Everyday Tips for Coping with Stress

Take this opportunity to learn about the dangers of stress, adopt successful coping strategies, and do away with harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society.

Dis-ease, heart disease, strokes, and even some forms of cancer may be caused by stress in certain individuals. Then consider the significant damage inflicted by smoking, overeating, alcohol, and drugs — all frequently used to cope with stress – it becomes clear that we are in the midst of a major epidemic with serious, often fatal, consequences.

Here are some stress management and stress reduction techniques you can use to help you cope with stress resulting from events like divorce, financial strain, career-related pressures, negative work environment, and losing your job, caring for a sick relative or loss of a loved one, children getting in trouble or many of the other reasons we may feel overwhelmed by stress:

Stress Management Strategies

• Get enough sleep
• Develop a support system and/or connect with others
• Exercise regularly
• Eat a balanced, nutritious diet
• Reduce caffeine and sugar
• Do not self-medicate with alcohol or drugs
• Take a few minutes each day to do something for yourself

How Can I Change My Emotional Response to Cope with Stress?

• Have realistic expectations of yourself and others
• See problems as opportunities
• Maintain your sense of humor
• Express your feelings instead of bottling them up
• Do not try to control events or other people
• Ask yourself: “Is this my problem?”

How Can I Meet the Challenges of Stressful Situations?

• Manage your time efficiently
• Give priority to the most important task and do it first
• Schedule time for both work and play
• Make some room on your “plate” by delegating tasks and breaking up larger projects

Tips for How to Deal with Stress

• Have a massage therapy treatment to relieve tightness, pain, or restrictions that often develop as a result of physical & emotional stress
• Take a warm bath or hot shower
• Take some “me” time: meditate, read a book, go for a walk, practice yoga, etc.
• Keep a journal to put your thoughts and feelings on paper and work out solutions to your problems