8 Ways to Beat Stress
Photo by Anna King
In this first instalment of Anna’s two-part blog series on STRESS you will discover 8 ways to beat stress.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recognises workplace stress as a global epidemic, and most healthcare professionals agree that it is essential to address stress if we are committed to both preventing and managing chronic illness.
What can we do to address stress?
While exercise and diet are the essential building blocks to good health, dealing with the mental and emotional stresses in your life is central to any sustainable health care routine. However, before jumping into exploring tools for stress reduction, it’s critical that people understand more ABOUT stress. It’s not as simple as ‘stress is bad for us’, which tends to be the soundbite in most conversations about the topic.
So, let’s step back for a moment and consider Professor Ian Robertson's groundbreaking research, The Stress Test, which reveals that '... the right level of challenge and stress can help people to flourish and achieve more than they ever thought possible'.
Okay, so we don’t hear stress framed in this way very often…
The key to “turning stress into success” is to understand that stress is a perfectly normal physiological response to our lived-experiences. In other words, it’s neither good nor bad - it’s just our body doing what it’s hardwired to do. Basically, the stress response is part of the sympathetic branch of the nervous system, which stimulates a whole cascade of bodily reactions that enable us to achieve our goals (for example an exam) and deal with a psychological, or physical challenge / threat.
Key Point: This flight and fight response is useful in an emergency, or short term situation, but we don’t want this branch of the nervous system to become overstimulated. This is where we are all running into trouble, and why stress is referred to as ‘bad’.
Stress has become the dominant default mode for many people. While short term stress can be helpful, long term stress can have a devastating affect on peoples health and relationships.
The good news is that tools such as mindfulness, yoga and other relaxation techniques can be used to ‘turn on’ the other branch of our nervous system - the para-sympathetic response - which moves us from flight and fight (stress) to rest and digest (relax).
However, learning how to do this requires practice and training. Heres a few pointers…
8 ways to beat stress:
1/ Identify and manage triggers for stress, for instance diet, work overload, anxiety, lack of self- esteem, personal power issues. Use a journal to document your mood and health, as sometimes there are things in our lives that are causing us stress that we are completely unaware of. A journal can be very illuminating.
2/ Identify the difference between healthy versus debilitating stress. This will help you begin to turn stress to your advantage (stress for success).
3/ Adopt regular practices (such as relaxation, healing visualisations, yoga or mindfulness) to beat the negative symptoms associated with stress. Exercise regularly (30 mins a day will significantly help improve mental health in general) and check out a nutritionist to assess dietary tiggers.
4/ Try to get outdoors as much as you can in the morning light, as this helps to reset your circadian rhythm, balance hormones and improve sleep at night (Source: Huberman Lab)- all of which will improve stress levels and mental health in general.
5. Stress can destroy relationships with work colleagues and loved ones. So, we all have a responsibility to each other to put practices and structures in place to mitigate stress. Seek help where necessary, and remember that you have legal rights in the workplace: employers have a duty of care to prevent excessive work-related stress.
6/ Mindfulness meditation has the potential to develop self-awareness, which empowers you to meaningfully address any unhealthy patterns of behaviour that may exacerbate stress. A mindful approach to self-awareness draws upon acceptance and compassion, which often leads to more sustainable outcomes, rather than strict regimes that are often short-lived.
7/ 'Learn to let go', and move through change. Mindful meditation can help with this! One of the main sources of our suffering stems from obsessive thinking / ruminating.
Mindfulness helps us to ‘be present’ and release negative thinking. It enables us to pause and observe the mind, rather than becoming caught up in the incessant stories that rattle around our head. This can have a significant impact upon our lives. It can empower us to move forward and make clearer, more life-enhancing decisions, and eventually break the repetitive mind-body stress cycle.
Importantly, the art of mindfulness meditation can help us identify when stress is moving beyond what would be regarded as healthy stress levels to debilitating anxiety, fear / many of the symptoms outlined in my previous blog. Please note, some people with anxiety may find meditation difficult - it may initially even exacerbate anxious feelings. If this is case, it is extremely important that you work with an experienced practitioner to help you find the appropriate type of meditation tools to suit your individual needs.
8/ Put a little bit of magic back into your life! Keep an eye on what brings you meaning and enjoyment.
Benefits of reducing stress:
Increased Physical And Mental Well-being.
More Rewarding Work-Life Balance.
Revitalised Energy / Productivity.
Clarity of Thought - More Optimistic Outlook.
Confidence, Inspiration - A Renewed Sense of Purpose.
Reduced Anxiety.
Stronger Emotional Resilience.
Improved Relationships.
Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, or need further info. Always seek advice from a health care professional if you are concerned about your mental health and stress levels, and if you have any health issues check with your doctor first before starting pranayama (breath-work) or yoga.
Useful Resources and Reports: Mental Health Ireland.