Stress

TEN TIPS FOR COPING WITH STRESS

Although stress can sometimes be a good thing because it gives you the motivation to do your best, it can have a harmful effect on your mentally and physically if it is for too long It can cause sleeplessness, anxiety, mood swings, depression and illness. These are the 10 ways to combat excess stress.

Organize and prioritise. By doing this you will feel in control and decide what things can get rid of a lot of sstress. Much stress is caused by doing things when there isn’t enough time to do them, e.g. revising everything you have learned the night before the test.

Don’t procrastinate. Instead of worrying about doing something or avoiding it because you are scared of doing it ( in case you fail ) – just do it! The sooner you take the action, the more time you will have if anything goes wrong.

Look after yourself. Keeping your body healthy reduces stress. Cut down oon too much caffeine and sweet things. Make sure you get enough sleep and vitamin C.

Breathe. Deep breathing works because getting more oxygen into your body relaxes you. You can either n deeply through your nose then exhaling through your mmouth and then repeat it ten times.

Remember to have fun. Doing something you really enjoy means you get a chance to take a break and ‘recharge your batteries’. People who do not do this fell depressed and then their problems seem bigger and they can no longer put them into perspective.

Stay positive. If you think negatively, stress can take over. But if you keep reminding yourself that you can cope and that you know what you are doing, stress often goes away.

Stop worrying about things you can’t change. You can’t change them so why worry? Work on the things you can do something about.

Try new things and find out about new things. Two clichés that people often quote are ‘variety iis the spice of live’ and ‘a change is as good as a rest’, the good news is that they are both true. Realizing that the world holds a lot more possibilities than the things you generally focus on can make you forget your problems.

Communicate. Telling people about your problems can often help. This way you will feel less isolated. You should also tell people such as teachers or boyfriends / girlfriends or parents how stressed they you feel about ccertain things. Once they realize how you feel they might be able to help, e.g. providing to parents that you are adult and mature than shouting it at them during an argument often helps.

Take charge and be pro – active. Find somewhere where you have space to think, rest and generally chill out. You should also use this space to write down some possible solutions to the things that are stressing you. Then write down possible ways you can do those things. Atacking the problem is better than waiting for it to just go away.