Stress is the evil of our modern society. This phenomenon is not a fatality! We can all learn to manage it to avoid spoiling our daily lives and causing various health problems (backache, stomach ache, headaches…).

Learning to control stress can take some time, but everyone can. Knowing yourself well and having the right keys is necessary to do so. Then, extreme situations (rush at work, exam periods, family problems…) will have less impact on you.

Here are some techniques to easily overcome stress and some simple advice to better listen to yourself and be more serene. There is one that is made for you!

1. Learn to manage your stress

Before trying to solve stress, it is essential to know what causes it. By thinking about the causes upstream, you can avoid certain consequences. To do this:

List your possible sources of annoyance (work, transportation, family, friends, etc.).

Rank them from the most to the least impacting.

Think about reducing the factors that come at the top of the list.

A concrete example: you have a disagreement with a colleague at work.

Rather than maintaining tensions at work, why not talk about the problem with this colleague by asking a third party to be present? This way, you can try to find a solution and feel confident again.

2. Get to know yourself

There are different methods to fight stress, but the objective is to determine which ones are adapted to your profile. If you are allergic to sports, don’t start jogging just because it’s a good way to clear your head (and we know it won’t last!).

It’s logical, but you must integrate it: we are unique, and using someone else’s method may not work! Try physical activities: 

– sports;

– intellectual activity: yoga, relaxation;

– manual tasks: crafts or gardening;

– cooking or painting.

3. Work on your mind at the moment

Excessive imagination is a source of stress! By anticipating the stressful situation, we envision all the scenarios we could face. The scene then becomes almost real, and before we have even experienced it, we feel intense stress that does not yet exist.

Good to know: Anxiety is an anticipated diffuse fear accompanied by insecurity and apprehension in anticipation of real or fictional danger. Anxiety is an intense feeling, a sudden impression of losing control and imminent danger.

However, imagination can be put to work and help us fight this stress. Case study:

Before a stressful interview, to chase away anxiety, try to visualize a joyful event, a happy memory: you will appear more relaxed and smiling. You will give a good image of yourself.

Before a stressful event, create a positive mental environment by getting out of the anxiety-provoking frame: think about the simple things you enjoy in your daily life, your vacations, and your current projects…

Good to know: you can list 7 things (or people) that matter to you and relax you. By coming back to it frequently, you will be able to put things in perspective more easily.

4. Decide how you are going to experience an event

An event that happens to you may not affect you until you choose words to describe it. It then becomes happy, boring, sad, or extraordinary. By qualifying it, you change it a little and, more importantly, your perception of that event.

How you experience it determines how your body reacts, so take a moment to think before you judge and classify a situation as entirely negative. When you experience an event, it’s easy to stay focused on it and get overwhelmed when it’s not necessarily of the greatest importance. Putting the significance of an event into perspective can help you release your anxiety or anger.

To be continued…

Try these 4 techniques above to overcome stress, and tell us about your experience in the comments below. Read more in part 2.