Sometimes we find it difficult to control stress. Throughout our day, it is very common to feel incapable of achieving everything we set out to do and to have trouble falling asleep, resting poorly at night, and waking up tired early in the morning.
Headaches are also very common, they irritate and bother us throughout the day, and do not allow us to concentrate on our work or simply be able to have a healthy and “normal” lifestyle.
A very high percentage of all these symptoms are generated by stress. We say that stress is a global response of our organism when we find ourselves and face a situation that we perceive as threatening and/or challenging.
But this response is not as negative as we are taught socially, since it takes place to facilitate the adaptation of the organism, putting all our resources available and facilitating their activation to overcome said threatening situation such as exams, job search, sentimental problems, relationship problems…
Therefore, we can say that stress is positive since our lives and our environment are in a state of continuous change that requires us to continually adapt.
Why do we use stress as “ something ” so negative?
This is because if this response is prolonged over time or its intensity is too high, it can have harmful effects on our body, generating negative barriers for our vital system, and becoming an obstacle to overcome to enjoy a healthy life.
The solution is to understand the meaning of stress positively and learn to manage it, keeping it within acceptable, and even healthy, levels for our lifestyle and achieving personal goals.
What are the 5 steps to control stress?
It is possible to control stress by putting some tips into practice. If you manage to do this, you can turn it into an ally in your daily life.
Look at the positive
If we find ourselves in a “negative” situation, complaining and punishing ourselves with a “what if…” is not going to help us or solve the problem, probably quite the opposite. There is a life motto that I use every day and it is: “Everything happens for a good reason that allows me to obtain an immensely positive learning experience .”
If you find yourself in this situation, learn from it and integrate that learning for the next time. Another recommended exercise is to eliminate words like “never” from your language, trying to replace “I can’t” with “how can I?”
Be aware of your thoughts
To enjoy a full and peaceful life in all aspects, it is essential to be aware of our “self”. Our thoughts influence how we perceive, value, and act in each situation.
When you find yourself in a difficult situation, eliminate negative thoughts and focus on the positive ones, taking a deep breath and asking yourself: “What good can I get out of this ?” In many cases like this, we are not responsible for what is bothering us.
Keeping this in mind will also help you control stress and take things much more relaxed and without pressure. Remember that not all the weight of the world falls on you .
Don’t overload yourself with activities
At this point, it is important to use assertiveness and be realistic. As in the previous point, you are not perfect and you do not have to please everyone. In addition, each person has their own maps that are different from yours. For this reason alone, it is impossible to “be perfect for the world.”
Allow yourself to fail, to make mistakes, and to learn from the mistakes you make. You will achieve immense inner growth by feeling and perceiving life in this way.
Learn to delegate
You can’t afford to do and accomplish everything. It’s good to occasionally seek support from those closest to you if you need it and feel like you can’t handle everything you have to do and find it difficult to control stress.
In addition, asking for help improves personal relationships and creates a stronger emotional bond with the people you love, leaving aside your egocentric and narcissistic “ I ” who can achieve everything without anyone’s help, which ruins social relationships so much.
Take care of your relationships
At this point, we refer a little to the previous one. It is very important to enjoy the company of the people you love, those close to you, but try to keep in mind the desire to share those moments with joy, and happiness with our loved ones and people around us with whom we feel good.
Healthy, and most importantly, “human” social relationships make us feel stronger and more capable of anything we desire or want in our lives.
For all these guidelines to become habitual in our lives, time, perseverance and responsibility are necessary. I encourage you to put them into practice as soon as possible to avoid the “misuse” of stress and perceive it, on the contrary, as a friend who can lend us a hand on too many occasions in our daily lives.