How Can You Cope With Stress Healthily?

Coping with stress healthily is the key to seeing an improvement in your symptoms. That may be easier said than done, but you should certainly be working towards this. The first step may be analyzing exactly what is causing your stress — and they may be multiple factors, of course — and examining what your stress is doing to your body. Once you know the answer to these questions, honestly ask yourself if there is any way to remove the stressors from your life altogether. Sometimes, you may conclude that the things that are causing you to feel stress will disappear after a while, like when a busy period at work is over. Sometimes, when your stressors are long term, you may want to see if you can make changes that make the stress go away, like a new job for instance. 

Take Good Physical Care Of Yourself

Stressed people have a tendency to neglect themselves. They may skip meals or on the other hand engage in binge eating. They may rely on fast food to pull them through when they're too busy to prepare healthy meals. They may also stop working out and do unhealthy things like drink too much, smoke, or even use drugs. Taking good physical care of yourself means committing to eating healthy meals, three a day, exercising regularly, and avoiding addictive behaviors.

You may not be able to go to sleep, but do give yourself the chance. Turning off electronic devices (and therewith people who may contact you and cause you more stress) is a good idea. Read a book, talk to your partner, have a bath or do some yoga before bed instead of staying glued to your internet-connected devices. Enjoy some tea or a hot cocoa. In other words, allow yourself to unwind in the period leading up to bedtime in order to promote healthy sleep.

Allow Yourself Mental And Physical Breaks

Taking good physical care of yourself through periods of stress is essential, but so is removing yourself from your stressors on a regular basis. That means two things. First of all, it means physically stepping away from your stressors. All too often, stress is caused by work. If yours is too, leave your work at work. The same goes for stress caused by other situations too: do what you can to physically get away from it.

The other aspect of taking breaks is mental. Don't lie in bed obsessing over your challenges at work, for instance. Though it is hard to let go off the things that are stressing you out at the moment, constant worry isn't going to lead to better outcomes — quite the contrary, on many occasions, since worry spends your mental energy instead of leaving you awake and alert so you can be productive. Therefore, give real mental breaks a go. Tell yourself that you are now going to do other things and not worry about the things that are making you stressed. This takes practice, but in time it's likely to work. 

Talk!

Getting the things that are bothering you off your chest truly can work like a good medicine! You can talk to your partner, friends, relatives, or even anonymous people on the internet about the challenges you are currently facing, and how they make you feel. This can often have a truly great effect on your overall mood and wellbeing. The people in your life who care about you won't feel burdened knowing that active listening can help you.

See Also: Why Is Cardio A De-Stressor?

Good therapists will listen without judgment, something people close to the situation at hand are not always able to do. They can also help you recognize dangerous coping patterns and analyze the underlying reasons your stressors cause you stress. Think of a therapist as someone you pay to unload your worries onto; therapy isn't just for people with mental illness or trauma by any means. If you do engage a therapist, you may find that therapy becomes a safe island in time for you, as well as something that gives you the tools to go on and enjoy life again.