Stress is something that every one of us has experienced. Stress is a major trigger for many of us. If there were only a way to avoid stress altogether…Now, I’m not really sure if that would be possible. But what we can do is learn how to cope with the triggers and reduce our triggers for stress.
These triggers can affect each individual in different ways, depending on factors including your mood, personality, lifestyle, and relationships. Some of the common causes of stress could be financial, relationship, or work-related, they can be a cause for worry and tension. Especially when you find yourself in a situation that you have no control over. Unfortunately, these types of stress triggers are most of the time unavoidable—the only thing you can do is to work with them in order to minimize their effects.
I personally have encountered stress many times. Matter of fact, planning my wedding was the most stressful part of my life. I will be honest with you, the stress in planning a wedding is inevitable. Stress happens as soon as you book your venue and start planning your perfect wedding day. The pressure to search for the right vendors; pick a color theme; to create a guest agenda, can all build up over time and cause too much stress. This was the kind of stress I faced, especially because my wedding was a destination wedding. After my wedding, I made a promise t myself never to organise a wedding ever again.
I always wondered what happens to our bodies when we are stressed? It didn’t take me too long to find out. I realized that when under stress, our bodies trigger certain responses. This protective mechanism is what I have come to know as the stress response. And this has been incorporated into everyday life to mold our behavior under challenging situations.
On one hand, it can be useful as the stress response helps us survive in situations that are perceived to be harmful to our well-being. However, experiencing high levels of stress over a long period of time can have adverse effects on health. Studies show that when stress goes unchecked for long periods of time, it can increase the risk of developing stress-related conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease as well as mental health problems like anxiety and depression. Emotionally also, it can make us agitated, angry, or afraid.
When I am under stress, that’s when I get to snap at everything. However, I have been curtailing this kind of action by doing the following:
-
GOING FOR HEALTH/STRESS CHECK-UPS.
Going for random health checks is a great way to destress. One of the most important things we can do to control our health is to have some sort of regular check-ups. This also means going in for your annual teeth cleaning and booking an actual total medical examination. There are many out there, but one of the most important types to get is a check-up. We all experience stress at some point in our lives and as healthy people who like to think we know a thing or two about dealing with it we go through various techniques. It’s not until we are presented with a legitimate reason that we realize that health checks are actually important when it comes to tackling stress.
2. DELEGATE TASKS
The last thing you need to do is do it all. Delegating tasks to others can help free up your time and energy so you have more of both to focus on your own personal goals and achievements. When you have a lot of work on your plate, it can be hard to identify the tasks that are causing the most stress. In this situation, it is a good idea to delegate tasks that aren’t crucial to your workflow. You should always do this sparingly, but delegating when you have too much work can relieve the pressure you might be experiencing. For me, I noticed that delegating tasks gives me less anxiety.
Although, delegating has a bad connotation on its own. Sometimes what comes to mind is an overstretched boss making delegates do all the work so they can “do more important stuff”. While delegating is necessary, we should be careful not to stress our subordinates. This is because stress passes from the boss, who has a lot of stress to the underling who will also experience a huge amount of pressure. Hence, making a poor delivery of tasks.
3. Have a me-time
For most of us women, we tend to care for everyone else and put ourselves last. Sometimes it is something we do unconsciously, we forget to take care of ourselves, to have a me-time.
One good way to rid yourself of stress is to have time to unwind from work. Though there might be times when you can easily manage pressure, sometimes it does get out of hand and it may lead to some serious illness if not monitored. For me, self-care and meditation have helped me a lot in coping up with stress. Meditation does not involve chanting or any religious belief rather it is the process of clearing your head and emptying your brain from clutter.
I do this more often to feel relaxed.
4. Exercise
Exercise is definitely more than a way of reaching our ideal body. It’s truly an important part of any strategy for a healthy life. When it comes to destressing, some might use alcohol to unwind just to escape. While these activities are comfortable, sometimes they only serve to make things worse. For me, exercise is a better option than alcohol and video games.
Engaging in running, jogging, or walking fast for 30-45 minutes a day will reduce stress. I have noticed that whenever I go for walks, I feel relaxed and sleep soundly. Let me be honest with you, I used to be a very stressed out person. I noticed that when I stopped walking regularly, the stress started to increase. Walking is one of the best ways to deal with stress.
5. Eat healthily
A lot of people try to make themselves deal with stress by eating junk food like pizza, donuts, ice cream, etc. The problem with these foods is that they make you feel good at first but then after a few minutes you start feeling lethargic, sleepy, and sickly.
I know it well, I know all the symptoms. It is getting on your nerves, not knowing how to be more energetic, not being able to do things properly. To deal with stress, eating healthy is one of the main points you should focus on. Not only will your body thank you, but your health will thank you also.
In this modern world where people are running on a schedule to attend their job and do whatever they like, stress can be seen everywhere. It is something that could have an adverse effect on your mind as well as your body in long run. Therefore, it is important for you to reduce stress in your life so that you can enjoy all your life giving you pleasures of happiness, and motivating you to live your life in a better way.
