Stress kills, but how can you effectively manage your stress when the world seems to be in chaos? A recent Gallup Poll showed that eight in ten Americans are stressed out. With situations in the world and your personal issues, it’s hard to keep your mental health intact.
There are daily stressors for everyone, no matter how much money you have or your successes. However, you must find practical stress management tips, or your daily angst could affect your health. If you need assistance in cutting the negativity from your life and getting your stress under control, then here are 20 tips that can help.
20 Effective Stress Management Tips
When life get overwhelming, try one or more of these strategies to keep yourself in check.
1. Learn to Say No
One of the hardest things for most people to learn is how to say no. If you are continually taking on more than you can handle in life, then it’s possible that you can change everything by learning the power of this simple word. One of the best stress management tips is to learn to turn down requests for the sake of your mental health.
Don’t allow guilt or a sense of obligation make you do something that you cannot possibly fit into an already crazy schedule. You owe it to yourself and your family to learn the power of the word “no.”
2. Make time for Exercise
When you hit the gym, you raise the endorphins in your body that control neurotransmitters. If your stress levels are out of control, your workout can help to boost your brain activity to help you effectively deal with your daily load. Many people could avoid antidepressant medications if they learned the power in a simple exercise routine. Exercise can do as much as any medication on the market.
3. Kick Junk Food to the Curb
You are what you eat, or so they say. What does your diet consist of each day? If you are eating processed, carbohydrate filled, fatty foods, you will pack on the pounds. Not only does your diet affect your waistline, but it also affects your mental health.
4. Make Yourself a Priority
Most people see themselves as a parent, sibling, and spouse, but they forget that they are human beings with their own needs. It’s essential to have time for yourself every day, even if it’s just 20 minutes. Those times when you make yourself a priority can change how you deal with stress.
5. Give Back
One of the hardest things to do is be stressed and feeling less than if you’re helping those less fortunate. Sometimes, lending a helping hand to those that are having a difficult time can help you to put your life into perspective.
6. Schedule Date Nights
Your spouse is an essential part of your life. If you don’t make time for each other, you will soon find that your relationship will have issues. Even though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, make sure you schedule a date night. Your partner and the relationship need this time.
7. Adopt a Positive Mindset
It’s easy to look at the world around you and become dismayed. Rather, make a vow to look at things through the eyes of positivity. You will be surprised at the changes that will occur in your life when you put on rose-colored glasses. One of the best stress management tips is that you simply keep on the sunny side of life.
Learn the 10 top reasons to embrace positivity in your life (including managing stress).
8. Use Relaxation Techniques
While you may not be able to calm the storms around you, you can learn to calm yourself. Many ancient arts are geared towards helping you remain calm when everything is going wrong. One of the best stress management tips is to take on an activity like yoga, meditation, or tai-chi can change everything.
9. Make Lists
Many people need to see their accomplishments for the day. A list can help you to stay on track as well as allow you the ability to see the things that you have done that were productive that day. Cross off those daily stressors one by one and see how much better it makes you feel.
10. Reach Out for Help When Needed
Life can quickly become overwhelming. Rather than trying to handle all that life throws at you alone, be sure that you reach out for help when you need it. A friend, relative, or therapist can help you put things into perspective. Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. Chronic stress can cause you to have ongoing issues with anxiety and depression, and both are conditions that need to be treated.
11. Get Adequate Sleep
Did you know that many people have a hard time handling life because they are not getting enough sleep? According to the Center for Disease and Control, you need between 7-8 hours of rest to function correctly. If you are not getting the recommended amounts, then it could cause your stress levels to skyrocket.
12. Turn off the Noise Around You
Some people need televisions, radios, and computer devices going to focus. It sounds crazy, but noise works for some people. However, many people become stressed just by all the gadgets and gizmos that create noise around them. If it’s helpful, then you need to unplug from technology and turn off all the things that can make stress worse.
13. Learn Calming Techniques
While learning to breathe is one of the essential stress management tips, there are other things you can do. Did you know that massaging your pressure points on your temples and hands can ease your angst? Learn a few calming techniques that can help you to get your stress under control.
14. Set Limits for Yourself
Each person has a threshold for tolerance, and only you can identify what you can take in life. Sometimes, you must set limits for yourself that include how much you can work, what you can do around the house, and how much family time you have. By having clearly defined limits on your abilities, you can help keep yourself on the positive side.
15. Call on a Higher Power
Are you a person of faith? One of the best things that you can do when you feel the weight of the world bearing down on you is to call on your high power. Praying can release anxiety and stress quicker than most things. The belief that there is someone bigger and more powerful watching over you is very calming to most folks.
16. Realize Stress Isn’t Going to Go Away
You cannot change stress, but you can change your response to it. Take each situation and analyze or process it before you react. It’s easy to jump to conclusions and handle each blow that life throws at you negatively. However, if you process the situation and try not to let your emotions get in the way, then you will find that you won’t need to utilize as many stress management tips.
17. Take a Time Out
Many employers have mental health days because they know that sometimes you just need to close the world off and be alone. There’s nothing wrong with taking a vacation by yourself or just getting away from it all. You will find that you will feel like a whole new person when you unplug and recharge your batteries.
18. Laugh Often
Did you know that when you laugh, you are doing good things for your brain? Laughing can do the same to your mental status as doing a small workout. When you’re jolly and happy, you get those feel-good endorphins flowing. Your stress hormones, cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline can all be reduced by a good belly laugh.
19. Get Out of Your Head
There are many times in life when you are your own worst enemy. It’s easy to blow a situation up to the point where it becomes something it isn’t. For instance, you may have had a bad day and had ten things thrown at you at once, and the last one may be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. See each situation for what it is and stop making it worse.
20. Use Positive Affirmations
One of the best stress management tips is to use positive affirmations to get through a rough spot. When everything is going wrong, then tell yourself things like:
*I will get through this.
*I am stronger than I know.
*This too shall pass.
*I have been through worse, and I am a survivor.
Final Thoughts on Using These Stress Management Tips to Thrive
Doctors often tell patients that they need to get their stress under control to live a long life. However, most don’t tell you how to do that, and it seems like an uphill battle. However, these 20 things can help you to smile and go about your day even though you seem to be slammed down repeatedly.
