10 ways to overcome stress effectively

What is stress? 

Stress is a sensation of passion or actual strain. It can emerge out of any occasion or thought that causes you to feel disappointed, angry, or anxious.

Here are 10 ways that can help you to overcome the stress

STEP 01: Identifying Your Triggers

A trigger is any stimulus or event that can cause an unprecedented or unexpected response in your body which can make you feel stressed or anxious

 STEP 02: Strategic Foresight 

Strategic foresight is the ability to plan ahead by predicting what may or may not happen. It can be a powerful tool to help you understand and check your options even when the future seems very unclear.

Here are the 6 ways to practice Strategic Foresight: 

1. Clarify your goals

2. Think about the possibilities for your future

3. Identify the implications

4. Make your assumptions explicit and examine their validity

5. Review your plan, options, and decisions

6. Accept uncertainty as to the norm

STEP 03: Circle of Concern vs Circle of Control

As you heard, the Circle of concern is the larger circle that contains all the worries, issues, and problems we have on our minds at all times. Family, health, work, money, future, friends, love, etc. The circle of control is the small circle within this large circle of concern. This circle contains all the worries, issues, problems we have in our life that are actually within our realm of control

STEP 04: Contingency Planning

The easiest way to go about this is to prepare yourself for 3 major scenarios: 

• Worst Case Scenario
• Best Case Scenario 
• Most Likely Case Scenario

STEP 05: Reframing Your Thoughts 

Reframing our thoughts can tremendously reduce stress. It means thinking about things in a neutral or positive way, instead of negatively. We may or may not have control over the events around us, but we have almost total control over how we interpret and perceive them. 

STEP 06: Grounding Activities

Here’s a list of ways to calm yourself down when you are about to get caught up in your emotions. From your surroundings, count:

5 things you can see

4 things you can touch

3 things you can hear

2 things you can smell

1 thing you can taste. 

Or 

Pick a color and start to name all the things in your present environment which is that color. The same can be done with a particular alphabet. 

STEP 07: Seeking Guidance and Mentorship 

Always ask for help! 

There’s no disgrace in admitting you are misplaced and confused, and there is even much less disgrace in asking your professors or mentors for help.

STEP 08: Learn to decompress

Follow these  2 easy and applicable breathing exercises to relieve stress. 

1. Early daytime Breathing

Attempt this activity when you initially get up in the first part of the day to soothe muscle solidness and clear stopped up breathing entries. Then, at that point, use it over the course of the day to calm backpressure.

From a standing position, twist forward from the midriff with your knees marginally bowed, allowing your arms to hang near the floor. As you breathe in leisurely and profoundly, return to a standing situation by moving up leisurely, lifting your head last.

Pause your breathing for only a couple of moments in this standing position. Exhale gradually as you return to the first position, bowing forward from the waist. Notice how you feel toward the finish of the activity.

 2. Midsection Breathing

Midsection breathing is not difficult to do and extremely unwinding. Attempt this fundamental exercise whenever you want to unwind or mitigate pressure.

Sit or lie level in an agreeable position. Put one hand on your gut just underneath your ribs and the other hand on your chest. Take a full breath in through your nose, and let your gut push your hand out. Your chest ought not to move. Breathe out through pressed together lips as though you were whistling. Feel the hand on your stomach go in, and use it to push all the air out. Do this breathing 3 too many times. Take as much time as necessary with every breath. Notice how you feel toward the finish of the activity.

STEP 09: Seek Support and Comfort in your Social Support Circle

When in doubt, contact your person – the one who can soothe you, encourage you, and make you feel protected. Support is a great tool that we all have but rarely use.

STEP 10: Show Compassion to yourself by not adding Extra Pressure

Internal pressure is the most significant source of stress for most people. We all have an inner critic with a loud voice that constantly criticizes us. As a result, it’s critical to practice self-kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Allow yourself to experience emotions and be human. Allow oneself to make errors and express gratitude for the lessons learned as a result of those blunders. Allow yourself to be who you are and to appreciate who you are!

Although stress and anxiety may arise in your workplace and personal life, these steps will definitely help you reduce the pressure you feel.