Stress is something that nobody can avoid forever. Stressful situations will always come up when you least expect them and they will literally destroy you mentally most of the time. If you’re not equipped with the knowledge of how to deal with these stressful situations then you will most likely crumb under pressure and lose your temper.
You’ve most likely experienced this before, since let’s be honest here, regardless of your status or who you are as a person, you cannot avoid stress forever. What you can do though on the other hand is prepare yourself mentally to be able to deal with these moments when they come. This is what this article’s purpose is. The following list will help you deal with most stressful situations and even explain to you how you can deescalate these sorts of unfortunate events from exploding in your face. So, without further ado, let’s begin with the most basic ones:
Avoid Caffeine, Alcohol, and Nicotine
This shouldn’t shock anyone, but being exposed to these “special ingredients” is never a good idea. Sure, alcohol never hurts if you’re being careful with how much you consume on a daily basis, it can even be healthy if you know how to regulate your drinking, but if you’re already dealing with stress then a bottle of alcohol is never a good idea. Take it this way: keep alcohol as a reward, not as a ledge to hold onto in a difficult time, because that ledge will soon turn into a slippering slope and before you know it you’ll be falling down the pit of despair harder than ever before.
Same goes for caffeine and nicotine. People tend to believe that caffeine does nothing bad to you since it had the ability to help you actually keep your eyes open, but at the end of the day if you rely too much on that morning coffee then you’ll soon realize the fact that you cannot function properly without having siphoned at least a couple of cups per day. Not only that, but this can also damage your teeth which will lead to even more stress.
Nicotine wise, you already know the whole ordeal. Smoking is not healthy, and even though it can be relaxing to most it should never be used as a crutch to help get past stressful situations.
Sleep more
Sleep is important, we all know that, and although we might not always have a choice about when we wake up or go to sleep, it should always come as a priority to get at least 6 hours of sleep every night. 8 hours of sleep is the best way to deal with stress, but let’s be honest here, most of the time we don’t really get a choice regarding this. So, just try your hardest to keep your eyes shut for at least 6 hours straight and you’ll see a difference in no time.
Get a diary and start writing
This is an important one as it helps you deal with your surroundings in a non-aggressive way. Write down your deepest desires, your biggest fears, your accomplishments and embarrassing moments. Whatever comes to your mind, just write it all down and you’ll immediately see a difference in your mental state. You can even try to write down letters to everyone that has angered you this week and such and burn them after you’re done writing them.
Warning: Never actually send the letters. This isn’t the plot of neither a romance movie nor a comedy. This is your life and you should treat it as such. Actually sending them will lead to even more stressful situations and before you know it you’ll be dealing with plenty more stress than before. It’s best to just bottle it up then throw all of your emotions into that diary.
Use your free time carefully
Start exercising, follow your hobbies, do whatever makes you happy. Do whatever you can so you can end the day knowing that you’ve accomplished something. Although this might sound a bit cheesy, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is always a good way to waste your time because it increases your self-confidence while also giving you a way to relieve yourself of all of that stress.
Most of the time the people that spend their days in the gym tend to waste all of that extra energy in there, leaving them stress-free for the rest of the day. It’s a great way to relieve all of that stress and the more stress-free you are during the day the more likely you are to avoid escalating any argument with anyone.
Eat healthier
Eating healthier is always a must if you want to avoid having any health problems, but it can also help you with stress reduction. This will also help you become a better version of yourself which will lead to an increased self-confidence which in return makes you better at dealing with stressful situations. It’s all pretty simple, really. You just need to realize the fact that the more you work on improving yourself the better you’ll be at dealing with uncomfortable situations. The more you deal with these types of issues the more likely you are to become better at deescalating them before they become detrimental to your own sanity.
Meditate
Meditation will always hope a stressful mind and body because it helps you focus on what is really important in life. Mindfulness will help you increase your mental range and help you develop a new perspective on life as a whole. The more you practice this mental muscle the easier it will become to keep your mind intact when a stressful situation arises. You can release all of your negative emotions right then and there and not have to throw them around coupled with accusations which lead to even more stress.
This is one of the few steps that actually provides immediate benefits if done correctly. If you fully commit yourself to this practice then you will definitely see changes in less than a month’s time. Just remember to keep a positive mindset on life and you’ll be good to go most of the time.
Find a purpose and work on it
This is a difficult step since it all depends on the person at hand. If you’re good at dealing with this sort of stuff and already know what to work on then this will come as second nature to you, but just in case, let’s explain this a bit more thoroughly. You need to find something that’s both achievable and entertaining for you to chase after. The reason behind this is the fact that you want to have to work for this, but you don’t want it to become another stress causing issue. You want it to be a game, but at the same time you need it to occupy just enough mental processing that it causes you to stop worrying about those around you and such.
Alternatively, you can also pick up a new hobby, like painting or soccer or such. Whatever it is, as long as it keeps you entertained and stress-free it’s worth every second spend on it.
Accept yourself for who you are; imperfections and all
Most of the time the reason as to why we are so stressed is because we have certain expectations that we need to reach otherwise we allow our stress to eat us up from the inside. In order to avoid this you need to stop worrying about being the best and instead accept yourself the way you are. Stop striving for greatness and instead commend yourself for being able to get this far in the first place.
It’s definitely going to be hard at first, but the process will be worth it. Stress can cause a ton of problems, including serious physical issues that we need to face later on in life as a result to our carelessness. Don’t allow these to bottle up, fix them before it’s too late.
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