For most people, the year just began and activities are still a bit low key especially as we are just coming in from the festive season. Before the end of January though, we would be right back in the middle of work routine, family routine and/or household routine. And then anxiety sets in; but anxiety is good.
Anxiety is good? Yes, anxiety is good for us as humans because it creates balance in our system. It is a signal for us to take action when we need to; that is, anxiety is created in the human brain, spurring us to take action to correct a perceived wrong, or to achieve the best results. If we are not anxious we might end up not acting in our own best interest.
Amazing to know that being anxious is a good thing. But like the saying goes ‘too much of something is bad’, anxiety can easily become a problem. In this case, anxiety becomes a problem when it translates to stress. Been anxious for prolonged time and in continuous manner creates stress, and stress in overdose is bad for health and well being.
You know you have crossed from simply being anxious to being stressed when: you start having panic attacks, you become sad or depressed, start feeling pressured and hurried, you become easily irritable and moody, you have difficulty concentrating and making decisions, feeling overwhelmed, excessively eating, drinking and smoking or misusing drugs. For some other people it translates to physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach cramps, chest pains, and allergic reactions such as a skin rash, pimples etc.
Deal with Stress: You Have Control over the Situation
A lot of things can cause stress for us depending on the individual, type of friends we hang around and kind of work we doing. If you find yourself been constantly stressed about something or situations ask yourself: do I have control over this? If your answer is yes, here is something for you to work with.
Avoid the situation; remove yourself completely from any situation that stresses you up. This might include topics and discussions. If it involves people, you might need to avoid them. If you can’t avoid them then No. 2 comes into play.
Express yourself in an open and respectful way to that irritating colleague, communicate your concerns instead of bottling it up because if you don’t it would lead to a build-up of resentment (this is not good for your health) and the situation will not have changed.
Change routine: you have been doing it one way for so long, it is time to change. If the situation involves a particular routine like commuting to and from work, school, church, market etc., change your route. Sometimes traffic and the amount of people we meet cause voluntary stress. Changing route to a less-people-travelled one might mean more fare, but there is no value place on rest of mind.
Be assertive and compromise; when you ask someone to change you should be willing to change also. Find a middle ground.
Manage you time and program better. Have a ‘to-do’ list when you have projects you working on and also have a ‘not-to-do’ list if need be! Learn to deal with problems as they come and not let them mount till you lost control of the reign.
Also learn to say ‘No’, do not take on more than you can handle. Take control of yourself and your environment. Avoid carrying excess baggage, drop some and let them go. When you start feeling overwhelmed in your job, ask for assistance.
The same thing applies to your home, if the house shores becomes more than you can handle, source for assistance through hired helps or relatives.
There is no shame in asking for help as no one is a super-human!
Avoid the situation; remove yourself completely from any situation that stresses you up. This might include topics and discussions. If it involves people, you might need to avoid them. If you can’t avoid them then No. 2 comes into play.
Express yourself in an open and respectful way to that irritating colleague, communicate your concerns instead of bottling it up because if you don’t it would lead to a build-up of resentment (this is not good for your health) and the situation will not have changed.
Change routine: you have been doing it one way for so long, it is time to change. If the situation involves a particular routine like commuting to and from work, school, church, market etc., change your route. Sometimes traffic and the amount of people we meet cause voluntary stress. Changing route to a less-people-travelled one might mean more fare, but there is no value place on rest of mind.
Be assertive and compromise; when you ask someone to change you should be willing to change also. Find a middle ground.
Manage you time and program better. Have a ‘to-do’ list when you have projects you working on and also have a ‘not-to-do’ list if need be! Learn to deal with problems as they come and not let them mount till you lost control of the reign.
Also learn to say ‘No’, do not take on more than you can handle. Take control of yourself and your environment. Avoid carrying excess baggage, drop some and let them go. When you start feeling overwhelmed in your job, ask for assistance.
The same thing applies to your home, if the house shores becomes more than you can handle, source for assistance through hired helps or relatives.
There is no shame in asking for help as no one is a super-human!
(…. ‘STRESSING STRESS’ to be continued. Please leave a comment below and share with us how you handle stress)
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