Coping With Stress

By Dr. Edward F. Group III, DC, ND, DACBN
updated on 11/19/2007 at 03:03PM

Stress can be defined as any change that requires you to adapt. Physically, stress can be a demand placed on the body such as a force, pressure, or strain. Everyone who lives and breathes will experience stress at some point in their lives. Sorry. But when stress becomes overwhelming, it can lead to symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disorders, frequent headaches, appetite changes, mood disorders, and the development of conditions such as heart disease, stroke, and ulcers. The key to keeping stress from becoming a problem in your life is learning how to cope with the stresses in your life, both individually and as a whole.

Assessing Your Stress Level

This is the first step in learning to cope with stress. Start by creating a list of people, events, and activities that produce stress in your life. This might include things such as a new job, an upcoming school play, your financial responsibilities, or your family relationships. Next to each entry, list the ways that you currently use to cope with these stressors. For example, do you exercise when the pressure of work becomes overwhelming? Or do you schedule enough down time in your day to recuperate from a stress activity? The following are lists of healthy and unhealthy coping styles:

Healthy Coping Techniques

Exercise
Rest and relaxation
Time Management
Balancing Work and Play Activities

Unhealthy Coping Techniques

Substance abuse
Avoidance
Procrastination
Oversleeping or overeating

Making Changes

Now that you have identified the stressors in your life, and the coping styles you use to handle them, you can begin to look at the methods you could use to reduce stress and alleviate its symptoms. Take a look at your list and look for the areas where you can make changes. Can you eliminate a stressor? For instance, if an upcoming school event is causing you stress, maybe you could decrease your involvement in that event. Or if you financial worries have become stressful, maybe you should look at the financial techniques you could use to improve your solvency. Next, consider those stressors that you can't change, identify healthy coping skills that you can utilize to diminish their effects on you. For instance, if your relationship with your mother has become stressful, look at ways you can build rest and relaxation techniques into the days that you must interact with her.

Learning New Techniques

Learning to Relax

It may seem strange, but many of us simply don’t know how to relax. In most cases, we simply don't plan any time for relaxation, so if a free moment pops up, we are unsure how to handle it. The result is either boredom, or the initiation of a project to "kill time." Take a minute to think about the activities that you personally find relaxing. Do you enjoy going for walks, reading a good book, meeting friends for coffee, checking out a new movie, listening to music, or taking a long, hot bath? Choose an activity (or two) that you find relaxing, and then work it into your day just as you would any other appointment or errand to which you assigned priority. Be realistic about the amount of time you can dedicate to this activity. If you have a tight schedule, even ten minutes of relaxation can make a world of difference. Practice this activity on a daily basis.

Advanced Relaxation

For those folks who are willing to try something new, learning a relaxation technique can greatly improve your ability to cope with stress. Techniques such as meditation, guided imagery, deep breathing exercises, and progressive relaxation can help you learn to relax on a whole new level. Practicing these techniques on a daily basis will help you to become better prepared when the next stressful situation arises.

Managing Your Time

Head off stress before it becomes a problem. Prioritize your responsibilities and activities; You can't expect to do it all, so pick the things that are most important and gently but firmly say "no" to all other demands. Create a daily schedule (even if you just have it outlined in your head) of what you need to accomplish each day and the order in which you need to do them. Break large projects into smaller pieces. And allow some extra time in each day for relaxation and to tackle the inevitable crises.

Developing a Support Network

People get stressed out when they feel like they have too much to possibly do alone. But hey, that's what friends are for. Develop a network of friends and family members with whom you can share tasks, responsibilities and thoughts. You can start a carpool group to school or the office to cut back on the trips you make each day. Maybe you and your sister could take turns doing a "midweek shop" to pick up any extra groceries or supplies that you’ll need before the weekend. Or at the very least, you can call your best friend and vent about what a lousy day you’ve had.