Effective Ways for Stress Management

German spiritual teacher, Eckhart Tolle rightly says: “Stress is caused by being here but wanting to be there.” Indeed, Eckhart Tolle, in these few words, sums up the very origin and crux of what causes stress and Stress Management.

What is Stress?

All of the stand somewhere. We have some position in society, at work, within the family, economic status and so on. Unfortunately, most of us are unwilling to accept where we are.

Instead, we wish we were somewhere else, usually at a higher position. Often, we lack the resources to get to that higher position, socially, financially, educationally, or professionally. And sometimes, we’ve to accept our position within the family too.

However, our mind doesn’t always allow us to accept the situation. This is the prime cause of stress: we are here but want to be there. By ‘here’ and ‘there’, Eckhart Tolle doesn’t imply a place. Instead, he alludes to our thoughts.

However, there’s a different kind of stress too. That which we encounter every day, at home, at public places, at work, or even while socializing.

Different Types of Stress

Most of us are unaware of the fact that stress is necessary and vital to our lives. There’re two kinds of stress.

Eustress : This is positive stress. It encourages us to all levels of life to achieve greater things. It evokes a spirit of healthy competition and generates motivation from within, drives us to try and excel at various elements of life while trying to improve our overall life. Eustress is also essential for our survival as humans.

: This is positive stress. It encourages us to all levels of life to achieve greater things. It evokes a spirit of healthy competition and generates motivation from within, drives us to try and excel at various elements of life while trying to improve our overall life. Eustress is also essential for our survival as humans. Distress: Or negative stress. Distress leads to unhappiness and causes a plethora of problems ranging from poor work performance leading to a dissatisfactory financial situation. It can lead to domestic problems including violence or overall unhappy family life. Left untreated, distress can drive a person to addictions such as alcohol and drugs or even worse- suicide.

Actually, distress isn’t bad. It’s only unpleasant and hence, we don’t wish to cope with it. The common human instinct while facing distress is fleeing.

Eustress isn’t too good either. It can lead to problems such as overambitious and reckless behavior, overconfidence, and lots more. Eustress without control often leads to distress.

Therefore, while speaking about stress management, We have to consider both- Eustress and Distress. Unless we strike a proper balance, it’s impossible to lead a happy, fruitful, and enjoyable life. How do we manage stress? Here’re some vital tips.

Effective Stress Management Techniques

There’re some time-tested and proven effective, stress management techniques. They’re absurdly simple. However, none of us ever bother to practice these simple stress management methods. Let’s look at them now.

Live in the Present

The human mind is like a proverbial pendulum in a clock. It usually swings between regrets of yesterday and fear of tomorrow, Consequently.

We’re unable to live and enjoy the present moment. This is the main reason for both abusing eustress and inviting distress.

When eustress or positive stress sets in, we’re inclined to overwork or go that extra mile to achieve something. Often, the end result of our efforts or going that extra mile isn’t what we were anticipating.

This, in turn, leads to disappointment and culminates in distress. At the same time, when we’re distressed, we tend to overthink. The mind remembers happy memories of bygone days and yearns they’ll recur in the future.

Usually, that never occurs. And even if something does repeat, the experience isn’t as thrilling as before. This torpor drives us away inadvertently from enjoying and living in the present moment.

Therefore, the first effective way for stress management is to begin living in the present. The past is gone and nobody has control over it.

And tomorrow is never promised to anyone. Hence, there’s nothing to be gained by unduly worrying about a future that we may never face.

Priorities v/s Urgency for Stress Management

The bane of the modern person. We tend to neglect priorities and focus on what we believe is urgent. As a result, priorities get neglect and remains so until it becomes a pressing emergency.

This occurs because we’re largely incapable of distinguishing what is a priority and what is urgent. Therefore, let’s discuss why priorities and more important than urgencies.

A priority leads us to a definite goal at work or in social life, at home, or financially. Urgencies usually are trying to fulfill a goal once the deadline is over.

Hence, urgency isn’t necessarily a priority. Since something has been kept on the back burner for so long, it has become an urgency.

When we neglect our priorities and focus on urgencies, we’re actually wasting precious time and resources. Because focusing on urgencies diverts us from what has to take priority.

Urgencies usually never have a very desirable or positive outcome. Attending to urgencies only helps solve or prevent a problem from occurring.

In stark contrast, focusing on priorities means you’re doing something gainful for the present and future. A priority is always connected to a definite, specific goal of life.

And once we work towards that goal, the stress in all its forms dies a natural death.

Avoid Entertainment at Wrong Time

The advent of smartphones is one of the main causes of stress. Understandably, smartphones are essential since they help us perform a lot of essential tasks at the touch of the screen.

These include financial transactions, reading news, communicating with family and friends, and lots more. At the same time, smartphones also have a flipside.

They allow you to watch movies and play games while commuting to work, between-meal breaks, and during spare time.

You would be unaware of the fact but watching movies while going to work or before bedtime is a prime cause of stress. Movies and video games trigger myriad emotions in our human brains.

And these emotions usually don’t vanish when we finish the movie or the game. They remain with us and get embedded in our subconscious mind.

The results are disastrous. We’re distracted at work, live in a fantasy world, and sometimes bear rancor over having lost a game. This leads to a drop in productivity.

The same holds true when we watch movies or play games on smartphones and other devices before going to bed. These emotions prevent restful sleep.

Medical science proves that we humans require eight to nine hours of sleep every day. That’s vital for our brains and body to relax and rejuvenate. When emotions from movies or games impede our sleep, the result is stress.

Conclusion of Stress Management

These three ways to combat stress can help you lead a happier life. Stress has a negative impact on health: it can lead to blood pressure, diabetes, and cardiac diseases.

Stress can also lead to mental disorders. Hence, use these effective ways for stress management and Develop A Strong Personality.

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