Let's start with the four 'A's mentioned in the previous entry about healthy coping strategies for stress management: avoid, alter, adapt, and accept.
Avoid unnecessary stress
When doing this remember that not all stress can be avoided and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed.
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| Manage your time and personal limits. |
- Set your priorities and move the tasks that aren’t truly necessary to the bottom
of your to-do list, or eliminate them when possible.
- Don't spend too much time with people who stress you out or if possible,
avoid them entirely. This is not the same as social withdrawal where
you avoid friends and people who are not causing you stress as well.
- Set your personal limits and
stick to them. Learn how to say no when you think people are demanding more than you
can handle.
- Take control of your environment. If the evening news makes
you anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but
less-traveled route.
- Avoid conversation topics that have the tendency to develop into heated arguments, like religion or
politics.
Alter the situation
If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it and figure out what
you can do to prevent the problem from presenting itself in the future.
- Plan ahead and make sure you have enough time to do important tasks, but still have time to get enough rest.
- Communicate your needs and feelings. If you have an exam tomorrow and a friend plan to drop by, tell him or her you need to study. If something or someone is bothering you, voice your feelings openly in a respectful way. Holding everything inside will likely to build up resentment while the situation remains the same.
- Be willing to compromise. If you ask someone to change their behavior, be prepared to do the same. If you both are willing to bend at least a little, you’ll have a good chance of finding a happy middle ground.
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| Communicate your needs and feelings. |
Adapt to the stressor
If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself.
- Change your point of view and look at stressful situations from a more positive perspective. If you fail at something, look at it as a chance to learn from your mistakes and do better in the future. Look at the big picture and ask yourself how important it will be in the long run. Don't sweat the little things.
- Set reasonable
standards for yourself and others. Try not to demand everything to be perfect, learn to accept things that are good enough.
- Focus on the positive things in your life: your family and friends, your own achievements and talents, including physical properties like your home. Learn to appreciate and be grateful for them.
- Avoid thinking negative thoughts, especially about yourself. Eliminate words such as 'always', 'never', 'should', and 'must' when you talk to yourself.
Accept the things you can’t change
There are things in life in which you have no power to do anything about, such as the death of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a war. Acceptance may be difficult, but it’s easier than ramming yourself against a situation
you can’t change. Learn to forgive yourself and others for the mistakes they made.
Other strategies to reduce stress
Besides the four 'A's, listed below are other ways to manage stress:
- Spare some time to relax and have fun. Try to do at least one thing you enjoy doing every day.
- Maintain a good sense of humor, including the ability to laugh at yourself
- Eat a healthy diet. Avoid too much caffeine, alcohol, and sugar.
- Exercise regularly
- Get enough sleep
