Exercise is a fantastic stress reliever that can work in minutes. Taking a walk allows you to enjoy a change of scenery, which can get you into a different frame of mind, and brings the benefits of exercise as well. However, dietary supplements may not be appropriate or safe for everyone. Consult a healthcare professional if you’re interested in using supplements to help relieve stress. Having a pet may help reduce stress and improve your mood.
Preventing Stress and Anxiety
Distress causes many of the same symptoms as anxiety and depression. But it’s possible to find healthy ways to cope with and manage distress. In other words, the aim is to regulate one’s emotional distress by merely altering the emotional response, which may not address the actual stressor. Some assert that emotion-focused coping can be dangerous as it is affiliated with mental health problems through behavioral problems (Yang, 2021). If arthritis or another condition make walking difficult, ask your doctor about other aerobic exercises you may be able to do. While some stress is normal and even helpful, stress over long periods can negatively impact your health.
Try these tips to ward off ongoing stress and its many health risks, such as chronic inflammation and chronic disease.
Coping skills help you tolerate, minimize, and deal with stressful situations in life. If you’re experiencing distress that interferes with your day-to-day activities, talking with a mental health professional might be a good idea. They can help you develop coping skills and work through the causes of your distress. The protective qualities of social support were recognized in the social support theory, another theory about coping with stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985). In this theory, social support is crucial for managing anxiety, because it helps ease feelings of anxiety and helps develop solutions to stressful environments. Social support is not limited to only immediate family and friends but includes colleagues and health care professionals.
Well-Being Wednesday: Tips for a healthy semester
For much of history, stress served the important purpose of motivating humans to survive. But chronic stress can be harmful to your health and has been linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, and addiction. The coping strategies that work healthy ways to cope with stress for someone else might not work for you. But you might find going for a walk when you’re angry causes you to think more about why you’re mad—and it fuels your angry feelings. So you might decide watching a funny video for a few minutes helps you relax.
- Several vitamins and minerals play an important role in your body’s stress response and mood regulation.
- Social support is an extremely effective way to relieve stress.
- “Although we often think of it as being negative, stress can also come from positive changes in your life, like getting a promotion at work or having a new baby,” says Dr. Borland.
- In addition to having physical health benefits, exercise has been shown to be a powerful stress reliever.
- Supplementing with magnesium has been shown to improve stress in chronically stressed people.
- Distress often results from a stressful situation combined with a pattern or way of thinking that prolongs feelings of stress.
- It’s also true that you may be more likely to procrastinate in times of stress as a coping mechanism.
- A small amount of stress can be good, motivating you to perform well.
- “But you need to be present and engaged in the sounds you’re hearing. If your mind is wandering to a stressful place, music won’t help.”
- It’s important to develop your own toolkit of coping skills that you’ll find useful.
- Coping skills are the tactics that people use to deal with stressful situations.
Taking time for yourself is essential to live a healthy life. This is especially important for people who tend to be highly stressed, including nurses, doctors, teachers, and caretakers. A 2022 review of research suggests that people who follow a diet high in ultra-processed foods and added sugar are more likely to experience higher perceived stress levels. You don’t need to ignore the news entirely, but it may not be healthy for your stress levels to review or absorb everything happening in the world.
Highly Effective Tips for Relieving Stress
Practicing stress reduction strategies, like music therapy, muscle relaxation, visualization, or journaling can help you manage your stress so it doesn’t take over your life. However, if you begin to feel overwhelmed by stress, it’s important to seek professional help. Mindfulness and meditation can help to reduce psychological stress and anxiety. Even five minutes of mindful meditation can help relieve stress. To practice mindfulness and meditation, sit quietly, breathe, and focus on the present moment.
- A 2020 study involving teens with symptoms of depression found that even light physical activity may improve depressive symptoms.
- But most modern chronic stressors, such as finances or a challenging relationship, keep your body in that heightened state, which hurts your health.
- Therapists and counsellors can provide strategies to manage stress and anxiety effectively.
- Distress causes many of the same symptoms as anxiety and depression.
- Take charge by joining Beverly Beuermann-King for this vital workshop and start your journey to a healthier, more productive professional life.
- Relieving a burden — either physical or mental — will help reduce stress.
- Having a pet may also help relieve stress by giving you purpose, keeping you active, and providing companionship.
Other times, such as when stress is based on high demands at work or a loved one’s illness, you might be able to change only your reaction. Walking, strength training, kayaking, hiking, and spin class are just a few different examples of ways you can get stress relief. Gratitude helps you recognize all the things you have to be thankful for. Whether you’re grateful for a sunny day or thankful you arrived at work safely, think about all the good things you have in life.
Tips to manage stressful situations
- Even essentially positive events, such as getting married or buying a house, can be stressful.
- Journaling may help reduce stress and anxiety and provide a positive outlet for your thoughts and emotions.
- Breathing techniques can calm your body and your brain in just a few minutes.