Stress management refers to the wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person’s levels of stress, especially chronic stress, usually for the purpose of improving everyday functioning. Here are a few simple tips on how to keep stress at bay:
1. Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and keep to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking on more tasks than you can handle is a disaster waiting to happen. Pare down your to do list to reduce your stress.
2. Avoid people who stress you out – Do not encourage toxic relationships. If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely (unless it’s your boss!)
3. Express your feelings instead of bottling them up - If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and respectful way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build and will burst like a dam at an unfavourable time, and the result will be disastrous and embarrassing.
4. Be willing to compromise - When you ask someone to change their ways, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a great middle ground.
5. Be more assertive – Be main character of your own life story. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them. If you’ve got something which is important to you to get done, and someone wants you to do something else, stand your ground and be assertive.
6. Manage your time better - Poor time management is the root cause of a lot of stressful situations. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead and make sure you don’t overextend yourself, you can alter the amount of stress you’re under.
7. Don’t try to control the uncontrollable - Many things in life are beyond our control—mainly the behaviour of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control such as the way you choose to address your problems.
8. Look for the upside - As the saying goes, “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.” When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to a stressful situation, reflect on them and learn from your mistakes.
9. Set aside relaxation time - Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. Do something that makes you happy every day. Like junk food, it’s ok to indulge in the fun stuff once in a while
10. Stay healthy - Get enough sleep, keep exercising, don’t get addicted to vices like alcohol, cigarettes or drugs and eat a balanced diet. Reducing caffeine and sugar also helps the body to calm down.