5 emotional management techniques to manage stress

It is increasingly common to hear expressions such as "I'm stressed" in our environment.. Stress is so ingrained in our society that we sometimes use these kinds of comments to "wild card" mode to describe a certain activation in our emotional system when we are very busy.

However, it is convenient to understand what we mean when we talk about this problem since it is more complex than we might think at first.

• Related article: "The 3 types of stress and their triggers"

In general, the stress response consists of an immediate and intense reaction, which involves the general mobilization of the body's resources and which occurs before situations that place significant demands on the person when facing a task or challenge, a risk (real or imagined) or even the possibility of a material loss or personal. The stress response includes a set of responses at the physiological (what I feel), cognitive (what I think) and motor (what I do) levels.

Adaptive stress and maladaptive stress

The stress response itself doesn't have to be bad. In fact, in many cases we speak of an adaptive reaction that has allowed the species to survive and not become extinct.

In the same way that feel anxious In certain situations it is vital to face a threat, stress can be a tool to overcome daily demands.

However, when this reaction appears very frequently in a context where there is no real danger, it can cause a waste of resources and lead to the appearance of problems of various nature. In this case stress is not useful and therefore we would speak of a maladaptive response.

How to deal with stress?

Once we conclude that the physiological, cognitive and motor responses are intense, long-lasting, uncomfortable and interfere with our day-to-day lives, we can act on several levels:

1. Techniques for changing stressful situations

They are aimed at modifying the environment in which the person is. The objective would be to change the environmental conditions in order to reduce stress, such as maintaining a adequate temperature in closed spaces, noise control or avoiding the consumption of substances that activate the Central Nervous System (caffeine, nicotine, etc.). In the same way, an attempt would be made to generate stimuli that favor responses incompatible with stress, for example, music, light, taking breaks or even strategies such as relaxation.

2. Time planning strategies

Sometimes, stress appears as a result of a lack of planning. As Labrador (2000) points out, managing time is deciding what to spend the available time on. This decision must be based on the importance or value given to each task or activity. An order of priority or a hierarchy of tasks must be established, according to the importance of each one. Depending on the priority given to the tasks, the planning of activities should be established.

Specifically and especially the schedule of each day. First you have to deal with urgent and important tasks. Next, the important and non-urgent tasks Next, those that being urgent are not important. Lastly, the non-urgent and non-important ones.

3. Cognitive techniques

Psychology has strategies for changing thoughts that are very useful in coping with stress. In this sense, it is important to work on the following issues:

• Analyze perfectionistic and self-demanding thoughts. Remember that we are imperfect and limited. We cannot do everything we want, but what we can.

• See the usefulness of certain thoughts: Does it help me to be constantly worried about what to do? Does being worried help me to be more effective? Does it help me to be happy ...

• Analyze the should: Why should I do this? What if I don't do it now?: change "should ..." to "I would like ..." or "I would rather ..." (produces less guilt).

• Magnification. It is desirable to prevent hazards as much as possible, but without exaggerating the imminence of their occurrence. It would be similar to seeing a ferocious tiger appear in our house, where what there is is a harmless kitten.

• Differentiate possibility from probability. Learn to calculate the probability (from 0 to 100 for example) that the worst will happen if we do not achieve the objectives set. Sometimes we confuse something possible with highly probable when it doesn't have to be.

• Know / learn to say "no" to those activities or tasks that are not a priority for oneself.

4. Behavioral techniques

It is vitally important to divert the focus of attention to pleasant tasks that distract the person as a stress management strategy. Rewarding tasks that “disconnect” the person. For this purpose, weekly rewarding task planning can be done.

5. Relaxation techniques

The relaxation techniques They are the quintessential strategies for coping with stress. Diaphragmatic breathing is one of the classic deactivation techniques that usually work best.

Currently, the approach to stress from the “Mindfulness”Represents a good method of choice in the face of stress since combines deactivation strategies such as meditation and thought control simultaneously.

In summary, Psychology has powerful tools that have proven to be effective in stress management. All these techniques are made explicit in numerous scientific publications and training courses such as the one offered Psychological Training in his practical course of stress management techniques whose purpose is to provide useful strategies to deal with one of the most frequent emotional problems of the 21st century.