Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain caused by negative circumstances. When we feel overwhelmed by a challenging or dangerous situation, our first instinct is to panic because it’s our body’s natural response to adversity. It’s simply inevitable and something that a lot of people struggle to overcome every day.
It’s very important for us to catch early warning signs of stress before it reaches an unhealthy level.
The most common stressors are:
- Personal problems
- Studies
- Work
- Unemployment
As much as we want to get rid of stress, it’s not good to just simply ignore it. Running away will not solve the problem, this will only make things a lot worse than it already is. It’s more ideal to face our stressors or, better yet, create and apply strategies to reduce stress and cope with the things that cause us physical and mental pressure.
There are a lot of healthy ways to manage stress effectively so follow these tips if you want to have a happier, worry-free year:
- Take Control. Taking charge is the foundation of stress management. avoid situations that would more likely give you stress.
- Keep a Stress Diary. Write down your stress triggers, how you felt, how you responded to a particular situation. As you list everything down, you will notice some patterns. Whatever you discover about yourself can help you experiment with different techniques and strategies that you can use to manage and cope.
- Try to change the situation, if you can. This can be done by avoiding or altering your stressor. This will help you feel less overwhelmed and may even help you gain a new perspective.
- Accept that there are things that you can’t change. Sometimes you just have to accept that there are things in life that you can never change no matter how hard you try. Choose to focus your time and energy more productively.
- Manage your expectations and adjust your standards. Expectation is the heart of stress. Make sure you don’t set overly-high expectations of yourself and at the same time, don’t let the expectations of other people burn you out.
- Unwind. Recharge your battery after a stressful workday. Disconnect yourself from anything work-related and do something that you enjoy such as listening to music, taking a stroll at the park, reading your favourite book or gardening.
Stress and burnout are different.
When stress levels skyrocket and you feel that you are no longer in control, this may cause extreme distress and could possibly lead to burnout. If you’ve become aware that you’re on the brink of burnout or perhaps already experiencing burnout, it’s time to do something before it takes its toll on you. Click here to read more about how to combat burnout.
This is a part of our Effective Ways to Work Smarter series, we will share more about the topics below in our blog:
Sharpen Your Time Management Skills.
Establish Workflows To Streamline Processes.
Delegate Work Effectively.
Learn How To Manage Stress.
Do Regular Daily Reflections.
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