How to Manage Stress

When we think of stress, we think that it is something which we cannot control. This passive response to stress is what brings everyone into a constant vicious cycle where they feel like they no longer have control over their lives. Stress has the ability to make a person think that it controls them, when in fact this is not the case. The key to learning how to manage stress is realizing that you have control of your life.

Tips on How to Manage Stress.

Tip Number 1: Change Your Belief System.

It is important to note that how you feel is in fact the way that you think. Your mind is more powerful than anyone gives it credit to be. Think of stress as an A-B-C system.
A – Activating Event: Something in your life happened which has brought a lot of stress.
B – Belief System: How do you view the stressor? How do you evaluate it? Do you view minor setbacks as disasters or do you see them just as minor setbacks?
C – Consequence: What are the consequences of your negative thinking?

When thinkng of how to manage stress in this A-B-C system, you have to take into account that B, your belief system, is the most important stage. Contrary to common belief, A doesn’t directly affect C..but rather B is the only thing which has a direct impact on C. When you constantly involve yourself in negative thought, finding a solution to your stressor is an almost impossible task. You will feel anxious, angry, and panicky.

When you are feeling emotionally distressed due to a stressor in your life, it is actually because of your own catastrophic thinking. As a whole, society has a tendency to turn inconveniences into huge disasters and make mountains out of small hills. If you were to view the stressor at face value and realize that there is nothing which you do not have control over, you can develop mechanisms of coping which are much more beneficial.

I will admit, sometimes we feel defeated…as if the whole world is crumbling underneath us and there is nothing that we can do about it. That is not true – there is something which we can always control and that is our way of thinking. I am not saying that you will never feel anxious or annoyed as a result of an activating event, what I am saying is that you have to remain hopeful instead of packing everything up and giving up. If one door closes, another will open; if you get kicked out of the door, find your way in through the window. We have the power to control whether we float or sink and it all begins with the way that we judge stressors.

So how do you view stressors at face value? You have to learn how to realize when your thinking is catastrophic and learn how to rationalize the irrational assumptions that cause it. In order to detect catastropic thinking, you have to realize your unrealistic pessimism for situations and the exagerations of your thinking. Just because 10$ fell out of your pocket, it does NOT mean that you will lose your house, go bankrupt, and your whole life will fall apart!! Learning how to rationalize the irrational assumptions causing catastrophic thinking involves rooting out the assumptions from which you get your conclusions. Once you figure out exactly what has lead to your way of thinking, you will see the irrationality behind it and can learn to rationalize it.

Tip Number 2: Release Built-Up Emotions

How many times have you swallowed things which made you unhappy and then one day you just blow up…and often in the wrong situation or at the wrong people? This is very natural and very common, but it is also very detrimental to your physical and mental health. Learn how to communicate your feelings, your wants, desires, and what makes you unhappy. Communication is key in reducing stress and learning how to manage stress. When you are communicating, you are identifying your stressor and it allows you to develop a plan to reduce the stressor. If you keep emotions built up for a long period of time, they will build mountains and walls inside you that you will never be able to tear down, which will in turn will reflect in your personality, your motivation, and your state of mind. Built-up emotions will cause you to feel angry, anxious, hopeless, restless, and very impatient. If you build up all your emotions and you never allow them to be expressed, identifying your stressor will be next to impossible because you will have so many competing stressors fighting for expression. So often, we build so much up that we lose ourselves in the stressors of our daily lives.

Tip Number 3: Learn to Say NO!!

How many of you have a hard time saying no? No matter what anyone asks of you, you are at their beckon and call, no matter of how much of an inconvenience it poses for you. This is not a healthy way of living because by saying yes all the time you are building up emotions of inconvenience. You know what will happen in time? You will resent the person who you feel you cannot say no to because you no longer have control of your life and of what makes you happy. You are allowing someone else to have control over your life. When you are supressed emotionally and constantly do things against your own will, your stress will eat you up faster than you can count to three.

Tip Number 4: Keep a Diary.

This is a very important step in learning how to manage stress. Every night, before you go to bed, write in a diary all that happened throughout the day. Write about what made you happy, what made you upset, and goals which you have for yourself. At the end of the week or at the end of the month, read over your diary. This is key in learning how to manage stress because very quickly you will realize that often when stressors happen in our lives we engage in catastrophic thinking and we believe in that moment that it is the end of the world. Something changes, however, when we re-evaluate the stressor days, or maybe, months down the road – the stressor which seemed like a disaster to us initially only seems very miniscule and insignificant now. Not only does keeping a diary allow you to identify your catastrophic thinking and allow you to develop a plan to judge stressors at face value, but it also allows you to communicate your emotions on the piece of paper – you are releasing all the emotions which you have built throughout the day.

Tip Number 5: Set time for Relaxation

Allow your mind to have time to recharge. Just like you can only run so far, your mind can only be pushed to a certain limit before it no longer thinks rationally. If you do not set time for relaxation and allow your mind to rewind, you will quickly develop feelings of anxiety, anger, panic, and most importantly, you will be much more likely to engage in catastrophic thinking!

You can live a stress free live with a little effort. Stress doesn't have to be a burden, we all have the power to control how we let it affect us! Come visit http://www.battlethestress.com to learn the ways that you can reduce the stress in your life!