5 Easy Ways to Make Your Day Less Stressful – How to Manage Stress Successfully
So, you’re stressed? Join the club. We need to learn how to manage stress successfully because if we don’t we are going to end up suffering.
This is the only guide you need on stress. Constant stress has the ability to ruin our health, lowering our immune system, and even opening the door for chronic disease. Plus, it just makes life a lot less enjoyable. Here is everything you need to know about stress and five easy ways to take a chill pill during a regular day.
What is Stress
Stress is one of those terms that you just feel, without defining. It’s being emotionally disturbed, almost as if reacting to a threat or external pressure. Stress is actually an incredibly normal human reaction to any negative event, and the body undergoes a series of biological processes in reaction.
Stress means the body is activating the sympathetic nervous system, the part of the body responsible for fight or flight. In everyday life, you’re not going to encounter a bear or need to run from a tiger. Stress nowadays is a reaction to something that is not causing immediate danger, such as work issues, relational issues, bills, traffic, etc. This causes stress to linger in the body, leading to chronic disease.
There are three types of stress, acute stress, which happens in an instant, episodic acute stress, which is multiple instances of stress, and chronic stress, which is a constant state of worry. Chronic stress, naturally, is the most dangerous and debilitating.
Common Causes
We can experience stress because of common causes. This can be due to changes, feeling pressured at home, issues at work, past regrets, or worrying about the future. The responsibility, lack of control in a situation, or pressure can cause anyone to stress. How we handle this stress is important.
Symptoms
I think we all know what it feels like mentally and physically to be stressed. However, there are some symptoms of repetitive stress that we should be on the lookout for. This includes detrimental negative thoughts, depression, panic attacks, anxiety, your ability, or fear.
We may start to notice changes in our mood, with us feeling bad just because. Some physical symptoms you may also want to look out for are aches, pain, a regular heartbeat, headaches, muscle tension, insomnia, and digestive issues. Part of these physical issues come from the inflammation that chronic stress can cause. This happens because cortisol, a stress hormone, tends to lead to inflammation.
The Issue with Stress and Health
I think the issues that stress causes speak for themselves. Stress leads to physical health issues because stress causes the body to become defensive. The chemicals that the body releases such as cortisol and adrenaline can cause inflammation if they stay in the bloodstream for too long.
When your body is in this stressed state, your body focuses on being able to move more. It decreases digestion, increases our heart rate, and prepares us to physically fight or run away. If you’re stressing over something you can’t run from or something you can’t fight, chronic stress leads to a chronic state of worry that is detrimental to both the mind and body. We have to learn how to manage stress to thrive.
5 Easy Ways to Manage Stress
All right, enough chit-chat, it’s time to deal with this stress. There’s nothing to buy, nothing to invest in, just easy, effective, and practical tips that you can use right now wherever you are. Learn how to manage stress now.
1. Be Present
Take a moment to be present in the moment. Stress can come from worrying about the future or thinking about the past. Employ some mindfulness techniques right now. This allows you to engage fully in the present moment, allowing you to gain a sense of control over your mind and body.
2. Focus on Control
In any given situation or event, there are going to be two things: what you can control and what you cannot control. It’s time for us to start focusing on what we can control. Worrying about how someone’s going to react, or anything that we have no say in, is just adding to our stress. Focusing our attention on things we can control allows us to feel more grounded and powerful. This can help you accept circumstances, manage emotions, and calm down.
3. Let Go of Perfection
We crave the need to be perfect all the time. We want to look perfect, we want to act perfectly, and we don’t want people to perceive us differently. That is not realistic or helpful. It’s time to let go of that need for perfection, understanding that you should give yourself the respect you show others. Let yourself fail, fall, get up, and try again. It’s time to give yourself space to learn and grow and change.
4. Try Neutrality Instead of Positivity
Toxic positivity is a thing and it’s not good. Positivity is not something that’s always easily within reach. On some days, it just might be harder to look on the bright side. Forcing positivity in these instances is not helpful. Instead, try neutrality.
Neutrality is exactly how it sounds, just a neutral state. Don’t focus on negative emotions but also don’t try to channel positivity. Allow a situation to just be, take time to reflect, and let go of judgment. This neutral State of mind can help calm you down. And then, from a neutral state, it’s much easier to reach positivity eventually.
5. Give Thanks Often
Gratitude can change our lives. Just look at this guy right here. Simple acts of thanks can permanently increase our baseline happiness. Take some time to focus on the little things, just tiny things that bring you joy. This can help calm the mind, reduce stress, increase heart health, and boost joy exponentially. It’s a simple yet effective way to manage stress.
The Takeaway
We all get stressed, but we don’t have to stay stressed. These are easy ways to make your day less stressful. Learning how to manage stress is essential for both mental and physical health. Best of all, these tips are free, easy, and effective.
Remember, health always comes from within. Start by eating nutritious food, moving your body, exercising when you can, and caring for your mental health. These small daily changes and habits that you start to cultivate become the foundation for a life full of wellness. Don’t forget about the health of your microbiome, too! Gut microbiota affects everything in your body, from the skin to muscles to the immune system and mental health. Get all the resources you need about microbiota health for free here!
