10 Stress Management Techniques to Reduce Stress

Life is full of uncertainty and often hands us more than we can handle. So it feels like we have more reasons to be stressed than not. From big stressors to little ones, stress can take a toll on us. When we experience stressful situations, our bodies respond in different ways. Our muscles tense up, we get sweaty, our hearts pump faster, or our immune system becomes suppressed. We are designed for self-preservation, so when we are faced with a stressful situation and bodies gear up to face danger. Not a day goes by where we aren’t faced with stressful moments. So, it’s important to observe how your body reacts to stress and develop stress management techniques to effectively cope and manage your stress. Below are some stress management techniques you can try to combat stress.

Take a deep Breathe

Pausing for a moment and taking a few deep breaths is the most immediate way to reduce stress. As the supply of oxygen to the brain is increased, the parasympathetic nervous system returns the body to a state of calm.  It only takes a few seconds and is a great way to calm yourself down when dealing with a stressful situation.

Change your view

When we go through a stressful situation, we often engage in thoughts that add fuel to an already stressful situation. Instead, it’s better to move away from negative thoughts reframe how we look at the situation. For instance, we might feed a situation by thinking, “this is too hard,”  adding to our level of stress, instead we can calm the situation and change our view by thinking, “I’ll change my approach.” By changing our thought process, from a fixed way of thinking to one that encourages growth. We’re focusing on what we can do versus what we can’t do, and not feeding the stress of the situation.

Calming self-talk

The first step is to recognize there’s a voice in your head that can either feed the fire or calm us down. Once you’re aware of your inner voice, you can use it to calm the anxious parts of your brain. By repeating calming self-talk like “this will pass” or “I can handle this” to reassure yourself that you’re safe. Or by acknowledging your feeling and deciding how you will respond to the stressful moment afterward.

Get some Sleep

Everything seems a lot worse than it is when you’re really tired. On those days when you’re running on a few hours of sleep, the littlest things can turn your whole day upside down. So it’s important to ensure that you’re getting 7-9 hours of sleep per night to function at your best. And avoid getting overwhelmed and stressed.

Take a Break

When given the choice to take a break or keep working, we often feel guilty about halting our productivity for a moment to ourselves. Taking some personal time to recharge, is nothing to feel bad about. Taking regular breaks throughout the day can improve our productivity and skipping breaks can leave us feeling stressed out and exhausted. So give yourself a few minutes of quiet time throughout the day, and don’t forget to schedule time off to do the things you love.

Journal

Journaling is a calming way to let out what’s stressing you out. It’ll help you figure out what’s causing you stress and figure out what you can do about it. Whether it be taking action to change it or accepting there’s nothing you can do to change it. Either way, you’ll feel a weight lifted off your shoulders after journaling.

Yoga

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or stress yoga is a great way to get out of a negative mindset. It’s a relaxing physical activity that can lower your blood pressure and heart rate. Almost anyone can do yoga, and it’s something you can do right at home. A ten-minute yoga session in the morning, afternoon, or evening can improve your overall mood and reduce stress.

Exercise

Regular exercise not only improves our physical health but it’s also a great way to manage our stress levels. Exercise improves our body’s ability to respond to stressors. Research shows when we exercise we trigger a stress response and we allow our bodies to practice responding to stress. And it makes us more resilient in dealing with stress. So, the more you exercise, the more efficient our bodies are in responding with stress. Try to squeeze 150 minutes or 2.5 hours of moderate aerobic activity a week, or 75 minutes of more vigorous activity to not only improve your health but to effectively manage stress as well.

Eat Healthily when you’re Stressed

Don’t treat your body like a trash can, we feel stressed we tend to reach for junk food. Stress takes a toll on our bodies and can deplete our body’s reserves of vitamins and nutrients. So, it’s important to eat healthy when we are feeling stressed. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables that are high in vitamin C and drinking plenty of water is key to staying healthy and stress management.

Set Manageable Expectations

We often become stressed because we bite off more than we can chew or we think we can do better. There’s always more to do and accomplish. It motivates us to get things done, but if we’re not careful it becomes overwhelming. That desire to do more can cause you to feel unsatisfied with what you have done and you start guilt-tripping yourself. So, manage your expectations and be realistic about how much you can do in a set amount of time. One way to do this is by tracking your daily habits or goals.

Stress is apart of our everyday lives. Build up a defense against stress, by using these or developing your own stress management techniques. So you can keep stress from taking a toll on your overall well-being. What are some stress management techniques you use?

Related post: What to do When You’re Feeling Overwhelmed

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