Finding the Right Stress Management Technique

Everyone can face stress in life. From school or work to interpersonal issues and mental health challenges, life can be stressful. Finding the right stress management techniques can be challenging, but it can make all the difference. Knowing what works for you to better handle life’s stresses can make it easier to handle the obstacles of life. 

How Stress Can Impact Your Physical and Mental Health

Short-term stress is a healthy and appropriate response to difficult times. Stress is a physiological and hormonal response to stressors in the environment. It is the cortisol and other stress hormones that can affect your health over time. Chronic stress that continues over time or bleeds from one issue to another can have a significant impact on your physical and mental health. This can take the form of:

• Anxious feelings
• Depression or sad feelings
• Dissociation or a difficulty fully experiencing life
• Digestive issues or stomachaches
• Substance dependence
• Circulatory inflammation
• Headaches
• Muscle tension
• Pain
• Sleep difficulties
• Weight gain or loss
• Concentration and memory issues
• Suppressed immune system
• Frequent illness
• Elevated blood pressure 
• Increased risk of stroke
• Coronary disease

Stress can also aggravate any mental health issues you already struggle with, including anxiety, depression, PTSD, panic disorders, phobias, or eating disorders. This can put to a test any coping strategies you already have. That makes it all the more important to find stress management techniques that work for you.

Common Stress Management Techniques

There are a wide variety of common stress management techniques that people successfully use to protect against and work through unhealthy stress. Not all these techniques will work for you, and some will be more helpful than others, on their own, or in combination. 

Exercise and Do Physical Activities

Physical activities like exercise, yoga, sports, running, walking, or swimming can release endorphins that can offset excess cortisol, balancing your physiology. By resetting the neurological effects of chronic stress, exercise can make it easier to deal with acute stress when it occurs.

Eat a Balanced Diet

A healthy and balanced diet can help to regulate your mood and energy levels. By prioritizing fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, and low- or no-fat dairy, you can make you body better able to process the cortisol and stress hormones your mind creates.

Keep a Consistent Sleep Schedule

If you don’t have enough sleep, it can be harder to cope with stress. Keep a consistent sleep schedule and make time to get seven or more hours of sleep per night. Developing healthy sleeping habits can overcome insomnia and make it easier to handle stress.

Rely on Social Support

Many people respond to stress by focusing down and trying to handle everything themselves. But that can make it harder to handle the challenges that create that stress. Connect with your family and close friends, asking for help when you need it. Relying on these support structures can lighten the load and reduce the stress you feel. 

Adopt Proactive Time Management Strategies

A lot of stress can come from having too many deadlines or too many things to do. If your work or family obligations involve juggling many different tasks, it can help to proactively schedule your time. By prioritizing tasks and setting realistic goals for each day or week, you can reduce the stress caused by impending deadlines and demands on your time.

Make Time for Hobbies and Interests

As you are scheduling your time, don’t forget to carve out time for the things you enjoy the most. Engaging in enjoyable activities can give you a break from whatever is causing you stress, making it easier to address the tasks when it is time to return to the issue. Sometimes, the break can even give your mind time to process what is troubling you, making the problems easier to resolve when you come back.

Practice Relaxation Techniques

In addition to proactive activities, you also need stress management techniques to respond to acute stress when it happens. It is wise to learn relaxation techniques ahead of time, such as:

• Deep breathing exercises
• Mindfulness techniques
• Mediation
• Muscle relaxation or yoga
• Guided imagery

Knowing how to use these techniques in advance can give you additional tools to respond when stress becomes overwhelming. 

Take Time Out for Self-Care

When stress is high, one of the best things you can do is step away and do something for yourself. This self-care could include a favorite meal, baths using scented oils, walks in nature, or even just brief meditation. 

Unhealthy Stress Coping Mechanisms to Avoid

Unfortunately, when stress increases, it can be all too easy to fall back on unhealthy coping mechanisms that will not help your physical or mental health, and could even make your situation worse. 

• Alcoholism or Substance Use – Many people find themselves relying on tobacco, alcohol, or controlled substances to handle the short-term impact of high-stress events. However, many such substances are addictive, and can have their own negative effects on your long-term health.

• Avoidance – Procrastination, escapism, and other avoidance techniques can keep you from facing and resolving the sources of the stress, simply putting off the resolution and allowing your stress to linger over time.

Choosing the Right Stress Management Technique for You

If you are struggling to find the right stress management technique for you, psychotherapy can help. Your psychotherapist can help you by teaching you additional techniques, and give you guidance as you experiment to find what works for you. You should be patient and consistent. Often, it is only by developing habits for self-care and adopting healthy coping mechanisms that you will be able to better face, resolve, and move past the stressors of life without allowing them to have a lasting impact on you or your physical and mental health. 

David Stanislaw is a psychotherapist with over 30 years of experience. He helps adults, teens and children with the mental and emotional consequences of chronic stress and other mental health concerns. Contact David Stanislaw to get help today.