Effective Stress-management Techniques for Better Living

by Dr. Erin Nitschke

Stress. It’s the most pervasive and persistent phenomenon we experience in life. Some stress is positive, including the body’s response to exercise. Other examples include buying a home, starting a new job and preparing for a vacation—all stressful, but all positive. However, chronic negative stressors, such as feeling overwhelmed by responsibilities, being overtired and losing connection with positive lifestyle behaviors, tax our personal health and well-being and ultimately reduce enjoyment and peace. The constant presence of negative stress may eventually result in a significant decline in personal health.

It’s not possible to control everything related to what we experience or how we experience it. We can, however, employ simple stress-management techniques and develop skills that will not only help us face the stress beast, but tame it as well. Apply these seven stress-busting techniques for better living.

Prioritize Movement

Physical activity naturally reduces stress and increases the release of the “feel good” hormones, and those benefits are only enhanced if you take your movement outside, as “green exercise” has been shown to provide a mental health boost beyond that seen with indoor exercise. Importantly, physical movement doesn’t always need to be structured exercise to provide benefit. If you struggle to fit exercise into your busy day, schedule time to be active and take those appointments seriously. A scheduled movement break can be a brisk walk, a set of body-weight exercises you can complete in 10 minutes in your office or living room, a yoga session or a light jog with a friend. Activity is only limited by the time you set aside for it, but it’s important to highlight the fact that exercise doesn’t have to be of a long duration to be effective. In fact, a movement break can be as short as climbing a few flights of stairs or marching in place during a commercial break and still elicit positive stress-reducing benefits.

Allow Yourself to Say, “No, thank you.”

The inability to say “no” or decline a task you don’t have time for is a challenge for many of us. This can lead to increased levels of stress and anxiety. One of the hurdles many of us face is neglecting to prioritize our own needs because we are busy attending to the needs of others (friends, family, work, extracurricular events, groups, etc.). Reevaluate each item on your to-do list and move the critically important items to the top, leaving room for “me time,” no matter what that means to you. For example, you might use this time for one of the movement breaks described above or to spend 30 minutes with your children when they get home from school before diving back into your work. And, never forget that it is O.K. to say “No, thank you” or “I would love to help at a later date, but thank you for thinking of me.” It’s easy to believe, particularly early in your career, that you have to seize every opportunity that comes your way, but running yourself ragged at the expense of self-care and stress management can be a recipe for burnout.

Set a Daily Affirmation

The first thing many do when the alarm goes off is to launch quickly into the daily process of getting ready for the day. One way to manage stress is to interrupt this sometimes mindless ritual and make a daily affirmation to guide your busy day. Simple phrases such as “I am grounded,” “I am centered” or “I am strong” can serve as a mindful compass that teach you to challenge negative thoughts or unproductive thought patterns. Post daily affirmations on social media, whisper them to yourself, put them on a Post-it note in your office or add them as a note in your phone and look at them often as a reminder of your value and purpose.

Sleep

Though we think of it as rest, sleep is actually an active process. This is when the body works to repair, restore and rejuvenate the various systems of the body. It’s easy to believe one can run on limited sleep, but the body (and mind) vehemently disagree. A well-rested individual is more capable of combatting stress than an unrested individual and a lack of restorative sleep increases stress levels. To improve your sleep, start by creating a relaxing bedtime routine (lights dimmed and screens and digital devices set aside). Commit to going to bed and rising at consistent times and avoid consuming caffeine after 3 p.m. Small tweaks to your current routine may lead to big results in terms of both sleep quantity and quality.

Practice Authentic Acceptance

There’s a lot to be said for keeping a positive attitude and looking on the bright side. However, it’s equally important to be authentic in acknowledging how we feel. It can be difficult to allow emotions to come and go as they do naturally and not feel as though you need to shove them aside or stifle them for the sake of remaining positive, but it’s a vital skill to master. This is where a reflection journal can prove useful. Another option is to talk through how you feel with a trusted friend or family member, which can help relieve stress. Too often, people judge themselves harshly for feeling angry, disappointed or frustrated. Instead, work to accept your emotions as they come and avoid judging yourself too harshly.

Cultivate Creativity

Being creative—painting, writing, sculpting, singing, dancing, etc.—is a highly effective way to shift the mind’s focus, set fear aside and reduce stress. Too often, stress comes from feeling afraid, insecure or “less than.” Exploring your creative side helps to defy those negative feelings and to do something purely for the joy of doing it. So, find something you enjoy and set aside a window of time each day or each week to pursue that activity.

Nourish

Consuming a balanced diet is an effective long-term stress-management technique. When stress levels are high, many people experience an increased desire for familiar comfort foods—after all, they’re called comfort foods for a reason—including simple sugars and processed foods. While these types of foods might feel desirable in the moment, they will not provide the nourishment the body needs to refuel and overcome stressful events. Consistently consuming a diet that includes fiber, healthy amounts of fats, lean proteins, complex carbohydrates, fruits and vegetables, and low-fat dairy (or alternatives if one has a sensitivity to a specific food) is key to successfully managing stress over the long-term.

Final Thought

Stress is a consistent part of life, but it doesn’t need to control the quality of it. Stress is manageable and containable, especially when you apply effective methods to face and tame it, so choose a few of the above strategies to start developing a stress-management routine that works for you.