Conversations with friends and colleagues these days often are peppered with concerns about stress. People are regularly talking about being stressed, recovering from stress or avoiding stress. It’s a word that has become so common that its very commonness tells us something.
Have I stressed you out yet? Even thinking about all the ways we are stressed can be stressful! How can we find some peace?Fortunately, we do have some say in how stressed we are. Try some of the following stressbusters to give yourself a break:
- Take charge of information overload. Do you really need to see the same news clip a dozen times? Do you really need to check social media every hour? Probably not. Remember, in the not-so-long ago, people got one newspaper a day and were well-informed. Corral your need to know to a couple of times a day.
- Learn to say no. Sometimes we make our own stress by taking on too much. Take a realistic look at how much you can really accomplish in a day. Prioritize requests and resist pressure to take on more than those items that made it to the top. You’ll avoid the stress of trying to do it all, and you’ll avoid the stress of disappointing people.
- Resist any temptation to use substances to reduce your stress. Smoking, drinking, popping pills, binge eating or drinking 10 cups of coffee a day may seem like strategies to reduce stress, but they really don’t help. At best they provide some relief for a very short time. Over the long haul, they add the stress of serious health risks.
- Get some exercise. Go for a walk or a run. Get on your bike, ski, swim. Do something, anything, that gets you moving. Exercise makes your body release endorphins, a natural destressor. Further, it’s good for your heart and your lungs to get aerobic at least a few times a week.
- Turn off the screens. A constant pixel diet isn’t good for the brain (or your sleep, either). Declare part of the day as a screen-free zone. Give your brain cells and your thoughts a rest. Take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to savor the quiet. You’ll come back to screenwork refreshed and probably in a better mood.
- Get enough sleep. According to a 2013 survey by the Centers for Disease Control, 50 to 70 million Americans report sleep disorders or sleep deprivation. Only a third of Americans get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night. It may temporarily reduce your stress if you stay up all night to finish a pressing project, but if it becomes a pattern, your body isn’t getting the restorative rest it needs.
- Take time out. Make sure you devote some time every week to doing things you truly enjoy. Too often, people promise themselves they will take up a hobby, invite friends over or just go to a movie when they finish x or get on top of y. The list of “have to’s” can become endless and the time to do something fun just never comes. Put some fun time somewhere near the top of the list and get to it now and then.
- Hang out with positive people.People really do need people. We especially need people who think we’re special in some way and who treat us well. Time spent with positive people doing something positive is a surefire antidote to stress.
Reference: https://psychcentral.com/lib/stressed-to-the-max/
