Everyone needs goals and challenges in life, and so the stress that comes along with that isn’t necessarily damaging in and of itself. However, when too much stress takes its toll in your emotional wellness, it can actually harm your overall wellbeing so how do you spot when stress is becoming unmanageable and how can you deal with it?
It’s vital to spot and minimise the signs of stress because it’s well-known trigger for depression and can also affect your physical wellness. All sorts of things can cause stress, including marriage, moving house, a new job, holidays, long-term illness or disability, and any sort of loss, from bereavement, divorce and separation to a child leaving home. Your work life can also cause stress, whether you’re worrying about deadlines or don’t feel up to the challenges of a particular task.
So what should you look out for? Some common signs of too much stress include increased irritability, heightened sensitivity to criticism, signs of tension (such as nail-biting), difficulty getting to sleep and early morning waking, excessive drinking and smoking, indigestion and loss of concentration. These symptoms can obviously put your wellbeing at risk in one way or another, and so dealing with stress is of the utmost importance once you notice its presence in your life.
When it comes to managing stress, the trick is to look after yourself and remove some of the triggers of stress as much as possible. It’s important to give yourself some breathing space when you start to feel things are getting on top of you, which you can do by taking a day off from work, domestic chores, family and everything else that puts pressure on you. Make it a day just for you, and only do relaxing things that make you feel good.
There are other ways that can help you cope with stress. If someone offers you practical help, don’t be too proud or stubborn to accept it. You can only do one thing at a time and sometimes that means delegating to those who are willing to help you. You need to know your own limits, not being too competitive or expecting too much of yourself, and you can help this along by spending time with people who are rewarding rather than critical and judgmental, and talking to someone about your stress.
When stressful situations arise, make sure you don’t bottle it up inside but let off steam in a way that causes no harm. Walk away from stressful situations and shout, scream or hit a pillow if it helps. You might find that using relaxation techniques, or practising slow breathing using the lower part of the lungs, helps to reduce your stress overall and prevent any angry or anxious feelings from arising in the first place.
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