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Stress is an everyday fact of life. Stress on the job, stress at work, stress over money--the list goes on. Being able to effectively cope with stress can come in handy, not only in our everyday lives, but in terms of our health and overall well being.
Stress is typically defined in terms of emotional or psychological duress. However, if stress persists long enough, physical symptoms can arise as well. Half the battle in dealing with stress is knowing the signs and symptoms. The sooner you can recognize and deal with a sign of stress, the less problematic it becomes. -
Symptoms of stress can vary depending on how you process the activities going on around you. Common signs of stress include difficulty concentrating, worry, anxiety, headaches, dizziness, irritability and trouble sleeping.
The one component all of these symptoms have in common is a tendency to think incessantly about a problem. -
Feelings of stress are most likely to occur when a person is up against something that he perceives as "bigger" than him. Be it money problems or work pressures, the stress is seen as overwhelming. But feeling stressed is about how one sees the problem, not about how big the problem is.
How we perceive a situation determines what kind of thought patterns will follow. Perceptions--or beliefs--require in depth examination; however, thought patterns are something we can change right away. Negative thoughts tend to lead to feelings of stress. Therefore, breaking a negative thought pattern is an effective way of coping with stress. -
Having a mini-arsenal of techniques can come in handy throughout a typical day. If we pay attention to our reaction to stress, we may find the clues we need to counteract it. An example of this would be breathing patterns.
Say you're on the job, working your way through a huge stack of paperwork in the late afternoon. Next thing you know, your boss is dropping another stack of paperwork on your desk that's due at the end of the workday.
Since it's not in your best interest to tell your boss what you're thinking at that moment, there's a good chance your breathing pattern changes during this interaction with your boss. Breaths have a tendency to get short and shallow when we're stressed. Deliberately taking deep breaths at times like this can redirect your body's response, as well as your thinking patterns.
In effect, how we breath tells the mind how we feel. Taking deep breaths lets the body recompose and break the usual stress cycle. Deep breaths coupled with intentional positive thoughts can redirect what is typically felt as a high pressure circumstance.
Comments
civilwrites said
on 8/18/2009 Great article! Thanks!