What is stress management?
Everyone has stress in everyday life. But not all people can handle it well – and those who do not have the right stress management (also: coping with stress) and are therefore under constant tension risk consequences for their health. Basically, stress management is a method or strategy from psychology that is supposed to simplify the handling of stress factors. With the right coping with stress, we can better withstand the stresses of everyday life.
Why do we have stress at all?
Even though we often associate stress with something negative these days, it used to be essential for survival. Because stress is a body reaction that allows us to achieve peak performance in the short term – In the Stone Age, we were only able to decide at lightning speed whether, for example, we should flee an attacker or face and fight him. This mechanism has been preserved to this day. Stress leads to the following physical reactions:
- Blood supply is increased
- The hormones adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released
Symptoms: How stress makes us sick
As long as the stress lasts only briefly and the stress hormones can be reduced again after the "dangerous" situation, we need not fear any health consequences. But if we are under permanent stress and neglect stress management, the hormones can no longer be broken down – which can trigger many different symptoms. These include:
- sleep disorders
- Permanent fatigue / exhaustion
- High susceptibility to infections
- Overwhelmed
- Gastrointestinal complaints such as constipation or diarrhea
- Tension, for example headache or neck pain
- Psychological complaints, e.g. B. depressive mood to depression and / or burnout
We reveal more stress symptoms here.
Beware of these stressors
There are some stress factors that we come across again and again. These include:
- Private concerns, e.g. B. because of social contacts or for financial reasons
- Dissatisfaction / high workload
Often, several of these stressors occur at the same time, which makes good stress management essential.
The best tips for coping with stress
The following stress management methods help to reduce stress:
1. Accept the state of stress
Women in particular tend to always function and suppress the fact that they are actually close to collapsing due to the stress. Everyone has to learn individually to admit that they are overwhelmed by certain situations or tasks. It often helps to write down all your worries and have a black and white view of what is bothering you and what stress reactions you actually have.
2. Include social environment
As soon as you have admitted to yourself that you are overly stressed and need help, it is time to inform the social environment about it. Most people first trust a closely related person, such as a partner or a parent. Depending on the stress factors that play a role, it may also make sense to speak to the manager if there are professional problems. Of course, this is not easy, but only if the social environment knows about the difficulties can they react accordingly.
3. Consider your own attitude
Those who are already deep in the stress spiral are more inclined to adopt negative thinking patterns. These thinking patterns should be reinterpreted positively in stress management, so that phrases like "I can't" or "I have to" become sentences like "I can" and "I want". As a result, the person concerned feels more self-determined and learns that it is in his own hands to deal with the stress better. This also includes letting go if, for example, you have so far perfected each task and accordingly have high expectations of yourself. Accepting mistakes and refraining from your own perfectionism is a great strength.
4. Learn time management
In the workplace in particular, good time management helps to work through all the tasks at hand without creating too much stress. The right prioritization of tasks helps to keep the work from growing over your head. To-do lists make it easier to keep track of what is most important and time-critical. In addition, your own working hours should be divided into small blocks – for example, after an hour of concentrated work, you can take a five-minute break and get up and walk around to clear your head again.
Just as important: identify the malfunction and switch them off. Everything that distracts from the task acts as a disruptor – These include e.g. B. Cell Phones and Social Media. These should be hidden in the concentrated work block. For example, the cell phone is silenced and placed in the drawer and the social medium is blocked.
5. Look for a balance of stressful situations
From the office chair straight home to the sofa, where you can simply lie down until bedtime? Sure you can do that, but it shouldn't always work that way. To cope with stress, we need a balance to the stress factor. For example, this could be sport in a club, a weekly meeting with your best friend or a wellness hotel visit at the weekend.
6. Learn relaxation techniques
There are various relaxation techniques that are recommended for stress management. They help those affected to hide the environment and draw new energy. Programs include yoga, autogenic training and so-called progressive muscle relaxation. The programs can be learned at home, for example via online programs, as well as through coaches or VHS courses.
7. Proper nutrition
A healthy diet is essential, especially in times of stress, so that the body is supplied with everything it needs. Unfortunately, when stressed, our brains prefer to do the opposite: simply available calories that can be quickly converted into energy. This is why many people develop cravings for sweets and fast food in times of crisis. Better: Drink plenty of water and put on foods that lower blood pressure. These include, for example, fresh fish or types of fruit such as banana and watermelon. The absorption of vitamin B1 is also helpful, which strengthens the nerves. For example, meat and potatoes can be on the menu. Incidentally, this can also increase concentration.
Beware of these behavioral patterns in stress management
There's also negative stress management, which only pulls the person concerned ever deeper into the stress spiral and does not solve the actual problems. The following patterns can essentially occur:
- Aggressive: The person concerned tries z. B. even more about perfection, does extra work, relies on medication to improve performance or begins to bully friends and / or colleagues.
- Evasive: For example, the person concerned takes long breaks, refuses and / or skips work and takes refuge in addictions, e.g. B. nicotine or alcohol.
- Resigning: As a rule, the person concerned simply tries to ignore or suppress the problems and does not address the cause of the complaints.
Anyone who determines these behavior patterns relies on negative stress management and should definitely consider problem-solving strategies.
Reading tips for your health: Here we reveal how you can still reduce stress, what helps against depressive mood and how to get sleep disorders under control. We also explain the body scan.
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