Stress Management
We all experience stress in our lives. Because the vast majority of health
problems are caused or influenced by stress, it's important to understand how
stress affects your body and learn effective stress management techniques to
make stress work for you rather than against you.
What Is Stress?
Stress is your body’s response to changes in your life. Because life involves
constant change—ranging from everyday, routine changes like commuting from
home to work to adapting to major life changes like marriage, divorce, or death
of a loved one—there is no avoiding stress.
Your goal shouldn't be to eliminate all stress but to eliminate unnecessary
stress and effectively manage the rest. There are some common causes of
stress that many people experience, but each person is different.
Causes
Stress can come from many sources, which are known as "stressors." Because
our experience of what is considered "stressful" is created by our unique
perceptions of what we encounter in life (based on our own mix of personality
traits, available resources, and habitual thought patterns), a situation may be
perceived as "stressful" by one person and merely "challenging" by someone
else.
Simply put, one person's stress trigger may not register as stressful to someone
else. That said, certain situations tend to cause more stress in most people and
can increase the risk of burnout.
For example, when we find ourselves in situations where there are high
demands on us but we little control and few choices, we are likely to experience
stress. We might also feel stress when we don't feel equipped; where we may be
harshly judged by others; and where consequences for failure are steep or
unpredictable.
Many people are stressed by their jobs, relationships, financial issues, and
health problems, as well as more mundane things like clutter or busy schedules.
Learning skills to cope with these stressors can help reduce your experience of
stress.
Hosted by Editor-in-Chief and therapist Amy Morin, LCSW, this episode
of The Verywell Mind Podcast shares what to do when financial stress is
impacting your mental health. Click below to listen now.
Effects
Just as stress is perceived differently by each of us, stress affects us all in ways
that are unique to us. One person may experience headaches, while another may
find stomach upset is a common reaction, and a third may experience any of a
number of other symptoms.
While we all react to stress in our own ways, there is a long list of commonly
experienced effects of stress that range from mild to life-threatening. Stress can
affect immunity, which can impact virtually all areas of health. Stress can affect
mood in many ways as well. Creating a stress management plan is often one
part of a plan for overall wellness.
If you find yourself experiencing physical symptoms you think may be related
to stress, talk to your doctor to be sure you are doing what you can to safeguard
your health. Symptoms that may be exacerbated by stress are not "all in your
head" and need to be taken seriously.
Stress Management
Stress can be effectively managed in many different ways. The best stress
management plans usually include a mix of stress relievers that address stress
physically and psychologically and help to develop resilience and coping skills.
7 Highly Effective Stress Relievers
Use Quick Stress Relievers
Some stress relief techniques can work in just a few minutes to calm the body's
stress response. These techniques offer a "quick fix" that helps you feel calmer
at the moment, and this can help in several ways.
When your stress response is not triggered, you may approach problems more
thoughtfully and proactively. You may be less likely to lash out at others out of
frustration, which can keep your relationships healthier. Nipping your stress
response in the bud can also keep you from experiencing chronic stress.
Quick stress relievers like breathing exercises, for example, may not build your
resilience to future stress or minimize the stressors that you face. But they can
help calm the body's physiology once the stress response is triggered.
5 Ways to Calm Down Quickly When You Feel Overwhelmed
Develop Stress-Relieving Habits
Some techniques are less convenient to use when you are in the middle of a
stressful situation. But if you practice them regularly, they can help you manage
stress in general by being less reactive to it and more able to reverse your stress
response quickly and easily.
Long-term healthy habits, like exercise or regular meditation, can help to
promote resilience toward stressors if you make them a regular part of your life.
Communication skills and other lifestyle skills can be helpful in managing
stressors and changing how we feel from "overwhelmed" to "challenged" or
even "stimulated."
Healthy Lifestyle Habits to Minimize Stress
Eliminate Stressors When You Can
You may not be able to completely eliminate stress from your life or even the
biggest stressors, but there are areas where you can minimize it and get it to a
manageable level.
Any stress that you can cut out can minimize your overall stress load. For
example, ending even one toxic relationship can help you more effectively deal
with other stress you experience because you may feel less overwhelmed.
Discovering a wide variety of stress management techniques, and then choosing
a mix that fits your needs, can be a key strategy for effective stress relief.
Stress FAQs
There are a number of common questions that you might ask about stress and
stress management.
Is All Stress Harmful to Health?
There are several different types of stress, and not all are harmful. Eustress, for
example, is a positive form of stress. But chronic stress has been linked to many
serious health issues and is the type of negative stress most often mentioned in
the news.1 While we want to manage or eliminate negative stress, we also want
to keep positive forms of stress in our lives to help us remain vital and alive.
However, if we experience too much stress in our lives, even "good" stress can
contribute to excessive stress levels, which can lead to feeling overwhelmed or
having your stress response triggered for too long. This is why it is still
important to learn to relax your body and mind periodically and cut down on
unnecessary stress whenever possible.
How Good Stress Can Add Excitement to Your Life
How Can I Tell When I’m Too Stressed?
Stress affects us all in different ways, not all of which are negative. In fact, the
stress of an exciting life can actually serve as a good motivator and keep things
interesting. When stress levels get too intense, however, there are some stress
symptoms that many people experience.
For example, headaches, irritability, and "fuzzy thinking" can all be symptoms
that you’re under too much stress. While not everybody who’s under stress will
experience these specific symptoms, many will.
If you find that you don't realize how stressed you are until you are
overwhelmed, it's important to learn to notice your body's subtle cues and your
own behavior, almost like an outside observer might. To notice how your body
is reacting to stress, you can try this body scan meditation (it helps relax at the
same time).
What Can I Do When I Feel Overwhelmed?
We all feel overwhelmed from time to time; that’s normal. While it’s virtually
impossible to eliminate times when events conspire and the body’s stress
response is triggered, there are ways that you can quickly reverse your body’s
reaction to stress, buffering the damage to your health and keeping your
thinking clear, so you can more effectively deal with what’s going on in the
moment.
How to Take a Break From Work (and Why You Need It)
Is There a Way to Be Less Affected by Stress?
By practicing regular stress management techniques, you can eliminate some of
the stress you feel and make yourself more resilient in the face of stress in the
future. There are several things you can try, ranging from a morning walk to an
evening journaling practice to just making more time for friends. The trick is to
find something that fits with your lifestyle and personality, so it’s easier to stick
with.
