What is stress/anxiety?
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), stress may be defined as “Any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain. Stress is your body’s response to anything that requires attention or action. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way you respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to your overall well-being.”
Stress is your body’s way of showing you that you are tired and burnt out. It can lead to demotivation and a decrease in productivity. In this situation, one gets exhausted and tends to feel burnt out.
Some Signs of Stress
- Feeling of restlessness that cannot be explained.
- Feeling of isolation and failure to explain how truly feel.
- Intrusive thoughts and overthinking about everything.
- Extreme exhaustion.
How to Manage Stress:
- Get enough sleep – Create a sleep routine. Sound sleep is very important for our physical and mental health. It reduces tiredness and stress. After a sound sleep, we feel relaxed and fresh. Do not use any device before going to sleep instead read a book or take a bath. Creating a sleep routine will help you fall asleep faster and reduce the disturbance caused by unfinished tasks.
- Exercise regularly – Exercise plays an important role to deal with stress. It can improve your mood and make feel happy. 20 minutes of walking or running is enough to cope with stress. It will give your mind a chance to go offline.
- Build a social network – A social network is helpful to reduce stress and make feel happy. We become bright up when talking to a friend. This is because our body releases a hormone called oxytocin that decreases stress and instantly lifts our mood.
- Distract yourself – When you are obsessed with anxious thoughts, take a moment off. Distract yourself from that situation or particular thought. Change that place and try to be busy with other work. It will give you relief.
- Do something you love – Doing something you love makes your body release serotonin, a mood booster hormone. Do whatever makes you happy. It may be book reading, gardening, or any outdoor activity. This will help you to reduce stress and make you feel happy.
- Meditation – Meditation can be very helpful to calm anxiety- induces stress. All you need to do is focus on your breathing and close your eyes. Meditation works well if done for approximately 15 minutes every morning. It releases stress and gathers energy for the upcoming day.
- Take a Deep Breath – This is the easiest way to calm your nerves. It helps to release stress in a short span of time. Just take a deep breath in, hold it for a few seconds and slowly breathe out. This will increase the flow of oxygen in your body and help to reduce stress.
- Healthy diet – A healthy diet helps to deal with stress. A diet full of vitamins and minerals helps the brain to think effectively and consequently to fight stress-inducing thoughts. So add fruits and green vegetables to your diet.
- Go with an action plan – Make an action plan for what you have to do in near future. This will make your mind ready for what is coming activities. It also helps prioritize important tasks. This technique can calm your nerves and help you get ready for a much more productive day.
- Listen to some music – It is scientifically proven that listening to music boosts productivity and motivation. It calms down your brain. It helps decreases hormones that negatively affect our weight, immune system, and brain.
