Showing Up Strong: Handling Stress with Grace
Life can take many turns.
Sometimes everything goes smoothly and at other times, there come bumps in the road that joggles up our peace and serenity. It is in times like those that we must strive to find our balance and sea of calm to navigate those tumultuous waters.
It is easier to stay grounded when things are smooth. However, the real test comes when any struggle, any untoward event that might be unpleasant for us, arises. Those are the real times when you start to apply all the techniques to help you to stay grounded. It is also the time when you must seek resources that can help you to navigate those challenges.
Stress happens in everybody’s life. If you are living and engaging with life, it is inevitable that stress can come. How we respond to stress is the major challenge.
Do we resort to our learned patterns and behave in the same way as we always have? Or, do we challenge our thoughts, sit with our emotions and regulate our responses in a new ways by applying new, effective methods to deal with things differently this time?
Anything that is causing you stress is an invitation to look at things differently. It is also an opportunity to learn and apply new methods and techniques and maybe grow as a person, and to outgrow a situation or a person, or your own previously learned patterns.
Remember that it is an innate human desire to live in harmony with the environment and the people in our lives. So, anything that disrupts our harmony might become a discord or disagreement that can, as a result, be a cause of stress. Therefore, it is only understandable that we strive to resolve these situations in our lives and try to bring inner harmony, peace and alignment to our world.
Remember that it is not an easy task to seek resources during turbulent times to help yourself. So, if you are doing that, then bravo to you! You are actively making an effort to turn your life around, and you should give yourself the credit for making this effort.
How to Deal with Stress
Learning how to navigate stress is crucial for maintaining a healthy, balanced life. It not only helps you cope with stress, but it also helps to enhance your resilience and thrive in demanding situations.
In order to deal with a stressor, the first thing to do is to become conscious of your own state of mind, pointing out that you are stressed and the cause of the stress (the stressors), if possible.
Secondly, it involves not giving in to the stress and not becoming engulfed by the flow of events.
You must learn to step back from any situation, argument or person who is causing you trouble and separate yourself from that situation. Once you are detached from the situation, you can analyze what you can do to help navigate through this challenging time and become aware of the deep rooted cause of stress.
A tip that I would like to share is to start with free flow journaling, which is a powerful tool for stress management. You can do this by writing down any thoughts that come to your mind. Once the emotions are out of your system and on a piece of paper, you will start to feel more relaxed and in touch with your inner world.
After deep breathing, you are more aligned with your inner self. Then, you can then take the time to reflect and start reflective journaling.
Some Questions for Reflective Journaling
- What is the cause of stress right now?
- What part am I playing in being in this stressful situation? Can I do anything about it (e.g. taking a step back from the situation, practicing deep breathing, remaining calm)?
- What can I learn from this experience? What is this experience teaching me about another person or the current situation?
- Can I look at things from another perspective?
- What is my response to this stressor? What can I do differently to manage this situation?
Deep reflective journaling can help you to identify the root cause of stress. Sometimes the cause of stress is obvious to us, while at other times we may have to think our way through to be able to pinpoint it. Such questions will also help you to learn about your own automatic response to a given situation, recognize your own blind spots, and work to overcome them.
The idea is to be able to activate the rational part (the thinking part — the prefrontal cortex) of the brain and not act from the irrational part of the brain (the amygdala) that gets activated during times of stress.
Sitting with yourself and pondering over your thoughts and learning to regulate our own emotions and responses can be an effective strategy in dealing with situations that may seem out of our control at times. It is definitely helpful in calming yourself down and becoming more grounded.
Remember that is is easy to act and behave as you have always done, but it takes effort to apply new strategies. However, like everything else, through constant practice, it becomes easier.
Once you gain clarity, you will be able to make decisions that are well thought-out and find effective solutions to improve your situation.
I hope this article helps you in navigating your own challenges and bringing more peace and calm to your inner world, especially during stressful times.
Do feel free to leave your own tips and strategies on how you deal with stressful situations that might help other readers navigate challenging times.
You may also enjoy reading:
You Are a Houseplant With Complex Emotions | Small Steps (medium.com)
Self-confidence Is a Skill That Can Be Learned | by Felicia O. | Small Steps (medium.com)
