21 Best Ways for Stress management with Best Exercises for Relieving stress

“The Anxiety and Stress Era” has been coined for the twentieth century. Some 75% of diseases are said to be stress-related for e.g., hypertension, heart disease, gastric ulcers, migraine, ulcerative colitis, etc. Stress-related mental diseases are seen regularly. People are paying a lot of money to receive a prescription for tranquilizers to help them relax. Many relaxation centers have sprung up to provide relief to the stressed.

Definition of Stress and Stressor:

Stress is an internal state which can be caused by physical demands on the body (e.g., illness, extreme temperature, exercise, etc) or by environmental and social situations, which are evaluated as potentially hazardous, uncontrolled, and outstripping our ability to cope.

The physical, environmental and social causes of stress are referred to as stressors. Once encountered by a stressor, it may lead to a number of physical and bodily responses. On the other hand, it can precipitate psychological responses like anxiety, hopelessness, depression, fatigue, irritability, etc.

Types of Stressors / Causes of stress:

Stress can be brought on by a multitude of factors. They range from physical illness to financial difficulties, job changes, strained relationships, the death of a loved one, and social settings. All of these stressors can be categorized into the following categories:

1) Emotional stressors 

What will happen in the future? What if I lose my job? What will happen to my child’s future? What if I fall ill? These are all examples of emotional stressors. Emotional stressors include excessive anger, hostility, melancholy, hopelessness, irritability, and mood swings, to name a few.

2) Family stressors

A source of stress can be a changing family structure’s relationships. It can be stressful to have strained relationships with blood relatives, children, parents, and offers. For some, having a newborn, an adolescent, an aged parent, or grandparent might be stressful.

3) Social stressors

For certain people, interacting with others in society can cause social stress. Any significant shift in an individual’s social status might cause social stress.

4) Change stressors

Any alteration in their well-defined schedule might be stressful for some people. For others, living a routine existence with little variation can be stressful. Change usually necessitates a readjustment. Many of us are apprehensive about making changes and can become stressed as a result.

5) Chemical stressors

Alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine are examples of such substances. We may consume an excessive amount of drink or smoke, causing physiological changes that lead to stress.

6) Work stressors

Workplace stressors include work environment, occupation, work pressure, and job responsibility, all of which contribute to work-related stress. Work stress is more likely to occur in occupations with higher job duties, strict deadlines for completing tasks, excessive supervision, output-based compensation, and irregular working hours.

7) Decision stressors

Making decisions can be a difficult experience for some people. Some people feel it very confusing while making any decision. They doubt whether they are making the decision right or not. What if anything bad happens due to their decision.

8) Commuting stressors

People expend a lot of energy, time, and money commuting long distances to work. To get to work on time and during rush hour, they may drive erratically, resulting in physical exhaustion. Some people find commuting to be more demanding than working, resulting in commute stress.

9) Disease stressors

Disease-related stress can occur in both long-term and short-term patients. Chronic disorders such as headaches, arthritis, asthma, allergies, ulcers, hypertension, diabetes, and dermatitis, among others, induce disease stress, which makes a person irritable and susceptible to occasional outbursts.

10) Pain stressors

Pain stressors include aches and pains from new and old injuries, accidents, and diseases. Chronic pain causes a reduction in physical and social activities, resulting in isolation and lethargy.

Symptoms of Stress:

Stress can have an impact on various aspects of life that include behavior, cognition, emotions as well as physical health. Though stress will have a different effect on different individuals and each individual will react to stress in a different way, there are certain symptoms that can be related to stress. These are discussed as follows:

Physical symptoms:

The physical symptoms of stress include low levels of energy, stomach upset, headaches and migraines, pain and aches, chest pain, rapid heartbeats, lack of sleep, dryness in the mouth, experiencing tension in muscles, frequent infections, and so on.

Emotional symptoms:

The emotional symptoms include displaying frustration, getting irritated or agitated easily, feelings of worthlessness, feeling lonely, and even depression.

Psychological symptoms:

The cognitive symptoms related to stress include worrying constantly, experiencing racing thoughts, lack of organization in thinking, forgetting, not being able to focus, lack of judgment or poor judgment, and also pessimism.

Behavioral symptoms:

The behavioral symptoms of stress embody deterioration in performance effectiveness, indulgence in substance use, susceptibility to accidents, nervous mannerism, poor time management, displaying checking rituals, changes in inappetence, procrastination, consumption quicker, even talking or walking quicker, impaired speech than on. Thus, the symptoms of stress can be categorized into the above main four categories, but it is to be remembered that individual differences do exist in the symptoms displayed by different individuals.

How to manage stress?

Recognizing the sources of stress, how it affects you, and finding strategies to master or control it is all part of managing or coping with stress. The key to managing stress and assisting adolescents in leading a meaningful and socially useful life is early detection. In this regard, a pragmatic strategy is required, in which adolescents, parents/teachers, counselors, and the community all play a positive role.

Following is a list of methods you can inculcate in your routine to manage stress. By following a few basic recommendations, we may help ourselves and live a stress-free life:

1) Think positively

Positive thinking boosts self-esteem and improves our ability to digest information quickly. It instills optimism by providing us the impression that we have control over our surroundings. People who have a positive attitude on life live 19 percent longer than those who have a pessimistic outlook.

2) Be aware of yourself

Accepting yourself for who you are is the key to having strong self-esteem. Do not judge or feel sorry for yourself. You are a one-of-a-kind and exceptional work of art, just like everyone else. Determine your advantages, disadvantages, opportunities, and dangers. Continuously improve your strengths and opportunities while eliminating your shortcomings and threats.

3) Share with a person in whom you have faith

Remember that sharing twice the pleasure while halving the challenges! Tell someone you trust about your feelings, fears, tensions, and even secrets. To maintain confidentiality and avoid exploitation, he or she should be a well-known and trustworthy individual.

4) Reflect Stress and Its Control

Examine the circumstances/situations and tensions in your life (i.e. the factors causing stress). To disconnect these buttons, you must first figure out “what pushes your buttons.” It could be a person, a circumstance, or even just a concept!

5) Recreation must be a rule

Make an effort to strike a balance between work and leisure activities in order to avoid burnout. The tension is destructive. Plan and participate in more events with your family and friends. Taking a walk, playing games, or watching TV before your examinations should all be part of your routine!

6) Learn how to relax

Slowing down is a skill that must be learned. Remember, nature also aids in the slowing down process in a stressed person with ailments, heart attacks, and more accidents! 

Make sure you get enough rest. Sleep is nature’s all-natural remedy for stress and exhaustion. A good night’s sleep relaxes you and helps you prepare for tomorrow’s challenges. Vacations with your family/friends on a regular basis renew you.

7) Make physical activity a routine

Exercising both the body and the mind refreshes and relaxes the body and mind. They help to improve blood circulation and muscle tone. Walking, bicycling, swimming, jogging, and playing outside games have all been shown to reduce stress.

8) Yoga and meditation can be really beneficial.

Yoga and meditation can be extremely beneficial. Yoga and meditation promote mind control and, as a result, body-mind harmony. The ability to focus one’s thoughts promotes self-awareness and allows one to examine one’s desires, objectives, and ambitions in a practical rather than a dreaming environment.

Yoga, through a combination of breathing, stretching, and balancing tries to achieve a union of body, mind, and spirit.

Read More, Try these Mantra Meditations for Stress Relief

9) Develop readily attainable goals

Goals are declarations of what you intend to accomplish. Successful people always set their goals. These will have to be developed in stages. Following is an example: 

1. Long-run Goals – provide you with a way of direction | E.g. To become a Doctor
2. Short-Term Goals – deliver a sense of accomplishment on a regular basis.| E.g. Getting through the Pre Medical Test
3. Objectives– tell you the specific requirement | E.g. Passing twelfth category exams (with Biology) with sensible proportion 

It is not necessary for everyone to achieve the same level of success. Satisfaction is a very personal and subjective matter. You have to create your own limit of satisfaction. The competition does not have to be a self-destructive process.

10) Develop hobbies and learn something new.

Having hobbies enriches one’s life. Developing a sense of taste and mastering abilities in poetry, literature, music, and painting, for example, gives you a sense of accomplishment. Make a self-improvement plan to learn something new in a set amount of time.

11) Be assertive.

Assertiveness is the ability to avoid confrontations by respectfully asserting your rights while still respecting the rights of others. It avoids inconsistencies and hostility. The underlying idea is that you have the right to make a request, and the other person has the same right to accept or reject your request. You must learn to politely decline fresh possibilities and demands from others that enhance your tensions and fears. e.g., an admirer asks you to smoke and you wish to mention “no!” 

12) Enroll in personality development workshops

These programs teach you strategies that will help you get out of blinds and blues in your life.

13) Learn life skills

Life Skills are the abilities that inculcate positive and adaptive behavior in us so as to face the opportunities and challenges of life effectively. Many national and international organizations are conducting workshops on life skills.

14) Avail Guidance and Counseling Services

You should not be apprehensive about utilizing these services. They clear the fog of confusion and enable us to make healthy decisions. 

15) Talk out your troubles. 

Learn to discuss your concerns with someone you can trust. It relieves stress, makes you feel better, and can even help you see a different perspective on your problem. If you find yourself becoming consumed with an emotional issue, don’t let it get in the way of your life. The staff at Counselling Services is ready to listen to you. Learn to distance yourself. Stop and lift yourself, “Is this one factor terribly valuable to fight for?” 

16) Don’t fight the inevitable. 

Accept what you cannot change.

17) Stress Diary

We can track stress reactions and the circumstances that lead up to them by keeping a stress journal. This will aid in the detection of stressors that cause stress reactions. For example, you may notice that you have a headache every time you are late. By removing the stressor (for example, being late), you may be able to eliminate the stress reaction (i.e., a headache).

18) Humour

Laughter is a great stress-reducer.

19) Have fun

Make it a habit to do something you enjoy on a regular basis.

20) Learn to pace yourself. 

You can’t always be in high gear, no matter how hard you try. While working, take breaks. Set attainable goals for yourself, and then reward yourself once you’ve achieved them.

21) Aromatherapy

Using essential oils or lighting a scented candle might help you relax and feel less stressed. Some smells are very relaxing. Here are a few of the most soothing aromas: 

1. Vetiver
2. Bergamot 
3. Roman Chamomile
4. Lavender 
5. Rose

Also, read Amazing Benefits of Essential Oils

Exercises for relieving stress:

A good physical workout might help you relax. Find something you enjoy doing and will continue to do on a regular basis. Walking can be as easy as walking or as difficult as racquetball. Exercise can help us cope with stress by reducing anxiety and depression, reducing muscle tension, and temporarily distracting us from our worries. Follow these Stress management exercises:

1. Walking

Many stress-related diseases, like disorder, high-pressure level, cholesterin, and sort of polygenic disease, are often reduced by walking.

People who walk day by day report lower stress levels and loads of assurance as a result of taking a full life role in their health. 

2. Dancing

Dancing provides various physical, mental, and emotional blessings. It is a wondrous exercise that will increase your vital sign, make you grace and make mood light. 

3. Yoga

It’s beneficial to your physical health and flexibility, as well as your ability to enter a contemplative state.

4. Cycling 

Cycling has been shown to lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels in the body, which can interfere with a night of peaceful and deep sleep. It also promotes the production of serotonin, which might help you sleep better. Cycling can also assist to balance your circadian rhythm, which can enhance your sleep patterns.

5. Moderate exercises 

Remember that you don’t have to join a gym to get in shape. Take a dog for a walk, try body-weight exercises, or watch a yoga DVD at home.

Read More, Best Relaxing Music for Relaxation and Relieve Stress

These are the best Stress management ways to relieve stress and make you feel more confident. Everyone has these phases of stress in their life and they fight with it their own ways. So, you are not alone and never feel guilty. Find some help from trustworthy people and fight. After every night there is a morning. Recognise your stress element and work on them. You will surly get out from it.

I hope this article on stress management will help you in best possible ways. Do share your thoughts with us in comment section.