Let’s briefly look at the two main types of stress and what we can do to manage our stress without resorting to harmful substances that can lead to dependency and addictions.
1) Eu-stress is a positive influence which can help compel us to action and it can result in a new awareness. We all thrive under a certain amount of stress as positive stress adds anticipation and excitement to life. Deadlines, competitions, confrontations and even our frustrations and sorrows add depth and certain enrichment to our lives.
2) Dis-tress is a negative influence which is responsible for creating feelings of distrust, rejection, anger and depression, and in turn it can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke.
The funny thing is that too much stress (either Eu-stress or Dis-stress) is bad for our health and it impacts us in many ways like creating unhappiness, anxiety and depression. So when this happens, we need to have some tools to safely manage stress as opposed to turning to ‘magic pills’ like medications, drugs or alcohol as outlets to make your worries disappear.
There are a number of simple things we can do to manage harmful stress without resorting to drugs or other addictive means. Thing like getting out of the environment that is contributing to the problem, changing our mood with exercise, food, getting out into the sunshine, swimming in the ocean, going for a walk out in nature, or by going to see someone with whom you can laugh with and put things into perspective.
But the ultimate goal is not to eliminate stress but to learn how to manage it and it is about having an optimal level of stress which will motivate us. We all are individual creatures with unique requirements. Sometimes what is distressing to us may be a joy to another and as a result, we are likely to differ in our physiological and psychological responses to it.
We can manage stress by identifying distress and being aware of how its effect our life, however, this is not sufficient in reducing its harmful effects. Just as there are many sources of stress, there are also many ways to manage it, including changing the source of stress and/or changing our reaction to it.
To help you understand and breakdown how you can manage or change how you react to pain here are some powerful questions to work through you see stress is a reaction triggered by our perception of danger which includes physical danger and/or emotional danger, these questions will help you.
- Are we viewing our stressors in exaggerated terms and/or taking a difficult situation and making it a disaster?
- Are we expecting to please everyone?
- Are we overreacting and viewing things as absolutely critical and urgent?
Tips
Work at adopting more moderate views. Try to see the stress as something we can cope with rather than something that overpowers us.
Put the situation into perspective. Do not labour on the negative aspects and the “what if’s.” I know it can be difficult but this is not going to help you and you can’t change the past.
Slow, deep breathing will bring heart rate and respiration back to normal. Relaxation techniques can reduce muscle tension. We can gain voluntary control over such things as muscle tension, heart rate, and blood pressure. Learning to moderate these reactions on our own is a preferable long-term solution. Click here for a tool to help you with this.
There are many tools available that will aid you to take control, I can honestly say from personal experience you are able to take control of your emotions and being in control is where you will find happiness, true happiness.
If you would like to know more about taking your life back click here to book in for a free consultation to find the right tool for you.
