Managing Stressors

Managing stressors well has become a vital and essential life support skill.

Sources of stress don’t conveniently disappear! Actively managing stressors is an essential life support skill.

The impact of stress on health is well documented. This includes mental and emotional well being. Success – in every area –  is supported or threatened by how effective we are in managing stressors.

Managing Stressors – 4 Key Areas

Identify exactly what is causing you the most stress. The post Sources of Stress gives a checklist of the most common stressors.

Some sources of stress can be completely eliminated. Others can be adjusted to be less stressful. There is plenty of scope for being creative in ways to do this!

To simplify the process, consider these four key areas:

• Commitments
• Time management
• Self care
• Communication skills

Managing Stressors and Commitments

Frequently, stress overload and overwhelm are simply a product of having too many commitments. There literally is not enough time, energy or resources to fit everything in comfortably.

Each new commitment needs to be a good fit with your existing and future commitments. (This critical topic is the focus of the next post Do You Over Commit?)

Time

Consider doing a time audit over a period of 2 or more weeks. Results can be surprising. It is possible to ‘save’ up to 10 hours a week just through smarter time management and organization. (Check the post Overwhelm)

Consider a social media detox.

Self Care

Taking good care of yourself is an essential priority in managing stressors.

Regular time to switch off, relax and put back into yourself is vital.

Total relaxation is bliss for the body, mind and soul.

Health seeking habits around food, exercise and sleep are all heavily promoted for good reason! Sleeping well is particularly important.

Consider all the small ways you could begin to simplify your life.

The ability to maintain firm boundaries is essential. Between work and personal life. Between yourself and other people.

Self esteem and confidence can be developed and strengthened. Life skills can be learned or improved. Amongst the most valuable are skills around problem solving, decision making, communication and emotional intelligence skills.

Create a relaxing, harmonious environment. De-cluttering has phenomenal benefits. (At home and at work.)

Discover the magical benefits of playing certain kinds of music. Playing soothing music during the ‘stress hotspots’ in your day has an immediate and positive effect. (Think morning chaos and dinner time.)

This great website offers music designed to give different benefits. Much of the content is based on sound therapy research. There are generous free tracks to download.

Communication Skills

Managing stressors inevitably invokes communication skills.

Assertiveness skills are at the top of the list. What difference could it make if you were confidently assertive in taking good care of your needs and rights? If you were able to say ‘no’ without feeling guilty or uncomfortable?

Negotiation skills and managing conflict both play important roles in stress management.

A lot of people find a counselling session or two can be enormously helpful in significantly reducing stress. A huge range of strategies can be tailored to radically assist you in managing stressors.