Emotional Well-Being - How to reduce or manage stress
To reduce or manage stress and its potentially negative effects, you can change many aspects of your lifestyle. You can do this by:-.
• Working out what is causing you stress. You may not be able to change everything immediately but some changes will be possible.
• Establish what your needs are and ask for help
• Find ways to switch off and relax
• Learn to control your breathing. When you are under stress, your breathing tends to become shallow and your muscles tighten. At such times you often use only the upper chest muscles and some neck muscles to breathe with. By breathing deeply from your diaphragm, you lessen muscle tension and relieve stress
• Allow yourself some breathing space and do something you enjoy
• Do some physical activity this will relieve tension
• Try to eat a sensible healthy diet and get enough sleep
• Find someone you can talk to and use their support to talk through your feelings. This is not always easy but you will be surprised how much people understand.
• Take up a new hobby preferably something that means you can mix with other people. This will be a good distraction and a way to relax.
• Try to take things one step at a time, be realistic and learn to say “No” to other people some of the time at least
• These skills will aid prevention of long term problems as well as providing immediate relief from the symptoms. Problems develop when we don't recognize that stress is causing common difficulties when it can successfully be managed.
What are the dangers of not controlling stress?
Continued stress puts a burden on the body and the mind that can result in your not performing your best. If the stress goes unrecognized and unresolved, it can wear you out and cause various physical and emotional symptoms that you may blame on other sources. It can result in your becoming physically ill or even having an emotional breakdown.
• Working out what is causing you stress. You may not be able to change everything immediately but some changes will be possible.
• Establish what your needs are and ask for help
• Find ways to switch off and relax
• Learn to control your breathing. When you are under stress, your breathing tends to become shallow and your muscles tighten. At such times you often use only the upper chest muscles and some neck muscles to breathe with. By breathing deeply from your diaphragm, you lessen muscle tension and relieve stress
• Allow yourself some breathing space and do something you enjoy
• Do some physical activity this will relieve tension
• Try to eat a sensible healthy diet and get enough sleep
• Find someone you can talk to and use their support to talk through your feelings. This is not always easy but you will be surprised how much people understand.
• Take up a new hobby preferably something that means you can mix with other people. This will be a good distraction and a way to relax.
• Try to take things one step at a time, be realistic and learn to say “No” to other people some of the time at least
• These skills will aid prevention of long term problems as well as providing immediate relief from the symptoms. Problems develop when we don't recognize that stress is causing common difficulties when it can successfully be managed.
What are the dangers of not controlling stress?
Continued stress puts a burden on the body and the mind that can result in your not performing your best. If the stress goes unrecognized and unresolved, it can wear you out and cause various physical and emotional symptoms that you may blame on other sources. It can result in your becoming physically ill or even having an emotional breakdown.