Managing Stress for Health and Well Being
The physical and psychological effects of stress can be dramatic. Coping with stress requires a careful look into the causes and developing practical ways for managing stress.
In our busy world, it’s almost impossible to avoid stress. These days women have so many responsibilities and it seems like those responsibilities multiply every day. The key is not to avoid stress but rather to equip ourselves with tools to help us deal with stress in a healthy way.
Dealing with stress is not easy, especially when you’re overwhelmed emotionally. Scientific studies show that serious health problems result from long-term exposure to stress. Managing stress for health and well being is achievable when you have an approach that is rooted in education and a workable plan of action.
The Effects of Stress
When your body’s stress system is consistently operating in emergency mode, it becomes easy to set off and harder to shut down. A constant dialogue occurs between your mind and body, affecting the functioning of each, especially your heart. Over time, depression, anxiety, heart disease, high blood pressure, or premature aging may be knocking at your door.
Managing Stress
Believe it or not, all stress isn’t bad. In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress can be beneficial in manageable amounts and can serve as motivation in some instances. Small amounts of stress motivate you to perform better in all aspects of your life. This is the type of stress that sharpens your senses, invigorates you, and drives you to accomplish your goals. The challenge is to know and understand your limits for stress and develop the skills needed to handle it effectively. A good stress management program can help.
Managing stress is a very personal activity. Some of the personal factors that come into play are:
- your outlook and attitude about your life
- your emotional maturity and intelligence
- the status of your relationships with others
These factors differ from person to person and influence the effectiveness of coping with and managing stress. In this case, an individual stress management program may be the answer. The more you know about the options and information available to you for stress management, the sooner you will be able to control your response to stress.
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Educate Yourself on Managing Stressors
It is very important to understand that stressors can be external and internal. External stressors come to you from the outside (job stress, financial stress), while internal stressors come from within you (emotional, worrying). The important distinction is that you have control over internal stress, and you can change your response to reduce the harmful effects.
Educating yourself on the signs and symptoms of chronic stress will help you to identify the possible sources. Then you can start to implement changes to the way you react to stressors and limit the amount of stress in your life. The road to health and well-being can be long and winding, but managing stress can take just minutes a day.
Developing healthy habits to deal with stress can add years to your life. Of course, it takes some planning, but a little planning goes a long way! Living a healthy lifestyle never happens by accident, so start incorporating some of these healthy habits right now:
- exercise
- meditation
- music
- journaling
In summary, the harmful effects of stress can be diffused and managed by blending in some healthy habits and practical techniques. Knowing and understanding the causes of stress in your life enables you to stop or prevent chronic stress by approaching stress management with a solid plan of action.
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