“Stop Stressing.” “I am in stress.” “Work has been giving me stress!”

We hear these sentences almost on a daily basis in our lives. It can be caused by many reasons like work, personal growth, or relationships.

But how often do we question having an adverse effect on our mental health?

 Not so often, right?

We might overlook the fact that stress can be quite harmful to our mental health, which eventually adds to the effect on our physical health.

But before jumping onto dealing with stress, let us understand what is Stress and why we need to eradicate the misconception of normalizing stress.

Stress is a form of response. It is when one feels threatened or confused when they face certain situations that cannot be handled. Stress can be caused by a lot of things. Nowadays stress is not just associated with the people who work, but also students. It has become so common that social media romanticizes stress. The misconception that being hardworking means being stressed also facilitates people to neglect it. Not to mention, if stress is left unchecked, it can lead to depression and anxiety.

That is why it is important to know how to deal with stress based on your lifestyle.

Here are 10 tips on how to manage stress:

Be Organized:

One of the biggest reasons why we are stressed is being unable to balance our work. That is why it is important to have an organized schedule for us to follow. If you’re a person who finds it hard to cope with work, then it is possible that you have not been organizing your schedules daily.

Tip:

Use a calendar to mark important dates as well as highlight deadlines. Keep track of your day by utilizing tools like checklists or notes. This ensures that you do not need to worry about something that doesn’t need your attention at the moment.

Exercising:

Working out is one of the popular methods to combat stress. It creates a blank space in our minds, where our entire focus is on the activity, hence blocking away any stressful thoughts. After exercising, our body feels lighter and that is also why we take care of situations without feeling tense.

Include Dark Chocolate in your diet:

Consuming dark chocolate can make you feel happier for some time, hence negating all unnecessary thoughts. Dark Chocolate has high contents of serotonin. It is often called the “happy hormone” as it helps boost your mood.

Self Care:

Taking stress about your work can be quite exhausting. That is why every once in a moment we deserve breaks to unwind ourselves. Yes, work is important, but being overworked is also not good. If you are facing an issue of being overworked at your workplace, then start prioritizing your time.

Tip:

As a part of your self-care routine, you can unwind yourself by prioritizing activities, and hobbies that bring you joy. Painting, Sketching, Dancing, Sports, or even cooking, are some great ways to unwind.

Sleep:

Having a regular sleep schedule also ensures that your days are more productive. When one sleeps properly, aka at least 6-8 hours per day, our body and mind get ample amount of time to rest, and “reboot,” hence having a good sleep is also a great practice in order to prevent stress

Try to be Optimistic:

Most of our stress is caused by the pent-up frustrations and negativity we feel daily. It can be constructive criticism from our bosses and teachers, or even any other kind of negative aspect that hinders our good mood. That is why, one must not look at the darker side of any aspect, rather to take it positively.

Tip:

Whenever you feel down about something that went wrong ask yourself this question, “Was it the worst thing that can happen?”
If it is not, then try to see on the brighter side, that the situation could have been much worse, but isn’t.

Practice Meditation:

Meditation is a great way to prioritize mental health and oneself. It not only enables a person to be aware of oneself but also to be aware of the surroundings. It makes our mind sound and we ought to be more appreciative towards things that used to cause stress in the past.

Talking to people:

Sharing about our stressful lives can be quite therapeutic. When we talk about the things that stress us to our family, partner, friends, or any loved ones; it becomes easier to find a solution to the problems we are facing. An outside perspective on our problems is always beneficial.

Taking Cold Showers:

A cold shower is a great way to ease the mind after a very stressful day. It lowers the body temperature and gradually helps our tensed body. Taking a shower after a tiresome day is quite beneficial to combat stress as we feel a bit fresher after.

Listen to soothing sounds:

Sometimes, there are moments when we just want to hit the pause button and rest for a little time. It can happen if you have a lot to do, and you constantly have racing thoughts. Therefore to put your mind at ease, you can consider listening to sounds that soothe you. It blocks the outside noise, and calms your mind, freeing it from stress.

Tip:

Consider listening to nature sounds, like waves raindrops, or whale sounds. They are quite unnerving and are designed to prevent racing thoughts that can induce stress.