How to Manage Your Stress: 6 Steps to Get You Started
written by Joanne Delmonico, 2014
At the root of much of our physical and emotional discomfort is stress. The ancient “Fight or Flight” response served us well and protected us from the dangers that existed thousands of years ago. However, our bodies haven’t evolved past that yet, and the surging of stress hormones is wreaking havoc with our health and happiness.
The Chopra Center defines stress as anything that creates an obstacle to the fulfillment of our desires. If you are suffering from the effects of the stress in your life, it’s time to take the first steps toward healing your body, mind, heart, and soul. It all starts with increasing your self-awareness...
Step 1: List your reactions while under stress (include your physical sensations, emotional feelings, and behaviors and actions).
Here are some questions to jumpstart your thinking:
Step 2: List your stress triggers at work.
Step 3: List your stress triggers at home.
Step 4: Review both lists. For each item, ask this question: Is this something that I can control?
Write “yes” or “no” next to every stress trigger on your lists. Next, separate your stress triggers into two columns with these headings:
Step 5: For each of the Stress Triggers that you CAN control, list the possible behaviors you can change and/or actions you can take to eliminate that cause of stress.
Here are a couple of my personal examples:
Step 6: For each of the Stress Triggers that you CANNOT control, list how you can change your perception by thinking about it differently.
Once you stop trying to control that which is beyond your control, you will feel free from the stress that it previously caused.
For example:
By following these six steps, you will increase your self-awareness of how and why you are experiencing stress and some proactive ways to deal with it. Self-awareness leads to self- empowerment! You CAN take this deeper knowledge of yourself and MAKE A CHOICE to change your behaviors, actions, and thought processes in a positive way to improve your health and happiness!
This is the first in a series of articles on stress management. In the next article, I will explore the keys to health and happiness... nurturing a healthy body, a creative mind, a loving heart, and a peaceful soul. Go to next article...
written by Joanne Delmonico, 2014
At the root of much of our physical and emotional discomfort is stress. The ancient “Fight or Flight” response served us well and protected us from the dangers that existed thousands of years ago. However, our bodies haven’t evolved past that yet, and the surging of stress hormones is wreaking havoc with our health and happiness.
The Chopra Center defines stress as anything that creates an obstacle to the fulfillment of our desires. If you are suffering from the effects of the stress in your life, it’s time to take the first steps toward healing your body, mind, heart, and soul. It all starts with increasing your self-awareness...
Step 1: List your reactions while under stress (include your physical sensations, emotional feelings, and behaviors and actions).
Here are some questions to jumpstart your thinking:
- What are the signs and symptoms that indicate you are experiencing stress?
- What do you notice about yourself physically and emotionally when feeling stressed?
- What behaviors do you think your colleagues at work notice?
- What do your loved ones and friends notice about you when you are stressed?
Step 2: List your stress triggers at work.
- Are you struggling with deadlines, your own or your boss’s high expectations, demanding customers, and/or conflict with colleagues?
- What other issues at work are causing difficulty and perhaps some anxiety?
Step 3: List your stress triggers at home.
- Are you feeling the pressure of managing your finances, coordinating schedules, household chores, and/or relationship concerns?
- What other issues at home are causing you to feel irritable or lose sleep?
Step 4: Review both lists. For each item, ask this question: Is this something that I can control?
Write “yes” or “no” next to every stress trigger on your lists. Next, separate your stress triggers into two columns with these headings:
- Stress Triggers that I CAN Control
- Stress Triggers that I CANNOT Control
Step 5: For each of the Stress Triggers that you CAN control, list the possible behaviors you can change and/or actions you can take to eliminate that cause of stress.
Here are a couple of my personal examples:
- A stress trigger at work was that the number of emails in my Inbox had become unmanageable. So, I set up personal folders and took 15 minutes at the end of each workday to file the emails that I wanted to save and delete the emails that I no longer needed.
- A stress trigger at home was the huge pile of laundry I had to handle each week. I decided to turn sorting and folding the laundry into a fun game with my children. Then, what was once a stressful chore turned into an opportunity to teach personal responsibility. When my son went away to college, he bragged that he was the only person in his dormitory suite that knew how to do laundry and he taught the other guys.
Step 6: For each of the Stress Triggers that you CANNOT control, list how you can change your perception by thinking about it differently.
Once you stop trying to control that which is beyond your control, you will feel free from the stress that it previously caused.
For example:
- My commute to work was previously an hour on a good day and often more on the trip home. I could not control the sheer volume of people commuting to and from work every day. I also could not control the time that I left for work because of my kids’ school hours. Instead of weaving in and out of traffic in an anxious state, I adjusted my perception. I decided to think of this commuting time as an opportunity to learn and I began to listen to audio books... some just for pleasure and some related to my work. As a result, I began to love my commute and the stress was gone.
- A former colleague’s lack of social skills caused lots of conflict in the office. None of us can control other people’s behavior. However, we can control how we react to it. I realized that this person’s behavior was causing difficulty for other members of the team and that triggered a stress reaction for me. I decided to change my perception of her. When I sought to understand her, what I saw was a person who had low self- esteem and difficulty making friends. She was suffering, and I replaced my stress response with empathy and compassion.
By following these six steps, you will increase your self-awareness of how and why you are experiencing stress and some proactive ways to deal with it. Self-awareness leads to self- empowerment! You CAN take this deeper knowledge of yourself and MAKE A CHOICE to change your behaviors, actions, and thought processes in a positive way to improve your health and happiness!
This is the first in a series of articles on stress management. In the next article, I will explore the keys to health and happiness... nurturing a healthy body, a creative mind, a loving heart, and a peaceful soul. Go to next article...