6 Fundamental Ways To Manage Stress
By: Johnetta Cuff
Stress. It’s a word we all know and one we try to avoid at all costs. But what is stress? Stress can be defined as any situation or event that causes mental, emotional, and physical tension for an individual. And it’s not just adults who suffer from this either; children also deal with stress on a daily basis, such as schoolwork and social pressures. So how do we combat the negative impacts of stress? There are many tools out there that can help individuals reduce their levels of stress — even if they don’t have access to expensive therapy sessions or other treatments! In this blog post I will discuss six fundamental tools you can use in your everyday life to cope with stressful situations.
- Mindfulness
Practicing mindfulness improves our adaptability of stressful situations. This is key as mindfulness is a state of mind and not an action. Mindfulness is a state of non judgmental awareness of what’s happening in the present moment such as your thought’s, emotions and physical senses. Mindfulness has two main components and that’s awareness and acceptance. Awareness is when you notice your thoughts, emotions and sensations as they are happening. The acceptance component is when you notice the thoughts, emotions and physical sensations by not judging or changing them.
2. Meditations
Meditation is something that everyone can do. I have realized that humans can make a simple practice into a complex one. There are all forms of meditations but to keep it simple you can find a relaxing space and sit down on a chair, floor or where ever comfortable, close your eyes, connect with your breath on it’s inhale and exhale, set a time frame, set an intention and become aware of the sensations in your body and just be in the moment. Meditation helps reduce stress, anxiety and add positive emotions. Research has shown cultivating a regular meditation practice can permanently redesign the brain to create sustained happiness
3. Yoga
Many of studies have shown that yoga helps relieve stress and anxiety. Being one of the many integrative medicine methods yoga brings together physical and mental regulation. This may assist in achieving a sense of peacefulness in the body and mind. Yoga helps you relax and manage stress, anxiety and depression by enhancing your mood and balancing your general well being. Yoga comes in may forms and styles choose the right one for you. If yoga is not your thing then any form of exercise will get the job done. The benefits of exercise on mood and memory are well-documented. But did you know that it also decreases levels of cortisol (stress hormone) which can be extremely beneficial for someone experiencing high levels of stress. Let’s get moving!
4. Breathing Exercises
Breathing keeps us alive and during times of emotional stress our sympathetic nervous system is stimulated. This can influence a number of physical reaction such as sweating, muscle tension and shallow breathing. If this happens frequently the sympathetic nervous system can become overstimulated leading to other physical ailments. There are a plethora of breathing exercises but one simple but powerful technique that can go in your repertoire is belly breathing also known as Diaphragmatic breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing has many benefits that affect your entire body and uses less effort and energy to breathe. It’s the foundation for a majority of meditation and mindfulness practices which lower your stress levels.
Belly breathing is simple to do follow these steps when you need to release stress or feel relaxed.
- You can sit or lay in a comfortable space.
- Place your one hand on your belly below your ribs and the other hand on your chest area.
- Begin with a deep inhale through your nose, allow your belly to rise pressing against your hand. Your chest area should be still.
- Exhale through pursed lips as if you were whistling. Feel your hand lower as your belly descends. Allow your hand to press the air out.
- Practice this breath 5 to 10 times.
- Notice how you feel mind and body when doing this exercise.
5. Journaling
As Steve from “Blue’ Clue’s would say,” Get out your handy dandy notebook!” Keeping a journal has a plethora of benefits the simple act of journaling your thoughts, emotions, experiences or to form ideas can help release negative thoughts from your mind. This may lead to gaining more clarity and creating solutions that weren’t avail to you before. Expressing your thoughts on paper especially the positive things and not only the negative aspects that are happening. This will then create a positive habit of focusing on the positive which will attract more positivity into your life and less negativity which can lead to stress. Beginning your day with gratitude is a great self care practice and overall life skill. It doesn’t matter which type of journal you decide to keep, the act of making the time to intimately building a holistic relationship with yourself is essential.
6. Prioritize Your Time
Do you feel your energy is being pulled in many different directions? Do you feel as if your life is a to do list that never ends? Being intentional about your time will not only combat unnecessary stress in your life but you will be focused on what’s important and move forward with accomplishing your important task you have set for that day. Planning your day the night before helps assist with having a productive day with less pressure of trying to figure out what needs to get done. You can make a list of what’s stressing you out and prioritize them. Begin to practice using the word “no” and set healthy boundaries with others. Before you agree or feel obligated to fulfill a request that is asked of you when you don’t have the time, or interest of doing something stand in your integrity and assertively decline. If suitable for you, and your schedule you can assist or find possible solutions that won’t effect you negatively.
So, what are you waiting for? Start utilizing these six fundamental tools to reduce your stress levels today! And remember that mindfulness is key. The more mindful you are of the present moment, the less stressed you will become. It’s as simple as that. #manage stress # #meditation#mindfulness#
