Many stress sufferers make a big mistake: they don’t want to acknowledge the problem of being overwhelmed. This does not fit the image of the successful careerist at work or the sovereign househusband and father. The first step of stress therapy: Recognize yourself and your personal stress! You can calmly address this openly with your life partner or another trusted person: “You, tell me, do I seem changed or tense to you!”.
Recognize stress triggers
Is one more unfair to children than before? Do you maybe even yell out when you get angry? Once you’ve recognized that you’re stressed, you need to analyze the stressors: “What exactly is stressing me out? The colleagues, the hassle with the new car, the lack of free time, or even the high demand on myself?” All this should be examined voluntarily by oneself, before the doctor has to do it by necessity. Stress management focuses on actively dealing with stress triggers. Think about what your personal stress triggers are and how you can specifically reduce them. Here are a few tips that can help you do that.
11 tips to combat stress
- Agree with everyone involved on their respective expectations and perceptions – this applies to projects at work as much as it does to vacations and holidays
- Delegate
- Expectations (especially of themselves) not to set too high, look at whether 100% goal achievement is really necessary
- Learning to say “no” and not to bow to all the wishes from the outside.
- Address and clarify tensions quickly so that they do not escalate; address or ignore annoying colleagues
- Accept that everyday quarrels and conflicts are completely normal – even on vacations and festive days
- Create personal space, retreat and timely and extensive opportunities for relaxation, do not overload the daily routine with appointments
- The inner clock more into account (for example, difficult tasks in the morning or late afternoon during the personal performance high do); work time so that enough free time remains, take full advantage of vacation days
- Maintain family life and friendships
- Schedule walks, sports and enough sleep
- Pay attention to healthy, balanced diet, more often put “anti-stress food” on the menu: Cereal, papaya, peppers, organic poultry.
Active stress management
If you actively manage stress, you will not be easily overwhelmed by it. Active stress management means focusing on your actual goals and getting the things that are not good for you out of the way. As a tool, you can, for example, create checklists that make it easier to weight individual tasks and events, or work plans that help you better structure individual tasks. Talk to others about what is stressing you out. And don’t hesitate to seek competent help, for example from a psychotherapist, if you feel you can’t get out of the stress trap yourself.
Means of coping with stress
It all comes down to finding the right balance between stress and relief. Conscious relaxation is therefore the be-all and end-all. Many people think that stress relieves itself. But sitting in front of the TV, for example, may make you feel calmer – but it’s not really relaxing. That’s why “active relaxation” is playing an increasingly important role in the medical rehabilitation of stress-related cardiovascular diseases. Patients learn to actively reduce stress, for example, through autogenic training or controlled tensing and relaxing of muscles. Meditative breathing techniques, consciously used in moments of stress, are also extremely effective: those who concentrate on their breathing block out disturbing thoughts or influences and thus create small islands of calm in the midst of stress. And: Such relaxation methods have a measurably positive influence on the immune system. Being with family, friends and acquaintances, listening to music, dancing and regular exercise in the form of walking and sporting activity are also effective methods of reducing stress.
Here are some stress relievers at a glance:
- Herbal medicines with valerian or hops help to calm, against depressive moods helps St. John’s wort.
- The essential oil of lemon balm has an antispasmodic and nerve-calming effect.An application is especially recommended for nervous-induced sleep disorders and restlessness. Coupled with a massage, they contribute especially to relaxation.
- Bach flowers are also worth a try: Impatiens helps against impatience, Elm strengthens it in case of excessive demands, Vervain in a pronounced need for rest.
- In acupressure, the treatment is done only with hands. Through pressure and friction at certain points of the body, the steady flow of vital energy should be restored. Acupressure can also be used to relax tense muscles, against headaches and concentration problems, the elimination of symptoms of overtiredness and to increase well-being.
- Progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, yoga or other relaxation techniques help to better cope with stress.
- Calm breathing has a relaxing effect, because it brings oxygen and energy into the body.