Ashish Bhattacharya asked:


                                       Stress Management Techniques

The simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management

Living with high levels of stress, can putt your entire health at risk. Stress wreaks havoc on your emotional stability, as well as your physical health. It tapers with your ability to think clearly, function effectively, and enjoy life.

Causes of Stress

Stress may be because of any physical, chemical, or emotional factors that cause bodily or mental unrest and that may even cause physical sickness. Stress also has effects on the immune system. Chronic (long-term) stress has the effect of “wearing down” the immune system, leading to an increased susceptibility to colds and other infections.

Physical and chemical factors that can cause stress include trauma, infections, toxins, illnesses, and injuries of any sort. Emotional causes of stress and tension are numerous and varied.

How to Manage Stress

Stress is a daily part of our life; it would be absolutely foolish to think that we can eliminate it from our lives completely. What we can do is to manage it and not let it cripple us.

 Learn to say “no” : This is the most important step, know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept extra responsibilities that you know will cause you distress.

 Avoid people who stress you out : If someone constantly 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. 

 Take control of your environment : Avoid environments that stress you, if traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If shopping is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online or ask someone to help out.

Avoid heated topics : If you get upset over religion or politics, avoid talking about them. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people you are bound to be stressed.

Know your limits: evaluate your schedule, responsibilities, and daily tasks. If you’ve got too much on your plate, drop tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom or eliminate them entirely.

 Express instead of bottling up- If something or someone is bothering you, communicate your concerns in an open and polite way. If you don’t voice your feelings, resentment will build creating unnecessary stress.

Compromise- When you ask someone to change their actions, be willing to do the same. If you both are willing to bend a little, you’ll find a middle ground.

Be more assertive- If you need something ask for it. Deal with problems head on, doing your best to anticipate and prevent them.

Manage your time better- Poor time management can cause a lot of stress. When you’re stretched too thin and running behind, it’s hard to stay calm and focused. But if you plan ahead, you can avoid these stress-inducing pitfalls.

Don’t try to control the uncontrollable- Many things in life are beyond our control— particularly the behavior of other people. Rather than stressing out over them, focus on the things you can control.

Look for the Brightside- When facing major challenges; try to look at them as opportunities for personal growth.

Share your feelings- Talk to a trusted friend or a therapist. Expressing what you’re going through can be very therapeutic, even if there’s nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation.

Learn to forgive- Let go of anger and resentments. Free yourself from negative energy by forgiving and moving on.

Include relaxation time-Include rest and relaxation in your daily schedule. Don’t allow other obligations to encroach. This is your time to take a break from all responsibilities and recharge your batteries. Make time for leisure activities that bring you joy, whether it be stargazing, playing the piano, or working on your bike.

Create a Support system- A strong support system will buffer you from the negative effects of stress. Spend time with positive people who enhance your life

Exercise regularly. Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress. Make time for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times per week. Nothing beats aerobic exercise for releasing pent-up stress and tension.

Eat a healthy diet-  Start your day right with breakfast, and keep your energy up and your mind clear with balanced, nutritious meals throughout the day.

Reduce caffeine and sugar- The temporary “highs” caffeine and sugar provide often end in with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate, and sugar snacks in your diet, you’ll feel more relaxed and you’ll sleep better.

Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs- alcohol or drugs may provide an easy escape from stress, but the relief is only temporary. Later the stress simply piles on plus your health starts to suffer.

Get enough sleep-Feeling tired will increase your stress because it may cause you to think irrationally.

Monique Van Damme asked:


Stress management can help you to take control of your stress and eliminate it at the source.

First you have to realize your feelings of stress, then you can learn to manage them. The trick to managing stress is finding out the source. Sometimes there are so many things going on in life that any number of them could be contributing to your stressing out. I have found that thinking about the different aspects of your life and understanding your feelings about them can help narrow down the source. You will find that the task that makes you the most upset or the one that seems to be the most common is related to your source or it is your source.

Once you have find your main source of stress you can then begin to find a solution to it. For example: You have been having a bad week at work and you don’t know why. You always feel rushed in the mornings and you are sometimes late to work. The source could be that you are too rushed in the mornings. The solution could be to set your alarm clock 30 minutes earlier. This would solve the problem for feeling rushed, solve the problem for arriving late and your days would no longer start off on the wrong foot.

Another way to manage stress could simply be through breathing exercises. By taking longer, deeper breaths you can calm yourself down which will in turn allow for clearer thinking. Once you feel better you can begin to tackle the source behind the stress and find a solution.

Take perspective of the situation. Look at yourself objectively. Sometimes we stress ourselves out about things we have no control over. For example: We get stressed out because we have organized an outdoor activity and the weather is not cooperating. You have no control over the weather so don’t stress out about it. Making a plan and being prepared can help reduce the levels of stress we experience when we worry about things we cannot change. Realize that there is a possibility things may not go as planned and be prepared.

Stress is manageable, you just need to find the source. Break down the source and you will be on your way to successful stress management.