Education & Career Trends: April 29, 2023
Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
- Excerpts are taken from an article published on psychologytoday.com.
Most people feel stressed out now and then. In fact, stress is our bodies’ innate reaction to challenging external circumstances. Despite the fact that we link stress with a modern way of life, stress isn’t a recent development. Even our ancestors often encountered stressful circumstances. Imagine a person living in a hunter-gatherer society coming face to face with a deadly predator while picking berries. To survive, an individual would most likely choose between fighting the predator or running away to safety. This type of survival mechanism is often referred to as the fight-or-flight response.
The fight-or-flight response, when activated, gets our systems ready to cope with a potentially harmful event by making us more alert and giving us a brief energy boost (Dhabhar, 2018).
Stress may only be beneficial and effective against a temporary obstacle. However, prolonged exposure to stress may be detrimental to your health. For instance, worrying about your seemingly neverending job or school deadlines, the stack of bills on your coffee table, or your health might be harmful. Whatever the reason, becoming stressed out may sap your strength and make you even more agitated. Consequently, being aware of when stress arises and acting on it may help you manage stress with greater effectiveness.
Here are some ideas you might find useful.
1. Practicing Relaxation Strategies and Mindfulness
- Being mindful enables you to accept your feelings and experiences without passing judgement on them.
- According to research, mindfulness-based treatment can help those who are suffering from stress, anxiety, or depression (Khoury et al., 2013).
- Similar to how practising yoga or engaging in breathing techniques may help you unwind mentally and lower your pulse rate, Perciavalle (2017).
- You may practise mindfulness and other soothing exercises on your own, with a friend, or with the help of the available helpful videos and smartphone applications.
2. Connect with Nature
- Many people’s lives are disconnected from nature, contributing to their stress and anxiety.
- Even brief contact with nature and natural environments has been shown to increase positive feelings and lessen stress (Nisbet, Zelenski, & Grandpierre, 2019).
- The good news is that the majority of nature’s advantages for elevating mood may be found even in urban green spaces.
- Therefore, try spending some time in a natural setting when you’re feeling stressed.
3. Get the Right Amount of Sleep
- According to Minkel et al. (2012), insufficient sleep is associated with stress and anxiety, hence getting enough sleep may aid in stress management.
- Try limiting your caffeine intake later in the day, cutting off screen time just before bed and relaxing with meditation can help you unwind if you face difficulties falling asleep.
4. Engage in Hobbies
- Engaging in hobbies and fun activities can help you divert your attention and improve your mood.
- Doing something you intrinsically enjoy can help channel your energy productively.
- It also benefits you by helping you improve a skill, learn something new, and use your creativity.
5. Prioritise Tasks and Eliminate Multitasking
- Our minds can also focus on one task at a time.
- Multitasking shifts our attention among different tasks and this takes away your focus rather than getting more work done.
- It may ease your mind if you prioritise your tasks and entirely focus on one task at a time.
6. Build Real Connections
- We are social beings by nature, and most individuals flourish in meaningful, positive connections.
- Therefore, encircling yourself with encouraging individuals and engaging in meaningful interactions with them may help to reduce your stress and anxiety.
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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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