Seven Ways to Deal with Stress

Is stress making you feel like this?

Stress can wreak true havoc on your life, both personally and professionally. Extreme stress can cause both emotional and physical problems. When you’re too stressed out your mind just can’t handle any more. Lessening your stress levels frees up your mind to be more innovative and creative, allowing you to think of new ways to enhance and grow your business.

When feeling overwhelmed by stress, it’s important to try to identify specific stressors and to examine how you cope with them. You can then work to avoid, alter, adapt to, or accept the stressors in your life.

Here are seven ways to handle stress so you can feel like this!

1. Learn How to Say No

Know your limits and stick to them, in both your professional and personal lives. Whenever possible, steer clear of people who cause you stress. Don’t stretch yourself too thin and end up running behind.

2. Take Control of your Environment

If scary movies make you anxious, for example, don’t watch them. Stay away from hot-button topics if they make you upset or cause conflict. And finally, pare down your to-do list. Separate the “shoulds” from the “musts” and drop anything that is not truly essential.

3. Express your Feelings rather than Bottling Them Up

If something is bothering you, convey your concerns openly but respectfully. At the same time, remain open to compromise. When you ask someone to change their behavior, be willing to do the same so that you can find a happy middle ground. In addition, be assertive and deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. Expressing your feelings can be cathartic, even when you’re powerless to change a situation.

4. Learn to View Stressful Situations from a Positive Perspective

You can reframe a traffic jam, for example, as an opportunity for some reflection time. Also, look at the big picture of a stressful situation. Ask yourself how important the stressor will be in the long run and whether it’s really worth getting upset over. If not, refocus somewhere else. Look for the upside when facing major challenges and try to see them as opportunities for growth.

5. Adjust your Standards

Don’t set yourself up for failure by demanding perfection from yourself and others. Focus on the positive by thinking about all of the blessings in your life, including your positive qualities and gifts.

6. Accept the Stress You Cannot Change

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable – a category that encompasses many aspects of our lives, including other people’s behavior. Focus instead on things you can control, such as your reactions to problems.

7. Learn to Forgive – Yourself as well as Others

Accept the fact that we live in an imperfect world, and people make mistakes. Let go of anger and resentments and move on.

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Remember to take time to relax and have fun when you detect symptoms of stress in your life. Set aside time to rest, spend time with positive people, and do something you enjoy every day. And most of all, keep your sense of humor – including your ability to laugh at yourself.

Your turn: What are ways you deal with stress?

Deidra Miller
Administrative and Customer Service Consultant