Juggling all your responsibilities in life can be demanding at the best of times and may often lead to stress. Whether you’re raising children, studying, working, nurturing relationships or focusing on your own personal goals, our ability to handle general everyday stress as well as spikes due to specific stressful situations is a necessity.

Your mind and body are designed to cope with certain levels of stress. However, we need to have strategies that we can use to manage it – not just for your mental health but also for your overall wellbeing.

What’s going on inside your body?

To regulate your stress, it’s important to understand how it works. Your body is incredibly smart; it has the ability to adapt and handle certain levels of stress, but those stress levels need to subside at some point (learn more about it in Our Fight Or Flight Response) so that physical symptoms don’t escalate.

These symptoms can include muscle tension, digestive issues, high blood pressure, elevated stress hormones, sleep problems, weight gain or weight loss, just to name a few.

Different methods will resonate for different people, so it’s a good idea to try a range of stress management strategies to figure out the ones that work best for you.

It’s also important to remember that when you’re at a heightened level of stress – or used to it as an ongoing issue – regulating the nervous system with actions like deep breathing or meditating may seem difficult or like they aren’t having any effect when you first start out. Bear in mind that this can take practice and consistency to develop, so it’s absolutely worth pursuing even if it starts off feeling silly or pointless.

Let’s take a look at some stress management techniques you can use in your everyday life to keep those levels in check.

Proactively manage your overwhelm

To a certain degree, we create our own overwhelm. There are things in life we can control and things we can’t. Rather than worrying and creating anxiety over things we can’t control, try to focus on the things you can.

You can control your thoughts, actions, feelings and emotions – it may be difficult but it begins with naming/identifying what you’re feeling, digging deeper to understand why you’re feeling that way, then looking at how you can reframe it and think or act in a different way. This can be an ongoing process and journalling can help with it.

Also consider what you can say ‘no’ to simplify your schedule, what you can delegate, do actions that are ‘good enough’ instead of perfect, and practice setting healthy boundaries through communicating your needs with others.

Prioritise sleep and rest

Poor quality sleep or ongoing lack of it can contribute to elevated stress levels and difficulty regulating our emotions, and it’s often overlooked as a stress management strategy. Keep track of how many hours a night you’re sleeping, and notice if you wake in the morning still feeling tired or if you’re well rested and ready to take on the day.

If not, look at intentionally creating a good sleep routine so that you’re setting yourself up for success.

>> Learn how to create a better sleep routine

Look for happiness in hobbies

When we’re busy and have a lot on our plate, health, fitness and self-care often drop away, and so do our hobbies – the activities that we find joy in which also chip away at stress levels.

Allocate time in your schedule every day to do something that you enjoy and get happiness from; bonus points if it’s creative as studies have shown a link between the two. Creativity can be found in many hobbies, including art, building and construction, writing, cooking, gardening, crafts, and dance to name a few.

Gratitude is the attitude

Where attention goes, energy flows! If you’re focused on positive thoughts, your brain rewires to do it on a more regular basis automatically. Stress is typically associated with negative feelings and emotions, if we can shift towards the positive, our outlook on situation can start to change too.

You can do this with daily journalling, or even just taking a moment at the start of your day to focus on something you’re grateful for to frame the day ahead, then again at the end of the day to end on a positive note.

>> Tips for writing a gratitude journal

Move your body

Exercise releases endorphins – happy hormones that make you feel good – so there’s plenty of reason to get moving for even just 5-10 minutes of brisk action. Go for a walk, crank your favourite song for a dance, or do some yoga and send that stress away.

You are what you eat

Stress can make us crave foods that aren’t so nourishing, so fight the urge to eat your emotions and fuel your body instead with quality whole foods that will leave you feeling light and energised.

If emotional eating is a frequent problem for you, consider journalling the moments that you stress eat – look at what foods your craving, what situation is happening and start thinking about more positive alternative actions you could do instead. Try to do this without judging yourself or beating yourself up about it. Take a moment to have a glass of water, sometimes this interruption alone can be enough to redirect.

This could be difficult to do on your own, so don’t hesitate to consult a therapist or dietician if you need more help with it.

Connect with others

Social connection with other people helps foster a sense of community and the underlying sense that we aren’t alone. Stressful situations can feel incredibly isolating, but just having someone else to talk to or do something else with – not even necessarily to fix the situation – can help lighten the load immensely.

Technology gives us the illusion of feeling connected, but it’s not the same as face-to-face, in person connection. Organise a catch up with a friend, family member, work colleague… someone who you want to spend time with, and hang out.

Practice pranayama

Pranayama is the fancy Sanskrit word for yoga breathing practices. Most people think of breathing as just an inhale and exhale, but you would be surprised at how many variations there can be to this. Breathing can help regulate stress in the moment and drawing attention to your physical body and what it’s doing at the time can help anchor you to the present moment.

Practice breathing deeply – but not forcefully – down into your belly for five slow, even breaths. Stress often shifts our breathing into the upper chest and shoulders; we can take control back by focusing on shifting it back.

>> Easy practices to reduce stress

If you’re struggling, seek help

Sometimes it’s just too difficult to handle your stress on your own – and you don’t have to. Seeing a professional therapist or counsellor can help you sort through your thoughts, feelings and emotions and help you develop a personalised action plan to deal with it.

To sum up

Stress is a normal and inevitable part of life, but having strategies in place can help you navigate the challenges that come your way with greater resilience. Find what works for you, and practice those methods daily to master your mindset for a healthier, happier life.

Image / Depositphotos.com

References:

Cher-Yi Tan, Chun-Qian Chuah, Shwu-Ting Lee, and Chee-Seng Tan. 2021 Jul; 18(14): 7244. Being Creative Makes You Happier: The Positive Effect of Creativity on Subjective Well-Being. Int J Environ Res Public Health. Retrieved online 25 August 2024 from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8305859