5 steps in dealing with stress

Everyone, including adults, teens, and even children, experiences stress. It is a natural human reaction during a situation that causes anxiety.

There are two types of stress, the first is called positive stress, and it is what one feels upon preparing to present something, or maybe even event planning. The second type of stress is negative, and it is one many people feel when someone is overworked or put into an unfavourable position.

Today, we want to show you a five-step method to cope with and get the right care and support to reduce these stressful feelings and symptoms.

1. Acknowledge your anxieties

Do not continue to pretend that everything is fine. It is not a weakness to acknowledge that there are issues to address. In fact, it is an admirable trait to note and accept that something is not going the way you planned.

Even if you only acknowledge these problems to yourself as a first-timer, it is better than ignoring and allowing things to go out of control, so you should rejoice in taking this huge stride forward.

2. Do not shut yourself from the world

Perhaps you just do not want others to realise how dire your situation is, or maybe when things go awry, we just want to creep into the little, perfect illusion we created for ourselves and avoid tackling the situation at hand. While shutting yourself out from everyone else seems to be the perfect thing to do at first, it will make you feel worse in the long run.

In the beginning, you will feel a sense of relief from getting into a ‘safe haven’. However, as you do not actively tackle the situation, you let the problem fester, making it harder for you to tackle it as time goes by.

‘No man is an island’. We cannot possibly solve every single one of our stresses on our own. There are times when we need to talk to and receive help from others otherwise, we would crumble under the sheer strength of the problems we face.

3. Take a step back and look at the bigger picture

Sometimes, the giants we see in our lives are not as big as they seem. Take a deep breath first, then, using some mindful techniques, bring yourself out of the first-person narrative and look at the whole situation from an omniscient observer.

You will realise that many of the stresses you are facing stems from overthinking and going in too deep into a particular outcome that has not even occurred. In thinking of the what-ifs and if-onlys, we start stressing on situations that could occur rather than the original goal we set for ourselves.

Keep your eyes on the present, and move along as things come to you.

4. Get perspectives from others

In step two, we talked about how no one is an island. Sometimes you might feel helpless about a problem you are facing, but there might be others who have triumphed over this obstacle in the past, and who would be able to advise you on how to go about getting the upper hand in this battle.

Even if they cannot provide you with the perfect solution, bouncing ideas with someone else could give you that ‘eureka’ moment that ultimately solves the anxiety you had.

5. Take a break to cut-off from the stress cycle

When the going gets tough, it is sometimes good to take a breather and refresh yourself before coming back into the battlefield. Normalize being not okay and tell yourself that everyone needs a mini-break for your mind to reset so that the next time you return, you might be enlightened more quickly, or find a wider perspective that can help you win the fight with greater ease. This break can come in the form of a 15-minute break, with some brain workouts, or even a day off from work to get some much-needed self-care.

We hope that these five steps helped you go through stressful periods of time and if you do have any other tips you would like to share, do leave a comment below~!