Five Simple Tips To Beat Stress

Stress is a problem that affects millions of people across the world and no two people have the same symptoms to stress. It can be caused by a range of factors from working too hard, illness, social problems, finances etc. and not everyone is able to identify the symptoms as soon as they appear. Recognizing the signs before the problems persist is especially important because a stressful life can lead to a low immune system and causing infections, low self-confidence which will further increase stress and in some cases it can also lead to depression. If you think you are suffering from stress even on a low level follow these simple tips to help stop your problems developing further. If stress is turning you into an anxious machine, you should try these relaxation techniques for anxiety.

Avoid Unnecessary Stress

The simplest way to avoid getting stressed about situations or life, in general, is to actually avoid stressful situations or avoiding problems that can lead to stress. Learn how to say no to situations that make you feel uncomfortable or taking on extra work that is going to put you over your usual hours or cut into getting enough rest. The majority of people become stressed due to working through their lunch breaks or working late because they don’t value their rest and recovery time.

Surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself and will actually promote confidence and good feelings.

Alter the Situation

If you have no choice but to get involved in a stressful situation the best thing to do is try and adapt it to suit your needs. If you have a concern or worry about something express your feelings rather than bottling them up, it’s good to talk and let people know how you feel so they can take your personal feelings into consideration instead of increasing your stress. Sometimes saying no is not necessarily an option because if you always say no to your boss they will soon start to question your work ethic, but be prepared to compromise. The best situations are resolved by working together with someone to come to a solution that works for both of you.

Adapt To The Stressor

The above tips on avoiding and altering the situation are great but not always feasible, so what do you do when you cannot avoid or change the stressful situation. You have to learn to adapt. Humans are a great thing and we are able to evolve and adapt to cope with even the most stressful or life threatening situations to allow us to survive.

See Also: Best Tips for Stress Management

For example, if your boss asks you to work late one day maybe suggest you finish early if you help out – or take a longer lunch another day. The main positive is you are helping out the boss who will actually value you as an employee more and that is never a bad thing.

Take Time To Relax

We all love to relax and let off some steam away from work and the stress of life. Living is just getting more stressful with many more people working in high pressure jobs or suffering from unemployment so therefore we need to make time to actually take a step back and relax. This has become increasingly hard due to the invention of technology such as smart phones which enables people to take work with them wherever they go – meaning switching off sometimes actually means switching off.

Good ways to relax involve spending time with friends and family and catching up on gossip or going out for a nice meal, avoid watching TV because this doesn't always allow the mind to fully relax as you can drift off into work mode – but when chatting with friends this is less likely. Most people keep a diary of appointments and work commitments but actually schedule a block of time where you will not think about work.

Meditation is a great way of letting the mind relax and enables you to reconnect your mind and body to make you feel much more positive.

Have Fun and Exercise

Exercise is by far one of the best relievers of stress. When a person undertakes physical exercise endorphins are released that make you feel good and the body gets rid of the negative emotions which can lead to stress when they are not released. The best way to make sure stress doesn’t build up is to sign up to a regular class so that it fits into a busy schedule. For example going to a spin class once a week at the same time each week. Sometimes people actually cause themselves stress for feeling guilty about not attending the gym when they have a membership – but most of the time their busy work is what stops them from going. Only sign up if you can actually block in time to go otherwise it can just add to the feelings of stress. But a gentle walk will easily release some of the daily strains of life so make that a priority and you can even add it into your life if you can walk to work or home. 

See Also: 5 Anti Stress Relaxation Techniques

Dealing with stress is not an easy process but the first step is identifying that you have a problem. I don’t think anyone can say they don’t suffer from stress on some occasion but the priority is to recognize when stress occurs more often than good times. When you feel like life is cutting you a raw deal it may just be that you are more focused on the negatives. Rid yourself of all the negative influences and look on the bright side of life – it may be a cheesy cliché but it really is a great way to focus your life.