What to do when faced with stress? 7 useful tips to improve your well-being

Stress is part of our lives. The pressure to get to work on time, finish that final project that needs to be delivered first thing in the morning at school, cook for a large number of consumers in a restaurant; they are stressful situations.

However, when stress is prolonged, its effectiveness disappears and its effects can be fatal, since the consequences go from the psychological to include the physical. So that... What to do in the face of stress? Let's see it throughout this article.

• Related article: "Types of stress and their triggers"

Consequences of stress

To some extent, stress represents a source of energy that brings us into action, as it starts the alert nervous system releasing stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol; speeds up your heart rate and raises your blood pressure. Once the problem is over, the body usually regains its balance and tranquility, but sometimes there is too much tension and that erodes our quality of life.

We'll see now some psychological effects of excessive stress, which affects thinking, emotions and behavior:

• Lack of concentration
• Memory fails
• Prone to making mistakes, poor performance
• Impatience and irritability
• Constant tension
• Feelings of inferiority
• Risk of using harmful substances
• Insomnia
• Interpersonal problems

As a consequence of situations that prolong stress, the mental state in which the person is can cause physical illness and psychosomatic reactions, such as:

• Gastric ulcer
• Irritable bowel
• Hypertension
• Heart attack
• Muscle pain
• Vaginismus, changes in the menstrual cycle
• Erectile dysfunction
• Obesity
• Migraines
• Anxiety Depression

In Mexico, 75% of the population suffers from work stress, above countries such as China and the United States, says the WHO. This is due, according to Dr. Armando Ahued, to an imbalance between what is required in the work area with the ability, knowledge and profile of the worker.

What to do when faced with stress?

It should be noted that high levels of cortisol (stress hormone) cause a decrease in the body's defenses, which makes us more likely to get sick. All the more reason to prevent your stress from being prolonged to such instances.

Sometimes the solutions we try to relieve stress end up exacerbating the problem. Some people resort to substances that are harmful to health, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, or taking other drugs to relieve stress. However, in addition to not getting it, the person acquires the addiction to the substance and will have to deal with with withdrawal syndrome, so both problems will keep you restless and your health is still in danger more.

On the other hand, food is also often a common resource. According to Fernando Fernández-Aranda, coordinator of the Eating Disorders Unit of the Hospital de Bellvitge, in Barcelona, stressful situations influence our mood, modify food intake, causing us to eat in large quantities, so that we try to attend to negative emotions by eating. What is known as emotional hunger. This strategy, beyond not relieving stress, we run the risk of gaining weight.

Instead of managing stress, it manages us. The way you face situations makes the difference. That is why I share with you certain suggestions that you can put into practice to lower those stress levels.

1. Do what is within your power

We commonly get stressed out by circumstances that are beyond our reach or for pretending to do several activities at the same time.

Do what is in your hands, establishing priorities. Do not hesitate to ask for support from someone you trust. It is not always possible for you to do everything yourself. When in doubt about what to do when faced with stress, this is one of the easiest steps to follow, since it is based on focusing efforts on concrete actions that we already had in mind.

2. Find the balance

It is not convenient to focus your life only on work or school. Do you live to work or work to live? Your answer can determine the level of stress you have or can achieve.

Without a doubt, work is very important to obtain the quality of life you want. But rest, relationships with others, such as family, partner, children, friends, should not be neglected. Even the relationship with yourself.

Allow stress to take over your life and suffer its psychological and physical effects It is a form of abandonment and neglect towards yourself, because it is about your health, which if it is lost, it is difficult to recover. Separating leisure time is as important as to complement it with your usual tasks, since it is the time that allows you to get out of everyday stress.

Do not let the balance fall to one extreme or the other, because excesses have never been healthy. Seek balance in the areas of your life. If your work is physical, try quiet hobbies; But if your job is sedentary, try active hobbies.

3. Nurture your relationship with others

Try to spend time with the people you love and express your love to them. Hugs help reduce stress, because by having that contact with the other, cortisol (stress hormone) decreases and the brain releases oxytocin (known as the love hormone), serotonin and dopamine, which produces a sensation in us and in the other person pleasant.

4. Get regular exercise

Considered the best natural remedy to combat stress. Exercise allows you to discharge that accumulated energy. Produces hormones in the brain, such as serotonin, which allow us to have a feeling of well-being, which also gives the benefit of avoiding emotional problems such as anxiety and depression.

5. Rest well

After exercise and a tiring working day, a good night's rest is necessary. When sleeping, the amount of stress hormones in the body decreases, so without adequate rest, tiredness and stress will accumulate with the next day's activities, which can lead to anxiety and depression with the weather.

It is therefore very important to respect the approximately 8 hours of sleep to prevent stress from lingering.

6. Do breathing techniques

This is a very useful relaxation technique for those moments when stress takes over: start by taking deep breaths by inflating the abdomen (not the chest), hold the air for a few seconds and expel it through your mouth slowly.

Try to focus on the air that enters and leaves your body, or think of positive affirmations, so that you distract your mind for a moment from that stressful situation that you are experiencing. Do this technique over and over again until you feel a little calmer.

7. Seek professional help

If you prefer or if the discomfort persists taking into account other factors, in psychotherapy you can learn to handle stressful situations in an appropriate way.

• You may be interested: "How to find a psychologist to attend therapy: 7 tips"

Conclution

Stress is part of life, but it is convenient to have it under control to the extent that it allows us solve what threatens our emotional balance.

A good quality of life is not only the result of work, it also involves rest, exercise, nutrition and the love of the people around us, including the love you have for yourself. In short, reflect on where the balance of your life is tilting and, if possible, seek balance.

Bibliographic references:

• Ahued, A. (May 27, 2018). 75% of Mexicans suffer from stress, poor job and academic functionality. Retrieved on January 10, 2019, from Excelsior: https://www.excelsior.com.mx/opinion/armando-ahued/75-de-los-mexicanos-padece-estres-escasa-funcionalidad-laboral-y-academica.
• Blake, H. (September 4, 2017). What happens to your body when you are stressed? Retrieved on January 10, 2019, from El País: https://elpais.com/elpais/2017/08/11/ciencia/1502462353_596394.html
• Gómez, Á. (March 22, 2018). Stress is fattening like a double cheeseburger. Retrieved on January 10, 2019, from El País: https://elpais.com/elpais/2018/03/17/buenavida/1521290847_089200.html.
• Melgosa, J. (2008). How to have a healthy mind. Madrid: Safeliz.