New strategies for stress management
Is stress inevitable? Some may say yes and some may say that it does not affect them, but the point of this article is not to avoid stress, but to accept that it is inevitable and challenge what you do about it. We can all agree that we get too caught up in work at times. We can all develop new stress management habits that do not rely solely on acquiring tangible things. Focus within ourselves to improve ourselves.
According to the mental health organisation in the United Kingdom, 74% of UK adults have felt so stressed at some point over the last year they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. Stress can do so much harm to our body either short term or long term and it is not healthy! Especially now that we’ve developed so much anxiety due to the pandemic.
New stress management tips:
- Plan – research by Robert Epstein has revealed that stress can be managed through planning. How? You can start your day by making your daily checklists, taking action by organising your weekly activities so that you won’t be lost when handling multiple jobs.
- Values – if you know that something could be stressful, reassess your values. This will help you reflect on how much you value yourself and/or your strengths.
- Self-Affirmation – nothing beats reminding yourself that ‘you got this!’ Telling yourself that you can do it with your capabilities would help you boost your self-esteem to finish a task.
- Forgive yourself- practice letting go of things you know you can’t achieve or you know you can’t control. Forgiveness can come in simple situations like if you’re stuck in a traffic then some car cuts you off, instead of being angry, calm yourself and let it go. Don’t waste your energy on stressing over the small things.
- Be grateful – being grateful for things you receive can actually alleviate stress especially when facing troubling emotions. You can list down things you are grateful for each night and give an explanation on why you believe they happened to you.
