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Stress: How to Manage with Effective Strategies
Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by Tracey McGrath
Stress and learning how to manage it is a crucial part of feeling healthier and more balanced. Stress is an inevitable part of life, and not all stress is bad. But learning how to manage stress and anxiety well can help you stay healthier and happier. Here are some tips for reducing stress and improving your well-being.
Types of Stress
There are different types of stress.2 Learning how to manage stress and anxiety is a crucial part of living a healthy life. Eustress, or good stress, can motivate us to get things done. Examples are deadlines or timed experiences. Bad stress, or distress, can be short-term or long-term.
Short-term stress, or acute stress, is also helpful for protecting us. An example would be coming upon a snake in the woods. Your heart rate increases, you start to sweat, and your breath quickens. Maybe all of that just happened when you looked at the photo. All these physiological changes help you to respond to the stress. An increased heart rate pushes blood to your extremities so that you can run away faster. Increased sweating helps to cool your body down in anticipation of running away. Faster breathing helps your body to drive more oxygen to your muscles.1
Stress becomes unhealthy when it is long-term, or chronic. A constant state of stress causes your body to stay in those physiological changes. When you are in a constant state of low-level stress, the stress hormone remains elevated. Chronic stress can lead to increased blood pressure, vessel damage, and unhealthy habits.3 It’s best to avoid a state of chronic stress and its health effects. By learning to manage stress and anxiety with the strategies below, you’ll be ready next time when you feel stressed!
Learn to Breathe
One of the easiest ways to reduce stress is by taking full, slow, deep breaths. If you feel stressed out, take a few deep breaths before responding.4 This will give your brain the signal that it is safe. Just this small action allows your brain to think more clearly. Check out my article on the Benefits of Meditation to learn how to notice your breath!
A great way to begin your meditation practice is with a meditation app like Headspace. And check out my article on the Best Apps for Meditation for reviews of several meditation apps!
Take Time for Rest
It’s important to make sure you get enough sleep each night to help your body respond to everyday stressors. Sleep deprivation is linked to increased levels of cortisol. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can lead to anxiety and other negative feelings.5 Try to set a bedtime that allows you to get 8 hours of rest. And you can help your body adjust to your bedtime by creating a wake-up time as well. Check out my article on Resetting Your Sleep Cycle for more information! Remember to give yourself grace if you fall off your new sleep schedule. It’s about taking care of your body and mind.
Also, rest doesn’t just have to mean sleep. Schedule time for restful activities too. Activities like taking a bath, making art, reading a book, people-watching, and drinking herbal tea are ways you can rest. These can have a huge impact on your body and mindset. And my favorite restful activity is mindful art! Check out my article on Art for Anxiety Relief for more information on how art can reduce anxiety!
Set Goals and Priorities
Sometimes stress comes from sources out of our control. But oftentimes stress is self-inflicted. When we set goals that are not realistic we can create underlying low-level stress. Setting achievable goals is an effective way to manage stress. If you set realistic goals, you will feel more motivated to achieve them. James Clear’s book, Atomic Habits, focuses on taking small steps toward your goals. One small step is still a success. If you need help creating healthier habits check out my article Healthiest Habits: Create Yours in 10 Simple Steps!
Figuring out your priorities is also a great way to manage stress. How to manage your priorities is a learned skill. First, make a list of your priorities for each day. You can more easily create a schedule that allows you to focus on your priorities when you know what they are A helpful tool is the Eisenhower Matrix for prioritizing your goals. By prioritizing what needs doing first, you can focus on the most important tasks. You may see that some of those “important” tasks creating stress weren’t so important after all.
Be kind to yourself
Being kind to yourself is essential to managing stress. Learning how to manage life’s challenges is another way to keep stress levels in check. Taking care of yourself is just as important as taking care of others. You cannot pour from an empty cup.
Reframe a mistake as a learning opportunity. No one gets everything right the first time or the thirtieth time. Life is about trying and trying again. By being kind to yourself you can more easily enjoy the process. Remind yourself that you are learning and growing each and every day.
Create A Self-Care Practice
Another way to manage stress is with self-care practices that you enjoy. Finding one may take some trial and error though. So give yourself time to find one or a few that feel good to you. Yoga is a terrific way to take care of your body and mind.
Mindful art practices are another great way to express creativity and relax. There are tons of different art activities that let you make art and feel connected to yourself. Check out my article on What is Mindful Art? for more information. And grab a FREE guide to 3 mindful art activities that you can do in less than 20 minutes!
Meditation is a wonderful way to connect to your breath. It allows your brain the opportunity to feel safe. Check out my article on the Benefits of Meditation to learn more! And grab a FREE guided meditation to try it out today! If you looking for a great meditation app, check out my article Best Apps for Meditation!
Learn to Manage Negative Thoughts
Negative self-talk can often increase your stress level.6 When you’re already feeling stressed, your inner critic may chime in. It may reinforce the feelings you’re experiencing. If you find yourself feeling stressed out, try to take some deep breaths. And notice what your inner critic is saying. Stop and reflect on why your inner critic is saying these things to you. Is it a way that your inner critic is trying to keep you safe? Try journaling about your inner critic voice. Check out my article on Journaling: How to Start Your Practice for some helpful prompts!
Sometimes it can be difficult to separate yourself from your inner critic. Mindful art practices can be a helpful tool. These activities allow you to start to notice these thoughts in a nonjudgmental space. Or meditation is another great way to learn how to notice your thoughts. You can learn to separate yourself from these negative thoughts.
Nurture Your Social Network
Another great way to manage stress is by connecting with your loved ones. Socializing is an effective stress reducer.7
By creating time to connect and have shared experiences you create new memories. These serve as a source of joy to reflect on in the future to boost your mood. Suggest a ladies’ night art party to create and connect together!
If you feel stressed, consider talking with a loved one who will support you through tough times. Oftentimes when we say aloud what we’re stressed about it feels less daunting. And getting a loved one’s perspective on the situation can help us to see things differently.
Stress is a normal part of life. But learning ways to manage stress can help keep you healthy and happier.
Let’s Connect
Stress can be overwhelming and debilitating at times. But there’s help! You can book a meditation coaching or mindful art session with me here! Or check out my course, Becoming Blissful with Mindful Art. The course shows you how to create healthy habits like meditation and a creative practice to help reduce stress and feel more like your true self!
Frequently Asked Questions about Stress: How to Manage with Effective Strategies
Stress isn’t inherently bad but chronic stress, or stress that lasts longer than necessary, may lead to other issues like damage to blood vessels, increased blood pressure, and other unhealthy habits.
Deep breathing exercises, getting enough rest, setting realistic goals, learning to be kind to yourself, creating self-care habits, socializing, and managing negative self-talk are all ways that you can effectively manage stress.
Any mindfulness practice can help you to focus on the present moment which may help to reduce worries, anxiety, or fears. These may contribute to elevated stress levels. By focusing on an activity like mindful art you allow your brain to focus on and be engaged in the present moment.
References:
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/open-gently/201812/the-three-types-stress
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/in-depth/stress-and-high-blood-pressure/art-20044190#:~:text=There’s%20no%20proof%20that%20stress,Smoking
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/relaxation-techniques-breath-control-helps-quell-errant-stress-response
- https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037
- https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/understand-other-people/202002/the-destructive-nature-negative-self-talk
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/
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Tracey McGrath is an artist and pharmacist. She is on a journey to share how mindful art can help women with their mental health. She is a certified mindful art teacher by the International Mindfulness and Meditation Alliance and a certified meditation teacher by UnPlug Meditation Studio. She is also a Duke Health & Well-Being Usui Reiki Level 3 Master Practitioner as well as a Certified Strategic Life Coach and Certified EFT Practitioner by Priority Academy. She earned her doctorate of pharmacy from UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy in 2004.