Stress Management - a skill you can master

Stress is something you experience when you are dealing with challenging situations having less mental or physical resources at your disposal.

Stress in a limited amount is good for healthy growth and development. It indicates that something new and challenging is happening. This something new could be positive as well as negative. We experience stress from the negative instances, but also sometimes certain important positive changes can cause stress.?

A good example can be getting a promotion at your workplace. Yes, getting promoted has many benefits but it can also be challenging at times. The increased work pressure and changes in lifestyle could be stressful for some people. Learning how to deal with such challenges can prove beneficial for the individual’s overall growth and development.?

Daniela Kaufer, an associate professor at UC Berkeley, studies the biology of stress, how stress affects individuals at a biological level. Her findings reveal that moderate, short-lived stress can improve alertness and improve performance and boost memory.

Stress becomes negative only after it exceeds a certain limit. Being under stress for long periods of time can be harmful to your physical and mental health as an individual.?

If you think about it, stress is inevitable. Since life situations are constantly changing, there are many instances when you go through stressful situations. The way you deal with these stressors affects how you respond to stress.?

Think about it this way - We all lift weights when we go to the gym to build muscles. When we lift heavy weights, it puts a pressure on our muscles, it causes stress on the muscles. In that case, we give ourselves some time to relax and then continue lifting weights and taking breaks.?

In a similar way, stress leads to burnout when we don’t give enough time to rest.?

In the corporate world this can translate into simple solutions like taking short breaks after working on something for a long time. Even getting 8 hours of sleep daily is enough to help your body relax.?

In the long term, even having some vacation plans with friends and family is good to help you relax and unwind.?

Along with that, here are some specific techniques that will help you deal effectively with stressful situations -

• List down all the things you can control about the stressful situation. Research shows that when you perceive some amount of control over the situation, you are less likely to be overwhelmed by the situation.
• Remind yourself of the earlier times when you were in a stressful situation and you managed to do well. Have faith in yourself that you can deal with this challenging situation.
• Talk to the people you trust about the stress you are experiencing. Their support will help you feel better and manage the mental stress effectively.
• Exercise. Research shows that physical activity helps people deal effectively with negative effects of stress.

There are many ways in which you can manage your stress effectively. Choose the one that works the best for you.?

References -?

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_surprising_benefits_of_stress#:~:text=The%20stress%20response%20is%20designed,and%20performance%20and%20boost%20memory.