Stress: The Silent Assassin

Long hours at the Job. Challenges within our relationships be they marriages, courtships, or platonic friendships. Obstacles with the school. Kids acting a fool. Financial Challenges (i.e., Destiny’s Child 1990s R&B Hit “Bills, Bills, Bills”). All of the aforementioned are components within our daily lives that can contribute to that sneaky little demon known as STRESS.

Now, here’s the tricky part. Stress is our body’s natural response to pressure. Now, how we manage it is another thing altogether. The month of April is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month to bring attention to the negative impact of stress. Managing Stress is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle.  Knowing how to manage stress can improve mental and physical well-being as well as minimize the exacerbation of health-related issues. It’s critical to recognize what stress and anxiety look like, take steps to build resilience and know where to go for help. The Mental Health American (MHA) provides some tips on how to reduce your stress by utilizing a Stress Screener. Also, take some time to visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and familiarize yourself with strategies for stress management.

The brain responds automatically to stress. You can anticipate stress due to a previous experience, such as a doctor's appointment, a traffic delay, or a monthly work meeting. You can lessen the stress caused by these situations (stressors) by changing how you react to them.

In order to better manage stress, you should utilize the “5 A’s,” which include:

1. Avoid
2. Alter
3. Adapt
4. Accept
5. Active

      Avoid

1. Some types of stress are unavoidable, such as stress induced by death, disease, or an accident. Other stress caused by carelessness or postponement is avoidable. You must address an issue or a task as soon as it arises. If it is postponed, an important task may become urgent, increasing stress levels in your body. Prioritizing important tasks avoids unnecessary stress.
2. Take control of your environment and make changes if they are causing you stress. If that bit of news stresses you out, close the app, set your phone away, and drink some water.

Alter

1. Stress may be caused by situations that you usually address as your daily routine. For example, you handle various meetings in a day. However, situations, where you have back-to-back meetings arranged and discover that one of them will take place across town will spike your stress levels. Rather than becoming stressed, seek variables that may be altered to change the situation, such as postponing one meeting or changing the venue of one appointment.
2. Two ways to achieve this:
1. Have a well-balanced schedule: When the level of stress exceeds your ability to cope, you enter a state called burnout. The reasons could be you want to accomplish so much in less time, manage something that is out of your hand, or do all things on a long to-do list that you are unable to fulfill. Making a schedule for your day is the greatest method to get this straight. Make sure it is well-balanced with work, family, pleasure, and some solo activities.
2. Express your feelings: It is crucial to express your emotions rather than keep them bottled up. Do not end up using 'I' statements. For example, if you are being disturbed by any activity done by your sibling, such as playing loud music when you need your utmost concentration to finish your office work, you may ask them to put on earbuds and let them know that you are doing something important rather than stressing yourself.

    Adapt

1. Recognize that things happen, plans alter, and emergencies occur. Take a big breath, keep calm, and deal with it when they occur. If a stressor cannot be avoided or changed, adjust as best as you can and continue regardless of the circumstances.
2. Adapting to stressful conditions can help you gain control of the situation.
1. 5*5*5 rule: Though it is ideally an anger control method, it helps you see the big picture. Before you become stressed, wait for 5 minutes and consider whether it will matter to you in the next five years. Do not waste another 5 minutes if your answer is “no.”
2. Bend a little (compromise): It is acceptable if things do not go as smoothly as you had hoped. Don't worry about it. On some days, lowering your standards can help you feel less anxious about a specific issue.
3. Change your perception: Sometimes, you may perceive a scenario as stressful, but if you adjust the way you see the situation, you may get a different perspective on the circumstance. You will undoubtedly feel less frustrated and more joyful and content in each scenario if you do this.

Accept

1. You must be ready to accept mindfully that you may experience stress from any source or situation. Instead of opposing or getting affected by an unchangeable situation, accept it and take steps to overcome it.
2. The following are some measures that can help you become more accepting:
1. Know your power: Know what you have control over and what you don’t. Resolve the things that are under control and not fret over the latter. Because things over which you have no control should not be stressed but rather accepted as they are.
2. Look for opportunities: If the stressful situation is caused by anything outside of you, see it as a chance for personal growth. If it is caused by your own poor decisions, learn from it.
3. Learn to forgive: Forgiving is an act of liberation from all negative or negative energy. It is pointless to carry that sack of rage and hatred on your shoulders. Simply let go of it, and you will feel lighter and kinder.

Active

1. A brain, like a muscle, needs to be exercised to function optimally. Being active enhances your memory, mood, and sleep and reduces tension and worry. Thirty minutes of aerobic exercise increases blood flow to the brain.
2. According to some experts, a walk for 10 minutes may release endorphins, which reduce stress.
3. Other strategies to stay active and boost cognitive processes include meditation, cooking, dancing, singing, listening to or playing music, playing cards, puzzles, and board games, and attempting to learn a new language.