We all have stress. From the richest, most glamorous person on the planet to the tiniest, most unassuming infant. While occasional bouts of moderate stress aren’t overly damaging, both high levels and chronic stress can lead to mental and physical strain. A recent stress snapshot by American Psychological Association showed 28% of individuals polled reported their stress levels at 8 or higher out of 10 the month prior, and 84% reported feeling negative emotions related to that stress.
Can’t shake that stressed feeling? Take a break and tour Cohere Coworking! We’d love to meet you!
Figuring out how to manage that stress is a life-long learning process, and it’s not always an easy one. The subject of stress came up during one of our recent Cotivation sessions. While discussing the emotional, mental, and physical symptoms caused by stress and exploring specific stress management techniques for one another, it came to light that in some cases the techniques used to manage stress were adding it rather than alleviating it.
Some stress management techniques can lead to additional stress through an external influence—they require extra driving time or money, interfere with appointments, or result in additional obligations. For some individuals, they can also lead to more internally based stressors—triggering feelings of exhaustion, inadequacy, or anxiety.
Tips and tricks to ease the stress of managing your stress.
Break Your Routine Intentionally
You know that sticking to your meditation usually makes you calmer or that regular exercise helps give you energy—you even enjoy your self-care routine, most of the time. Other times, it starts seeming like just another chore.
When this happens, give yourself permission to take some time off, anything from a day or two to a week or two. Choosing a specific date to return to the routine will help prevent the routine from disappearing completely.
A good way to resist the urge to fill that time with new obligations is to choose another form of self-care to indulge in during the break, something different from your other routine. Some people may choose to do something more relaxing that they can do on their own, like catching up on reading or engaging in crafting activities, while others may prefer using that time to better connect with their friends and family.
Simplify
Many of the stressors associated with stress management can be reduced by simplifying techniques or eliminating steps. If the commute to get to your class or group is stressing you out, try and find one that meets closer to you, or one that meets online. If sitting still for a 30-minute meditation makes you anxious, shorten the time to something you are comfortable with or switch to walking meditations. Individuals who manage stress by volunteering should set clear boundaries on their time to reduce the chance of over-committing.
Anticipate and Accept Challenges
There are a lot of things we as human beings should do to manage stress: eat right, use good sleep hygiene, stay active, keep in touch with our friends, think positive, and take time to ourselves. When we aren’t able to keep up with all these items, for whatever reason, we may end up with feelings of guilt and shame.
Situations that can make someone more vulnerable to stress include:
- A weak support network
- Not enough sleep
- Major life changes
- Poor physical health
- Poor nutrition
Any of these situations can make it more difficult to deal with stress and, in many cases, are completely out of your control. Treat yourself with kindness if you encounter setbacks.
Connect
Strong social connections and a sense of community are exceptionally helpful in weathering life’s big challenges. Joining a meetup group, coworking space, or online productivity group can help to expand and deepen your connections and your community.
You don’t have to attend big events or spend money you don’t have on lunches to get in a little bit of social time with the people that are important to you either. Taking a walk is a great way to connect with one another while getting in a little exercise and video messaging platforms make it easier than ever to sit face-to-face from thousands of miles away.
Another 8-week Cotivation group is starting up soon! Members of Cohere can sign up under Events on their Cobot dashboards. Non-members can contact us for a virtual or in-person tour of Cohere Coworking.
Managing stress is essential for both our physical and mental well-being. Reducing stress levels better protects us from heart attacks, staves off mental decline, and improves the overall quality of our lives. Sometimes, how we choose to manage our stresses backfires, leading to more stress instead of less. Giving ourselves a little slack, anticipating challenges, breaking up the routine, and connecting with people we care about are all excellent ways to manage our stressors without adding more.