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Stress is like coffee; few work well with it, few don’t and it is part of a day’s routine for most of us. It can be easy to lose all the work you have done with yourself to deal with stress effectively. Reading about healthy coping, ways of de-stressing and facing stress in the heat of the moment can be completely different tasks, and not easy ones.
What would be your response when a goal you have been striving towards for years, faces a hurdle? Stressors can break a person. Here are the Do’s and Don’ts when faced with stressors:
Do’s:
- This can be tough, but start by finding out the reaction physiologically to the stress. What happens? Do you sweat, become nervous, faint, anger, forget? Finding out the reaction will help you understand how to work on your stressor, and in turn how your body copes with stress.
- Breathing just for 10 seconds, or even counting down from 10 to 1 can help you see the situation with clarity. What does clarity do? Clarity along with calmness will enable you to respond appropriately and not react.
- Speak to a person you trust. Speak to a person who listens to what you have to share, and provides appropriate responses. This can be a trusted friend or a professionally trained counsellor. Either way, do not be ashamed of reaching out for help
Don’ts:
- Do not let the negative voice take over in your head. Do not self-talk negatively. Be constructive with yourself and be gentle and calm.
- Do not let go of the reason that made you stressed. Forgetting is not the way to success. Remember what made you stressed and work on it
- Do not blame or act it out on others. The reason you are stressed might be the fault of people around but it is your responsibility to speak in a controlled way. This will make you more approachable and heard to.