Stress Management: What Is It, And How To Use It

 Despite all the conveniences available to us in this technologically advanced age, stress is still part of the overall system of our lives. Luckily, stress management provides comfort and release from these problems that tends to affect our physical, mental and emotional health.

What is Stress Management?

Stress management includes tools, procedures and methods that allow us to take control of our problems and make sure that they don't affect our daily routine. Problems that leads to stress that are specific in nature have different stress management techniques that can be applied to keep you in balance and harmony.

Breathing exercises helps big time!

Our body tends to react during times of stress; irregular breathing, sweating, aches and pains, slow metabolism and so on. Since these are all physical in nature, we have to deal with it in a physical way. One method is through breathing exercises. Simply speaking, these exercises control the flow and distribution of oxygen to different parts of your body.

One way to do this is to count your breathing. Breathe slowly and deep, relax your stomach as you do so. Try to keep a rhythm and follow it throughout the duration of the exercise. With enough practice, you can control your breathing instantly during times of stress which can help you relax and alleviate some of the negative effects on your body.

Relax your mind with meditation

Meditation is great way to achieve stress management, which deals more on the mental than in the physical. This is where the old adage "Mind Over Body" kicks in. Meditation allows your mind to relax and focus on a single thought and let others drift away to nothing.

The art of meditation have been used for centuries that started off as an offset of pagan religion. Nowadays, many people practice this method for different areas in their life; coping with work, focusing on your tasks, or simply to relax your mind to keep yourself in balance.

This can be quite hard at first but can be improved through practice. First of all, try to look for a quiet place where you will have the least amount of distraction. Then you need to relax your body from your toes to your head. When you feel heavy then you are already relaxed (this will change to a light feeling when practiced often), you can now concentrate on your mind.

Try to focus on a single thought. You might notice that you will be distracted by stray thoughts that seeps into your mind during the course of the exercise. When this happen, try to imagine you are watching movie. Observe these thoughts as if it was nothing and let it drift away to the next one. After a while, all these stray scenes will cease, then you have achieved meditation.

Seek professional help

A psychiatrist can be of great help during times of stress. The specialist will help you identify your problems and in turn find possible solutions without letting fear and worry get hold of your mind. They can help find the trouble areas and help you find solutions which you might be unable to realize on your own.

Dealing with stress can be stressful also. But with a relaxed mind and the proper techniques, you can take control of your life and not let stress control you.

Self-Improvement For Stress Management

Stress is a part of our daily life whether we like it or not. No matter how we try to get rid of it, it will always come back and haunt you every single day of your life. Stress can be expected as you go through your daily routine, or just suddenly come as a result of one issue or the other. 

Problems, big or small, can affect us emotionally, mentally and physically. Even if we keep smiling on the outside, stress usually troubles us from within. Leaving us in doubt, desperate, anxious, or even irritable if it gets out of control. The best way to deal with stress is to not let it get a hold in your life. You should control it before it even begins to grow and how well you succeed depends on you.

Body Self-Improvement Techniques

Taking care of your body is the initial step to self-improvement. We should be sensitive to what our body needs by knowing how stress affects us physically and how to adapt to it. Here are some techniques that you can use to improve your body and getting stress out of your system.

1. Give Your Body a Break. 

It is very important to know the limits of our body especially when it comes to dealing with stress. Our body can do so much and will deteriorate rapidly when we exceed our capacity. If you feel some aches and pains while working, then you better take some time off and relax before it turns to something serious.

2. Relax and Enjoy. 

To help your body relieve stress, you need to engage in some activities that will push it along the road to recovery. A massage is perfect for energizing your body while getting rid of those tight muscles that will eventually lead to pain and limit your body flexibility. Pamper yourself by visiting a health therapist at least once week, a few hours with professional hands can do wonders.

3. Exercise and Sweat It Out. 
Indulging in physical exercise is a great way to get rid of stress while keeping your body in top shape. Not many can allocate the time and effort for a physical exercise, but if you really want a stress free life then you better accommodate exercise into your daily activity. Daily 1 hour exercise can do wonders to your cardiovascular functions and keep your heart in proper working order.

Self-Improvement For a Stress Free Life

The tips above borders on the physical side of releasing stress, but your mind is still vulnerable to stress attacks. Physical exercise can provide an outlet for emotional problems like anxiety, fear and depression. But your mind is something else.

Before you can dispel any stress from your life, you need to improve your coping mechanism first, and it all starts in your mind. Even if we feel the physical and emotional backlash of the problems  we face, it will always start with how you think and how you devise ways in dealing with it.

Before you can apply the tips above, you have to condition your mind by focusing on the need to improve yourself in getting rid of stress.

Workplace Issues: One of the Causes of Stress

Work is sometimes referred to as “the sum of our existence.” Work is why we get up early in the morning and go home late at night. It is what consumes most of our energies. We need to have jobs, to avoid idleness, have sense of purpose, and to survive in today's world. Work utilizes our talents, supports our family's needs and wants. However, work is also where we tend to be stressed out, with related issues making us feel weak, and in some cases, it gives us some anxiety panic attacks.

It is mostly at the office we spend our waking hours. It is there that the potential for conflict is high. You get to meet difficult people, you have an “impossible” and difficult boss, and you might encounter someone trying to make a move on the same position you've been eying for the past six months. Temptations abound in the office.

The long hours, the threats of being laid-off and workplace bullying can cause harmful emotional and physical responses. These things can happen whenever there is a conflict between job demands and work relationship with other people. In retrospect, the high demands of a particular job and the knowledge that we don't have any control over the situation often leads to stress.

Stress produces strain, disrupts equilibrium, and it can be said to be the source of many number of emotional, physical, economic and social problems. The stress from our work could be from countless hours in overtime, cutbacks on our privileges, and the pressure to perform to an exacting standard. Prolonged workplace stress leads to absenteeism, sickness, dissatisfaction, make one irritable, rash with their decisions and reduced job efficiency.

The National Institute For Occupational Mental Health report cites the following about workplace stress:

1.         25% view their jobs as the number one causes of stress in their lives

2.         Three-fourths of employees believe that workers have more on-the-job stress than a generation ago

3.         26% of workers said they were “felt burned out often” by their job

4.         Job stress is more strongly associated with health complaints than financial problems

SYMPTOMS OF WORKPLACE STRESS

-           Aching muscles

-           Restless sleep

-           Fatigue

-           Loss of appetite

-           Irritability

-           Low morale

-           Headache

-           Upset stomach

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Follow the tips below to manage workplace stress.

1.         Exercise – can be done in a gym, office or at home

2.         Proper Planning – schedule your jobs, business trips and other matters, however leave room for adjustments

3.         Balance – find time to focus on and strike a balance between your work,  personal and family life

4.         Social Network – surround yourself with reliable friends you can lean on

5.         Positive Outlook – let work-related issues cease to bother you 

Stress hampers productivity. Therefore employers should introduce stress management programs to teach their workers the nature and sources of stress as well as the effects on their overall health. Issues management should also be part of the program.

Stress Management And Health

Stress always goes hand in hand with health. Depending to the stress level of a person, the impact of stress in the body can range from minor sweaty palms to death. Letting stress build can slowly deteriorate health and can cause major health risks. Managing stress and health are important ways to avoid health risks in the future. In order to manage stress and health better, a person must first be acquainted to the severe effects of stress in the body. 

Physical And Behavioral Signs Of Stress

Stress can be induced by either external or internal factors. External stressors involve situations in the workplace, death, illness, or by simply becoming angry. In most cases, people suffer self induced stress. The good news is that stress whether self induced or otherwise can be taken care of.

Stress can affect major body systems. When a person is stressed, there may be an increase in heart rate and elevation in the blood pressure. The continuous pressure on the heart makes a person susceptible to cardiac arrest and other heart related conditions.

The digestive system may also be affected during stress. Some people experience diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, dryness of the mouth and the throat. Stress can also cause sleeping disorder, nausea, and in serious cases tightness of the chest, stiffness of the neck and jaw and also the back muscles. 

Changes in behavioral patterns are also noticeable in a person experiencing stress. Smokers experience increase in smoking pattern. Aggressive behaviors and hostility towards others and even inanimate objects are sometimes linked to a person experiencing stress. Irregular diet habit may also be noticed diet in a person suffering from stress.

Some people who cannot handle stress may resort to alcohol and drug use. Lack of concentration may also be noticed in people suffering from stress.   Additionally, compulsive behavior, impatience and carelessness are also the behavioral effects of stress.

Long Term Implications

A long term exposure to stress can surely deteriorate a person’s general well-being. During stress the body produces hormones that enable the body to cope with the current situation. Short term effects of stress tense muscles, queasiness and an in increase in breathing and heart rates.

The long term implications of stress include allergic reactions, digestive disorder, heart disease, fatigue headaches and migraine. Impotence and premature ejaculation can occur in men while erratic menstrual cycle for women. Sleeping pattern can also be affected and can sometimes lead to insomnia. 

Living Healthy

Identifying stress early is very important to one’s overall health. When stress becomes too much to handle, the damage to a person’s physical and mental well-being can be very difficult to reverse. Living a healthy life can help a person cope with stress easily.

Exercise is very important in stress and health management. Along with a healthy diet, exercise can be said to be the most effective way to lower and cope stress levels as well as general health. It improves sugar metabolism through efficient use of insulin. Taking vitamins and avoiding alcohol are other proven successful methods in improving health and help a person cope with stress better.