Tiffani Wroe

It isn’t hard to see why everyday stress is on the rise. Work, personal obligations, financial insecurity and countless other factors form a potent recipe for perpetual anxiety. In addition to making each day a chore, stress can cause a plethora of problems with one’s physical health and psychological wellbeing. With a brand new year in full swing, there’s no time like the present to get your stress under control. Anyone who’s ready to nip stress in the bud can benefit from the following pointers.

Identify Your Worst Stressors

When seeking to minimize your stress, make a point of sitting down and creating a list of your most common triggers. Identifying things that cause your stress to flare-up is the first step in crafting an actionable plan to combat the issue. Once your list has been created, write down a number of possible solutions to minimize the effects of each item. For example, if a toxic individual is among your triggers, limiting contact with that person or avoiding them entirely can prove conducive to stress reduction. Conversely, if an unmanageable work schedule is one of the items contributing to your stress, requesting more reasonable hours or searching for a new job may be solutions worth considering.  

Speak to a Therapist

Many people suffering from chronic stress feel as if there’s no one they can discuss this affliction with. Unsurprisingly, keeping stress bottled up tends to make it worse. With this in mind, anyone looking to bring their stress levels down should consider working with a good therapist. Although telling people who suffer from stress, anxiety and other psychological ailments to “get therapy” is a common cliché, the right therapist can prove invaluable in reducing stress. When searching for the right therapist, look for someone with experience in treating the type of stress from which you’re suffering.

Depending on how high your stress levels are, your therapist may refer you to a psychiatrist, who may prescribe medications. If you’re not open to the idea of taking medication, make this clear to your therapist so that he or she can create an alternative treatment plan. Some chronic stress sufferers have seen success using certain strains of cannabis, so if this is something that interests you, have a talk with your therapist. Newer cannabis users should also research the best weed strains for treating stress.

Be Physically Active

When dealing with chronic stress, exercise is liable to be among the last things on your mind. After all, if you constantly feel like the world is collapsing all around you, physical activity isn’t likely to be high on your list of priorities. Additionally, if a packed schedule is one of your foremost stressors, finding the time to work out may prove challenging. However, despite all the difficulties associated with beginning an exercise routine, taking the plunge will ultimately benefit you in a big way. Physical activity releases endorphins that improve outlook, quell sadness and help people step outside of themselves. Stress tends to make people very inwardly-focused, and simply moving your body around on a regular basis can help you frame many of your stressors in the proper perspective.      

Practice Relaxation Techniques

When trapped in the throes of unyielding stress, being present in the moment is easier said than done. People who suffer from chronic stress often spend a disproportionate amount of time worrying about things that happened in the past or things they believe will happen in the future. As a result, many of them spend little to no time focused on the present. This is where relaxation techniques enter the equation. Practicing meditation and deep breathing exercises on a regular basis can help reduce racing thoughts and excessive worrying and help stress sufferers remain grounded and content in the present moment.

Living with chronic stress can be an intensely frustrating and difficult experience. If left unchecked, stress can come to dominate nearly every facet of one’s life. In addition to adversely impacting your health, persistent stress can affect your job performance, personal relationships and self-esteem. While high-level stress is certainly treatable, taking the first step down the road to recovery can often prove difficult. Fortunately, a little bit of determination and follow-through can go a long way in the fight against stress.