Various techniques are available to help minimize stress and its emotional causes and effects. Because of the continuous advancement in our medical facilities and the many new researches and discoveries, treating both acute and chronic stress has become possible.
However, there are also strategies that are rather counter-productive. Some common errors will be discussed in this article
Mood Swings Caused by Stress
As a desperate move to alleviate tension caused by worrying, which then results in stress, many people engage in self-destructive behaviour.
A good example is when stress causes one to have a short-temper.
There are instances when a person is faced with too many pressures and demands, he suddenly becomes ill-tempered to the point that he will start lashing his anger out to even his closest friends and loved ones.
Stress can also lead a person to excessive alcohol drinking. Some will resolve to excessive coffee drinking, which can result in more stress symptoms due to high caffeine intake. In the long run, it will then result to aggressive or even cruel behaviour.
Stress Induced Insomnia
Another common effect of stress is sleeplessness or insomnia. Many adults experience this. Because of the many pre-occupations in mind, they find it difficult to relax and sleep. However, when they do manage to fall asleep, it is frequently not a comfortable one.
They tend to wake up from time to time during the night, so when they wake up the following day, they feel sluggish or grumpy. They do not experience deep sleep, which is actually what they need to cope with another day’s stress.
For this kind of problem, taking sleeping pills can help. But, just like any other medicine, prolonged use of sleeping pills may cause dependency. This might only cause more trouble than help. Therefore, before resorting to oral medications, it is best to try out other alternatives.
One good alternative to practice is meditation. Through meditation, the mind becomes relaxed, which then allows the body to relax, therefore causing a comfortable sleep.
How NOT to Cope with Stress
It is natural for some people to heighten their focus in solving a problem. But then again, being obsessed with the problem is another thing. It is rather counter-productive.
If you should pay attention to a problem, which needs an immediate solution, try seeing it the way another person would see it. This way, you would not feel too much weight laid on to you.
Normally, when a friend is in trouble, although we care, we do not feel too pressured. This is the same reason it is easier to give advice than to follow it.
We are more objective in viewing another person’s problem. We should also apply this when we are faced with problems.
Some people deal with problems in a completely different way. Instead of focusing on the problem, they shift their attention to another thing.
They try to make themselves busy to forget about the real cause of their stress. However, this is neither healthy nor helpful. Avoiding the problem is only to some extent successful and gives only temporary solution.
Yes, there are problems that just fade over time on their own without us doing anything about them. Because of this fact, some people believe that avoiding a problem can be a viable strategy.
However, stress does not wane simply by not paying attention to it. If deadlines and other things at work overly pressure you, it is healthy to have some break to breathe.
In dealing with stress, there is a need to be realistic. There is a need to acknowledge problems. It is not healthy and helpful to dismiss them as if they do not exist.
Problems are a part of life. They just do not go away without us recognizing their presence first. Troubles are there to help us become the persons we ought to be. Nevertheless, their presence and our doubts about our capability of pulling through definitely will lead to stress.