What is stress?
Stress is unavoidable and in some cases desirable. If we do not experience some stress in our lives we become uninterested, unmotivated, and unresponsive to the many situations we are faced with in our working life, in school, college, and within our own family situations.
The difficulty for many of us is to find that optimum level of stress which will help us to perform well, feel well, and feel confident and enthusiastic about whatever situations we find ourselves in. If we are over-stressed we will feel anxious and mentally confused and we will lose the ability to solve problems effectively. We may experience symptoms such as panic, increased heart rate, and stomach churning. Added to this our thought processes may be impaired.
If we are under-stressed on the other hand we become apathetic, we lose interest, we may have feelings of hopelessness “what’s the point" and the simplest task seems huge. Feelings of boredom can set in and we may start to believe that nothing matters anymore.
The relationship between too much and too little stress has been widely researched. Do you know what stress really is? Everybody talks about it and it is extremely important that we look out for the signs and symptoms.
The following outlines the affects that too much or too little stress can have - do any of the following resonate with you?
I feel anxious; aggressive; bored; tired; frustrated; guilty; irritable; tense; lacking in confidence; nervous; or lonely.
How do I think?
- I find making decisions difficult.
- I am less creative.
- I find problem solving more difficult.
- I am forgetful.
- I am hypersensitive to criticism.
- I am disorganised.
How do you behave?
- I get emotional.
- I eat too much or too little.
- I feel restless.
- I drink alcohol more than I used to.
- I smoke.
When we experience some or most of these emotions it can affect or body, health, and our work in a negative way.
Body
- Lump in our throat.
- Numbness.
- Butterflies in our tummy.
- Blood pressure.
Our health
- Headaches.
- Insomnia.
- Migraine.
- Loss of sexual interest.
- Chest and back pains.
- Skin complaints.
- Ulcers.
Working or school environment
- Increased absenteeism.
- Poor concentration.
- Poor communication.
- Less committed.
- Less creative.
- Less job/school satisfaction.
- Loss of interest in fellow students or workers.
What can we do about stress?
Stress can mean different things to different people, it is not a “one size fits all” so we need to be careful, not to generalise. Some individuals need stress to perform at an optimum level. The key to being able to manage stressful situations is to educate ourselves and become more knowledgeable about stress.
In order to prevent our feelings, thoughts, and actions reaching an uncontrollable level there are many ways in which we can help ourselves. For example keeping physically fit. Being physically fit has a very positive physical and mental affect on how we deal with life events. We have more energy to engage with daily problems and this builds resilience whether you are a student or trying to cope with a very demanding job.
Lifestyle
Drink in moderation. If you smoke cut it out or reduce the amount of cigarettes you smoke each day. Have a good healthy diet. Eating regularly and having a healthy breakfast; many individuals have a habit of skipping breakfast. Reduce your sugar, salt, and unsaturated fats intake.
Time management
This is huge. I would have written in previous articles about how not being able to manage our time to meet deadlines and prioritise can be detrimental to our wellbeing. It is vital to make a list of what is a priority today and what can be done in the following days.
Asking for help
Whether you are a student or in the workplace it is very important to develop the skills of asking for what you want. Teachers are only too happy to help students if they are struggling with the content of the lesson or they misunderstand what is required in terms of homework. This comes with practice and the more you practice the more energised you are going to feel, and you will become more engaged with what is happening around you at every level. Likewise if you are in the workplace a very important skill is to learn to say “no” to colleagues who may be putting undue pressure on you and who make unacceptable demands on your time.
Be clear about your values and have clear objectives
You need to ask yourself on a regular basis “Am I doing what l really want to do right now and why am I doing it?” We can get carried away rushing around maybe minding everybody else’s business instead of our own. Is it serving you to be doing what you are doing right now? What value are you putting on your work, is it meeting your needs/objectives?
How to manage problems effectively
If we divide our problems into manageable pieces it puts everything into perspective and puts us in control. When we are in control we are self-empowered and self-empowered people manage their time. Knowing what you want puts you in control of your time. You start by asking yourself “am I getting what I want right now?” Very often it requires all of us who struggle with deadlines and priorities to keep a log of how we are spending our time. We can do this by logging how we spent our day, at the end of each day, and asking ourselves the following questions:
- Was there anything unusual about today?
- What return did I get from how I divided my time today?
- Did anything surprise me about the way I allocated my time today?
- Are there any changes that I would like to make for tomorrow?
- Did it serve me well today; are there ways I could have saved time today?
- Are there parts of today where I cannot recall what I did?
We need to chart our routines on a daily basis until we have identified where and if time management is a problem when we become aware of how we spend our time we can then see the possibilities for change and consequently reducing stress.
