Stress Management Benefits for Health

Stress is a spectrum. Some might experience large amounts of stress for short periods of time, others may experience small amounts of stress for extended periods of time, and every combination in between. Everyone experiences stress in their lifetime, but how they manage it is vital to their quality of life. Left unaddressed, and unsupported, the impact of stress can be significant. It may affect a person’s ability to sleep, complete daily tasks, and it can result in more concerning effects.

What is stress?

Defined as a natural human reaction to testing and difficult situations, stress can cause worry and mental tension. Triggering a person’s fight or flight reaction, stress puts strain on the mind and body. Stressful situations can occur anywhere at any time. It could be at home dealing with financial worry or at work dealing with tight deadlines.

Whilst stress is usually associated with negative connotations, some stress can be a good thing, inspiring a person to perform daily tasks with a burst of adrenaline, like getting out of bed in the morning to go to work. However, severe or long-term stress can lead to emotional exhaustion, burnout and even more severe symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

Although stress isn’t always easily identifiable, it can manifest itself through irritability, mood swings and feeling overwhelmed. The effects of stress are not only mental, but physical and can appear in the form of stomach pains, headaches, rashes and, in more serious instances, high-blood pressure and chest pains. Stress can affect all aspects of a person, even their behaviours. It can cause someone to change their eating habits, avoid social situations or increase their alcohol intake, smoke or abuse drugs.

How to deal with stress?

Stress isn’t the simplest feeling to manage, but there are methods and techniques which can help reduce the intensity of stress and effectively manage it:

• Develop a daily routine Stress can arise from feeling a lack of control over a situation. Simple practices such as having set mealtimes and regulated sleeping patterns will give someone that sense of control and give them a framework for a healthy lifestyle.

• Prioritise Assessing and reprioritising provides perspective on worries and concerns, often removing the pressures associated with handling multiple tasks. In a working sense, if there are multiple tasks to complete with set deadlines, prioritise them and then choose which to focus on and for how long. This practice can make tasks seem more manageable, lessening the stress of grouping each task into a collective.

• Sleep Sleep is vital to a healthy lifestyle and minimising stress levels. Although it can seem trivial, sleep rejuvenates the mind and body and ultimately reduces the amount of stress on a person. When sleep deprived, the effects of stress become much more prominent. Regular and healthy sleeping patterns allow time for the mind to be refreshed and give respite from ongoing stress.

• Regular exercise Focusing on a physical activity, whether it be walking or something more intensive, will help clear stressful thoughts and reduce the emotional intensity of the situation. With this clarity, issues can be reviewed more carefully and likely result in a more assured resolution.

• Socialise Meeting with friends or family provides the opportunity to talk through problems and better understand them or simply boost a person’s mood. It is a simple step to take a person’s mind off the internal pressure they are placing on themselves.

• Review your situation Sometimes, problems can appear far more pressing than they truly are. In the moment, problems causing stress can make it feel as though there is no solution. By taking a moment to review an issue, the progress made working towards a goal, it makes it easier to grasp and manage a stressful situation.

How to relieve stress quickly?

If someone is struggling with high levels of stress, and it is becoming too much, leading to possible panic and anxiety attacks, long-term stress relief solutions may not be appropriate. In certain instances, immediate relief is required. Here are some tips to manage intensive stressful situations:

• Breathing exercises Breathing is a key indicator of stress. It could be a tight chest or hyperventilating, all of which sends distress signals to the brain, further intensifying the stress. For quick relief to calm nerves, deep breathing exercises can prevent the stress from becoming overwhelming. By breathing in slowly, holding breathe in and then breathing out for an extended time, this will calm the body and mind down, providing relief from stress.

• Centre yourself Focusing on a situation rather than what is happening can bring on more stress as a person becomes consumed with stress. When stressful situations become too much, it is good to focus on the present and the surrounding environment. Focusing on sounds and smells can ground thoughts and take focus off the thoughts in someone’s head. For example, if a person is out on a walk and they are focusing on a big project at work and getting stressed, taking a moment to take in the smells and sounds of the environment can take their mind off work and the pressure they are applying to themselves.

• Cut back Cutting back on things that might be causing stress or heightening emotions can have an immediate impact in the short-term. This could be something as simple as reducing caffeine intake to slow a person’s heartrate or improve sleep or educing screentime to avoid seeing distressing news and overwhelmed by current events. Giving time to focus on yourself without distraction will help immensely.

• Don’t procrastinate Putting off a task that is causing stress or stewing on stressful thoughts can only add to the stress. Procrastinating allows time for self-doubt to intensify already stressful emotions. Focusing on and completing a task, even something as simple as doing the washing can trigger endorphins to relieve the negative feelings of stress.

• Enjoy your own time Making time for yourself is key to a fulfilling life and maximising productivity when necessary. If a person is consistently thinking about work and responsibilities without addressing their own needs and leisure, they will eventually begin to crumble due to the stress. Finding time to enjoy a hobby or activity can help a person clear their mind and refocus their priorities.

• Speak, vocalise and journal Often, problems can seem far more pressing when they are just internal thoughts. Vocalising them aloud with others, to themselves or even journaling their feelings affords the opportunity to discuss the importance of an issue and effectively address them.

• Practice mindfulness Feelings can be managed by practicing mindfulness through techniques such as meditation or cognitive behavioural therapy. Practicing these types of techniques, even for a short amount of time, can boost a person’s mood and decrease symptoms of stress.

How can an EAP help?

Effectively managing stress in a working environment is especially difficult. The stresses encountered at work can carry through to someone’s homelife, which creates a cycle of stress resulting in burnout and exhaustion.

Accessing an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) provides people with an avenue to manage stress through confidential counselling. By speaking to accredited counsellors, who are available 24/7, 365-days a year, people have access to assistance with short-term goals, issues, and provide them with the relevant support they require.

With Health Assured’s EAP, people can access the Wisdom App, which is equipped with a host of resources to assist with wellbeing, such as guides, articles, recipes and breathing methods. The combination of counselling and wellbeing support provided by an EAP allows individuals to effectively manage stress, in and out of a working environment.

Conclusion

Managing stress is not an easy task, it can take patience and effort. It is however, essential for maximising performance, productivity and potential. The negative effects of stress can weigh heavily on a person and the long-term effects can leave long-lasting damage. It is essential to find long-term solutions and develop short-term fixes to handle the stress.