more bale to cope with the day to day stresses life throws at us. Exercise will also help to promote healthy sleep; something which in itself we do not get enough of can be a major stressor.
So keeping ourselves fit and active will benefit our lives both mentally and physically in the long run.
Healthy eating to beat stress
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Eating badly has become a part of many peoples everyday lives, this is mainly caused by time restrictions and the ease of which we can get our hands on convenience foods.
However just like exercise, eating healthy not only has an affect on our physical well being but also our mental one too. This is especially true if our diet also contains alcohol. An excess of fat and depressive drugs such as alcohol will only make us feel bad and this will take its toll on us mentally.
Diet therefore plays a big role in our ability for coping with stress.
Mindfulness - slow down, stress less
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What is being mindful? It simply means to live in the present moment. For instance: notice every mouthful of food, notice the birds singing, the people around you etc etc.
It is a way of slowing your life down and actually enjoying all those things that surround you which you just miss. When practiced regularly mindfulness becomes just a way of life and you will find yourself enjoying life far more. It is a really great way to lead your life and dealing with stress will be something that you have to do far less.
Better sleep
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Those of you which are suffering stress on a regular basis will know that sleep does not always come easy and that even when you do sleep you wake feeling tired and irritable.
Unfortunately it’s a vicious circle too, your stressed so you sleep badly, you sleep badly and this causes you stress ahhhhhh.
Your ability to deal with stress in your life is often reliant on how mentally sharp you are and how energised you feel, so getting enough sleep is important. Luckily there are things which you can do to try and restore good sleep to your life.
Hobbies for stress relief
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We all need something in our life which we can call our own and which totally absorbs us and gets us way from our daily mundane tasks. Having a hobby is not juts fun but also is a great stress buster.
Leaving your troubles behind you used to be an old saying but it still rings true today. Finding a hobby which we can forget our worries and focus on something we enjoy even for a few hours a week is beneficial for coping with stress.
Explore alternative therapies
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picture by harold laudeus flickr.com |
This is one of my personal favourites. Over the years I have learnt about and practiced several different alternative therapies to help me deal with stress in my life.
So be it Bach flower remedies or the Alexander technique, by finding a alternative therapy that works for you could be something to build into your life to reduce the affects of stress and make coping with stress a lot easier.
Learn problem solving skills
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picture by Marco bellucci flickr.com |
My partner introduced me to problem solving as a technique for dealing with stress. It was obvious really when I thought about it.
Much of the stress we feel is down to the fact that we do not take the time to look at and examine the cause, instead we stumble along trying to cope with it all.
Again problem solving is not a skill we all have naturally and it is in fact something we can learn and use as a stress management tool.
Workplace stress relief
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picture by Andrew*s flickr.com |
This is a biggie, coping with stress at work is often easier said than done, but it is one of the major causes of stress in our lives.
Admittedly there is not always something we can do to change some situations at work but we can find why to manage the pressures and stresses.
Stress Balls are particulary useful little stress busters around the office or during meetings and are often handed out as free gifts during seminars.
