Coping with Stress

Stress in our lives, today, is as much a reality as are computers, probably. Stress does not remain a distinct possibility, for most seem to suffer from it. And stress, it can be about anything. The deal that should worry us is that it can have disastrous effects on our mind and bodies and is nothing that should be encouraged.

There are various effects of stress on health, and they go on to affect one's performance, efficiency and mental state. Thus affecting overall health as well. It is no surprise then that coping with stress should be a learned trait and not something that should be neglected in any way.

In the story that follows we shall look at some of these techniques and provide for certain simple and effective solutions for the same that you can adopt for better adjustment in life, as well as make use of opportunities to excel at what you do.

In stress management, it is important to identify the factors that cause stress in a person. It's not necessary that one is able to identify all the factors that lead to stress. This is especially the case if the factors are not overt.

If you can't recall anything, try writing a journal so that your feelings and thoughts get recorded, and that helps you identify the factors leading to stress. Only when you know what's causing the stress can you do something about it.

If the stress factors are identified, then start devising methods to remove them or make amends to your old ways. You may be stressed out because of a person, a topic or certain activities that are causing the stress, find ways to deal with stress and bring them into action.

For example, your stress factor might be running into a lot of traffic on the way to college or work which gets you late and causes stress. Once you know this, you can simply take a different route and eliminate the stress altogether. Similarly, if there is an easy solution that can be brought into action, try doing that.

Bottling up feelings and letting them fester only leads to more stress. Handle it by talking to a person and expressing what you feel or changing the way you look at something. Learning how to manage time and giving an expression to your thoughts will eliminate a lot of stress.

Many times we put ourselves under a lot of stress simply because we expect too much from our own selves. Self-inflicted stress is tough to deal with because it's you who's causing it. Try to get the bigger picture, understand that the problems are not as blown out as you think they are and try to think positively. This will go a long way.

Sometimes you cannot do anything about a situation. You just need to let go and learn to live with it without causing any stress. It's not easy but it has to be done, or else you'll be stuck in a lifetime of grief.

While all the previous factors have to do with changing your attitude and eliminating stress causing factors, you can further this cause by adopting certain exercises that help in releasing the stress from the body and mind. Here are some effective stress relief techniques: