How To Deal With Stress

Stress, it's something that everyone has. Some people say that it is the thing that keeps them going. It's that next dead line, that next project that you were supposed to start last week, it's that assignment you forgot to do.

Stress is the body's reaction to a demanding situation. There are two types of stress: positive stress (eustress) and negative stress (distress). Both types of stress can be helpful and harmful to everyone. Most people prefer having positive stress and I would be lying if I said I wasn't one of these people, but I also like negative stress. Negative stress helps me get my assignments in on time and it helps me remember which assignments I need to get done first because that is how I deal with negative stress.

 Since I already said how I deal with stress, I would like to purpose these questions: how do you deal with stress and which ways are the best way to deal with stress? In this blog post, I am going to answer these questions to the best of my ability.

Some ways to deal with stress are...

1.      TALK - communicate with your family members. Make sure they know what you have to deal with. Also, share your feelings with other people or write your feelings down. It's better to have your feelings out in the open instead of bottled inside until they explode.

2.      GET AWAY FOR AWHILE - leave the situation for a while and then come back. This will allow you to get a clear head and for you to see the whole picture.

3.      WORK IT OFF - start a physical activity/task like exercise. (If you do exercise, do aerobic exercise since, while you are doing it, your body release endorphins that make you feel better.)

4.      GIVE IN ON OCCASION - you need to pick your battles and you need to let others be right once in a while.

5.      DO SOMETHING FOR OTHERS - doing service will help you gain perspective on your problems. It will help you realize that there are other people out there that have it harder than you do. Also, it will make you feel better about yourself too.

6.      TAKE ONE TASK AT A TIME - prioritize which tasks are the most important and get those tasks done first. It will seem to make your list of things to do shorter.

7.      AVOID A SUPER PERSON IMAGE - you need to realize that you aren't perfect and that you will be no better than adequate in some areas. You also need to realize that the process of doing something is more important than what the outcome will be.

8.      BALANCE WORK AND RECREATION - you need to make time for work and fun each day. "Play is a vital ingredient in developing a healthy self." You need to find ways to enjoy all that you do so that you can have less stress.

9.      RELAXATION - you can do yoga, take deep breaths, and watch clouds go by to get more relaxed. Spending a small amount of time to do these things will make a big difference in your normal routine.

10.  LAUGHTER - it's a tremendous stress reliever that makes your mind and body healthier.

11.  SLEEP - most people know that teenagers need to get 8 to 10 hours of sleep at night, but they don't know that if those same teenagers go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time, they will perform better than if they went to bed and woke up at different hours.

Here is a simple acrostic poem that can help you remember all these ways to deal with stress.

H old on with a positive attitude

One thing at a time

Write your feelings down

Take time for yourself

One deep breath

Decided what things need to be done first

Express what you are dealing with each day to your family

Ask for help

Leave, and then come back

Work can equal fun

Invite laughter into your daily life

Try to avoid a super person image

Have fun too

Sleep for 8 to 10 hours

Try to go to bed and wake up at the same time

Remember you’re not perfect

Evaluate what is causing you stress, then eliminate that stressor

Spend time exercising

Small steps at a time can lead to big differences

Why do you want to deal with stress? You want to deal with stress because stress increases the release of cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine. It increases glucose, heart rate, blood fats, blood pressure, contractility of the heart, cardiac output, and your body core temperature. It also reduces your protein stores and your white cells and it causes copious sweating. All in all, you want to deal with stress because it can make you become ill quicker and it can cause your body to become exhausted quicker than usual.

I hope that you guys will use this information to help you deal with stress better and to be able to use your time just a little bit wiser. See you guys next week!