Stress has a nasty habit of breaking in and controlling our lives and it feels impossible to kick it out. We’re never going to have enough hours in the day, there will always be more bills, and more chores, you and your friends are bound to fight sometimes and you struggle juggling all your commitments, that’s a lot to handle. What we need to remember is that we are in control of our own lives, simply acknowledging this sense of control id the first step in kicking stress up the butt.
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But, in reality you can reduce, prevent, and cope with the most unmanageable forms of stress by following these simple (and free) steps:
- Identify the sources of your stress
- Avoid any unnecessary stress
- Alter the situation
- Accept the things you can’t change
This all sounds very technical, but don’t stress its actually pretty simple. The first step identifying the sources of your stress is crucial, when do you feel most stressed?
- At work
- Doing housework
- Around your mother in law
- At Uni
- All of the above
Simple quizzes like this can help identify when you’re your most tense, simply fill the options with your daily routine and circle which ones make you feel the most stressed. Once you’ve identified the source of the problem, then you can start to find the solution that’s best for you.
Now, step two is a little more complicated. Obviously if you’re at your most stressed at work you can’t just stop going (unless of course your a millionaire) but for the rest of us every day folk we need to learn how to cope around unavoidable stress. Sometimes all you need is regular coffee breaks a cup of chamomile tea or something to focus your attention on that distracts your mind from unnecessary freak outs. Breathing exercises are often useful to help sooth the mind and soul and are worth looking in to. On the other hand if you feel stressed at the gym because you can’t handle crowds, go for a run instead of hitting the treadmill or aim to hit the gym during it’s slow times. If you don’t need to be in a stressful situation don’t be.
Altering the situation is pretty much what we’ve spoken about above; you need to find ways to change your circumstances to eliminate the stress from your life. If your mother in law stresses you out by bossing you around, alter that situation by taking control for yourself. It’s your life not hers, this can be translated into almost any situation if you change the situation to suit you your levels of stress will be reduced.
Finally, the fourth step is probably the most obvious, but also the one we tend to forget about. If you can’t finish the workload your boss gave you by the end of the day, you can’t do it. Don’t let time constraints or unrealistic expectations get you down, there’s absolutely no use worrying over the inevitable if you can’t do anything about it. The sooner you can accept this, the happier you’ll be.
Stress doesn’t need to be a permanent fixture in your life, kick it in the butt and take control of your life before it has the chance to get you down.
Image via elitedaily.com
