Category: Mental Health

Stress

This lovely 6 letter word is the cause of so many health problems today. It is also one of the toughest things to alleviate; even dealing with stressful situations can be difficult. There’s no way to completely get rid of stress; however, you can learn to cope.

So what is stress?

Stress is your body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or threat.

The thing is stress can be good and bad for us. Certain types of stress can help us while other types can land us in the hospital with heart attacks, strokes, and mental breakdowns. Stress can literally kill you. That’s why it’s important that we try our best to handle our stressors in a healthy manner.

Firstly, it’s imperative to know what your stressors are. Some are very common:

• Work/Career
• School
• Kids
• Money

These are just to name a few. You name it, it can be a stressor. The most common way to keep your stress levels low is to make sure you exercise and eat properly. There are, however, more ways to keep your stress levels in a safe range. Personally I like to go for walks around my neighborhood. I find hidden gems that I didn’t even notice always driving around and it actually lifts my mood.

I’m a person that gets bored doing the same things pretty easily. So there are a few other ways I like to cope with stress:

• Coloring/Painting
• Meditation
• Deep breathing
• Sports & recreation
• Reading books
• Journaling
• Have a good cry

These are just a few things that help me deal with my stressors. I will tell you this, nothing substitutes for being under the care of doctors whose job it is to help us. I didn’t always think this at first; however, therapy is definitely something that can’t be substituted.