How to pull yourself together in a stressful situation
Yesterday you were doused with water by a passing car, ruining your new jeans. Today your boss yelled at you at work, and in the evening you had a fight with your spouse. All of these are stressful situations. To bring them under control, you should relieve nervous tension at the physical level:
- Normalize your breathing. Take a deep breath, then exhale slowly.
- To normalize the pressure, press the inside of your middle finger with your thumb.
- Repeat to yourself “I’m safe”, “this will pass”, “nothing threatens my health and life.”
- Wash your face with cold water.
- If the culprit of the stressful situation is a person, leave him for a while.
- Take a walk.
During a stressful event, a person overwhelms himself and goes through the most negative thoughts. Write down the possible consequences of the situation on a piece of paper and think about them carefully.
A stressful situation is often associated with the lack of a clear action plan. To get rid of stress quickly, think through the further development of events. What is your plan for today, tomorrow, etc.
Behavior after a stressful situation
If you need to quickly collect yourself after a stressful situation, pause for 5-10 minutes. Go to a quiet place. Pay off if necessary. Swear. Then repeat to yourself: “I’ll deal with my thoughts later, now things await me.” Just don’t put thoughts about your experience on hold. Once you have dealt with urgent matters, think about what happened.
How to get out of stress if I'm not in control of the situation
There are times in life when your destiny depends on other people. Until the situation is resolved, follow methods and tricks to calm your nerves and relieve stress. Often it takes time and calm to get rid of a problem.
Strategies for coping with stress
Distancing helps to assess the situation objectively
There are different types of stress coping strategies. In most cases, one type of strategy is used. But since in life the mechanisms of perception of the world and ourselves are constantly changing, the environment, family and social status are changing, as a result, new skills, qualities, and knowledge are acquired. Over time, familiar old strategies, while previously very effective, become ineffective and irrelevant. The most common types of strategies:
- Confronting the situation.
- Postponing the solution to a problem is distancing.
- Self-control.
- Seeking public support.
- Taking responsibility.
- Smooth solution to the problem.
- Positive reassessment of ongoing actions.
- Avoiding or shifting responsibility.
First strategy. Confrontation. Usually a person is aggressive towards difficult life situations. This strategy is well suited in cases where there is a real threatening object, and the energy of confrontation directed at the address will provide maximum effect. If the threat is not personified, then you should abandon this strategy, since the mechanisms to protect against it will be ineffective.
Second strategy. In some situations, it helps a lot if you look at the situation from the outside and use it wisely. Things may not work out very well if you choose this strategy as a reaction to a situation where close friends, family, or yourself are diagnosed with a serious illness.
In some situations it is important to seek help and support
Third strategy. Controlling your actions and feelings helps in difficult, force majeure situations such as quarrels, man-made disasters, all kinds of natural disasters and terrorist attacks, when those with sober, reasonable thoughts and a clear head have a greater chance of survival. But fighting your own emotions often does more harm than good.
Fourth strategy. In situations of severe grief, it is important to seek help from loved ones and relatives, since not everyone can be left alone with troubles. However, such therapy is justified only in cases where something truly terrible has happened and psychological defense mechanisms are activated. But when such therapy is used frequently and a person constantly demands the presence of someone else, then this is an indicator of the inability to independently solve any problems and bear full responsibility.
Fifth strategy. This is the path of experienced and strong people who admit their own mistakes and know how to analyze them, preventing repetition in the future. For overly responsible people, this strategy can be overly dangerous. After all, there are many things in this world that are beyond our control: a sudden illness of a loved one or a loved one, a natural disaster.
Bearing responsibility for literally everything in life can lead to neurosis.
Sixth strategy. This is a way of choosing a clear plan of salvation, mechanisms for implementation and following it. The advantages of this strategy are obvious precisely in times of impending danger. But if the situation is beyond your control and there is no way to control it, then this method will not work.
Seventh strategy. Any event, even an extremely unfavorable one, must be assessed on the positive side, and its positive aspects and some meaning must be considered. Such a strategy requires caution and, in times of danger, to concentrate not on minimizing the problem, but on how to accept the blow of fate with humor and dignity.
Eighth strategy. Withholding responsibility is an attempt to avoid an interaction or situation. This way of responding is ineffective, and the person who chooses it is infantile.
How to cope with stress on your own
Serious stress is indicated not only by physical symptoms, but also by psychological ones. A person suffers from nervousness, anxiety, and cannot relax and calm down. A bunch of thoughts hang over him, which cannot merge into a single picture of what is happening.
How to relieve stress at home
My home is my castle. The easiest way to get rid of tension and relax is here. Top 5 things that will definitely make you relax:
- Foam bath with sea salt.
- Self-massage.
- Daytime sleep.
- Keeping a diary.
- Meditation session.
Creativity, especially drawing, works well against stress. Psychologists say that in the process of drawing a person transfers his anxieties to the canvas and cleanses himself.
Any activity that brings you pleasure is an effective way to overcome stress. Computer games, watching sports, and hobbies help you relax and relieve stress if you enjoy doing it.
Folk remedies for stress and nervous tension
Budget-friendly sedatives - herbal teas. They are sold in any pharmacy or supermarket and are inexpensive. Tea with lemon balm is an excellent remedy against depression and nervousness. And mint tea will help you fall asleep quickly. Drinks should be consumed at least 2 times a day.
Herbal tinctures are no less effective. Mix 2 parts each of lemon balm, chamomile flowers, valerian root and buckthorn. Add to them 1 part of hop cones and mint. For a glass of boiling water you will need 1 tablespoon of the product. Leave the mixture for at least 2 hours. Take 4-5 times a day, 50 ml.
How to cope with stress at work
On our own, we easily cope with troubles at home, in the company of family and friends. How can you relieve stress and relax when you are forced to perform duties in a cramped and noisy office? The whims of your superiors and the gossip of your colleagues do not contribute to the creation of a working atmosphere. To survive in such conditions, abstract:
- Imagine a person you trust. Voice words of support in his voice: “this is all nonsense, you can handle it,” “everything will work out.” After a couple of minutes you will feel better.
- If loud noise makes you uncomfortable, try putting on headphones and playing relaxing tunes. The sound of the wind, the singing of birds, the surf. Compositions of nature sounds help calm and increase concentration.
- During your lunch break, don't think about work. A break is a legitimate rest.
You can even do breathing exercises and stretching in the office. Try bringing incense to work to help relieve stress and depression. Replace your usual coffee with herbal infusions and tea with anti-anxiety effects.
How to cope with stress: advice from a psychologist
It's important to get advice from experts before you help yourself with stress. Extra hassle and the inability to rest drive us into an inextricable stress circle. We try to drown out anxiety with activities, spinning like a squirrel in a wheel. All you need to do is pause.
Psychologist Ekaterina Demuria recommends highlighting things that you can refuse and not wasting time on them. Think: will you remember this task in a year? If not, feel free to throw it in the back drawer.
How to breathe when stressed
There is a breathing technique for quick stress relief developed by a Harvard MD. It's called "4-7-8". It was originally conceived as a technique to combat insomnia, allowing you to fall asleep in a matter of minutes. Helps with severe nervous shock and eating disorders. What's the point:
- Exhale, emptying your lungs as much as possible.
- Take a deep breath for 4 seconds.
- Hold your breath and count to seven.
- Exhale slowly through your mouth, count to 8.
Repeat until you feel relaxed. Usually 2-3 cycles are enough.
How to quickly cope with stress and anxiety
To get rid of stress quickly, psychologists advise spending more time with your pet. Playing with dogs is especially helpful against stress. They will allow you to switch off for a while and recharge with positivity.
Any games with animals or children will help you unwind. The point is positive emotions, because the main remedy for stress is laughter. Watch a funny comedy, remember a funny situation from the past.
Snack on anti-stress treats. It is important to see the line between snacking and stress eating and avoid the latter. Do not indulge in sugar-containing foods, fatty foods, or alcohol.
What is stress from a scientific point of view?
Hans Selye is the scientist who coined this medical term at the beginning of the 20th century. By the word “stress” he understood any nonspecific response of the body to new demands placed on it. In essence, stress is a condition that we experience in the process of adapting to something new. Have you come on a trip and are delighted with the hotel? You are stressed. Did you accidentally get hurt? You are stressed too.
Hans Selye also made a distinction between positive stress, which has a good effect on the body (eustress), and negative stress, which causes the body to decline (distress).
Today we will talk about strategies for dealing with negative stress - distress, which is more familiar to us. After all, there is no reason to fight eustress. We want him to be present in our lives as often as possible.
