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Wednesday, March 03, 2021
How To Not Stress: 10 Stress Management Techniques
www.lifehack.org: It is not easy to decipher how to not stress, as stress is a part of life. Stress is the wear and tear of our mental and physical being as we continue to find soothing ways to cope with the constant change in our surroundings.
10 comments:
Alexa Janoschka
said...
All of these are pretty elementary stress management tips. I didn't read anything too shocking or revolutionary in this article, which is a little disappointing to be, but for beginners who are still looking to start managing stress and changing bad habits into good routines, these are a great starting point! What a lot of these articles fail to do is give resources that guide people to actually start these good habits. Saying "there are great resources out there" is a lot different from posting a link to free resources (or paid) that readers can look into to actually get started. It can be daunting to read articles like this that give you the big list of things to change how you manage stress because which one do you chose? Do you start to work on all of these at once, one at a time, a few, and how do you decide and get started. I also think that this article is missing the simple habit of hanging out with people that make you happy. I am a firm believer that if you surround yourself with the right people that make you smile most aspects of your life will fall into place
it was a pretty comprehensive article about stress and I especially liked how they mentioned the long term health risks of chronic stress. however, they didn’t mention my favorite part about stress which is the evolutionary reason why there are so many people— 77% of the population —who are stressed nowadays. Back in the ancient days before our lives got complicated, our ancestors would face stressors like being chases by a bear and it would trigger the flight or flight response which releases adrenaline and then cortisol (stress hormone) to help them get out of that life threatening situation. Once they escape the bear or whatever, there is usually a physical trigger that tells the body that the threat is over like laying down, letting muscles relax and taking deep breathes, etc. this is why yoga, breathing exercises, and exercising in general, help to lower stress hormones in your body. The problem is, in the modern world we have so many less immediate dangers, like financial burdens, the threat of losing a job, deadlines, etc and these are like really really slow moving bears. And it’s very hard for our body to tell if the threat is over. So a lot of people go through life with elevated levels of stress hormones which is obviously not good for your physical well-being either.
I really appreciated how the author mentioned the physical side effects of stress. I feel like that side is generally forgotten, and there’s a tendency to shove stress under the rug and say it's “all inside your head” when it's really not (and that’s a whole other problem but the point stands it physically impedes people from functioning properly on occasion). I also liked some of the things on the list, like the tried and true of adding exercise and time to reflect on life in general. However, some of the options listed I felt were not practical or accessible for a lot of people, especially people who really are busy a lot of the time. There was a point in the list where it mentions getting a massage or doing a dietary detox for example. A lot of people probably wouldn’t have easy access – especially now – to a massage therapist. Not everyone can just get up one morning and revamp their diet for a day or more. And shouldn’t everyone be able to improve their life?
I think the most surprising thing I learned in this article is that 1 in 4 people aren't stressed. Being me, I can't imagine what that's like. I honestly don't remember the last day I was completely at peace and not worried, anxious, or stressed about something. And I think most of the people I know would say the same. I'm fairly sure I've never even met someone that would classify themselves as not experiencing stress of any kind. I think this article does a good job of helping someone identify where their stress comes from. I had definitely not ever really taken the time to break it down and point to my main stress factor being organizational. I do disagree with their assessment that stress is of our own making due to competitiveness. Personally, I think stress, or at least my stress, stems more from arbitrary deadlines and overwhelming responsibilities and tasks thrust on me by others. Their simplification of stress that pins all the responsibility on the individual was offputting for me.
I always find articles that give you tips to stop procrastinating or tips to stay organizing amusing. They all make it so easy to simply stop having a chaotic life. Obviously, if I started an assignment early, I would get it done early and not procrastinate. The problem is that I don’t have the motivation to start an assignment early. That being said, I kind of liked this article. I appreciated that the article started by defining stress and listing the different types of stress as well as certain things in life that can trigger stress. Seeing the effect on mental and physical health that stress can have on our minds and bodies is also part of what reeled me into reading more of the article. As opposed to giving tips and very simple explanations, this article clearly laid out techniques to manage stress that seem possible. Listing out techniques that we can actively perform and how and when to do so is a lot more helpful than just throwing out tips that we all already know about.
Usually I hate these articles about managing stress or depression or anxiety because the articles don't really go into depth and just give these blanket statements on how one should combat these real issues. I think this article, although it didn't go into huge depth about each aspect, it did break down the types of stress and the affects it can have on your body. I think everyone handles stress very differently and it is shown on people very differently however I do think that everyone can benefit from just listening to your body more. Our bodies are very good at telling us if something is wrong however we choose to power through the soreness or achieve something due to our culture being more work focused. Your body will start to ache and tell you when something is pushing too far or if you just need a break. If your eyes are dry thats a sign that they need a break, if your head hurts that a sign you need a break. We have trained ourselves to listen to outside factors instead of ourselves and I think a lot the steps outlined in the article are just different ways to slow down and listen. Personally yoga is the most effective for me, however it can be very different for the people around me.
I will not lie, I saw this article title and my first thought was "Mamma mia, here we go again." However! This article does not feel like one of those insufferable, choose positivity, here's what neurotypical people do type of article. I like the sections outlining the emotional, physical, behavioral, and mental symptoms of stress. A lot of the times, nowadays included, basically every day, I will experience a lot of the listed symptoms but think nothing of it because I just think that's how my body is or that my body is frail and I'm being weak, but to have someone point things out in such a black and white way is really a wake up call to address these symptoms. I'm not very good at enacting any of the suggested stress management tips, but I know a lot of them are scientifically backed. I have tried them before, but I'm not good at maintaining them either. I suppose a little every so often is better than none at all though.
I am always extremely pessimistic when it comes to articles that have titles like this. Usually they don’t offer much great advice for the situation we are dealing with right now. I did appreciate how the article didn’t just jump right into the tips for dealing with stress. It actually gave the reader some helpful information about what stress is, where it comes from, and how it shows up in our body. As for the tips, some of them actually seemed helpful and would have an effect if you implemented them into your life. Before even reading this article I have been trying to start journaling and doing yoga to help deal with everything going on. It’s also really nice to hear that sometimes it’s more important to just drop a task you have to do then to try and push yourself to a really unhealthy level. I think in school and just society we praise the people who embrace “the grind” even though it’s not healthy or sustainable. I mean I’m guilty of it, but I’m working to change that mindset.
I ALREADY know, that I will be having to slander this article in this comment. Any article that I come across from “lifehack.com” claiming to cure something or find a solution for something mental in just a few short words is going to be garbage. All “lifehack.com” is is a hack. The fact that opening up this article prompted not an AD, but an actual pop-up for the lifehack website asking me if “my body is feeling tired all the time, I might just need some supplements” and the recommending me “fish oil for a sharper brain,” “blended vitamins for focus,” “tumeric for an energy boost,” or “probiotics for a stronger gut” is just fake self care. I used to work at Jamba Juice and this feels scarily similar to any ads we might have put out. God. I don’t even want to waste more of my time here on lifehack.com
These articles are always amusing because as many destressing books and articles don’t seem to be counteracting the epidemic of stress on our culture. Of the list of 10 things, there are three that I most definitely try to follow: the sleep, exercise, and to-do list. Sleep and exercise specifically are pretty obvious ones, but they are both a function of time, which is many times one of the biggest stressors. We all know that eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep every night makes you so much healthier for a myriad of reasons, but it’s the actually putting into action that causes so many hang ups. Especially because stress causes us to not be able to enjoy the things for ourselves and we have too much to do so we throw that frozen meal in the oven. Having worked jobs that end at the end of the shift and jobs that go home with you (chiefly school) I really do love the break that one gets when there is no more work once the day is over. School is especially stressful because overtime at work is in exchange for money whereas school gains you the experience only.
10 comments:
All of these are pretty elementary stress management tips. I didn't read anything too shocking or revolutionary in this article, which is a little disappointing to be, but for beginners who are still looking to start managing stress and changing bad habits into good routines, these are a great starting point! What a lot of these articles fail to do is give resources that guide people to actually start these good habits. Saying "there are great resources out there" is a lot different from posting a link to free resources (or paid) that readers can look into to actually get started. It can be daunting to read articles like this that give you the big list of things to change how you manage stress because which one do you chose? Do you start to work on all of these at once, one at a time, a few, and how do you decide and get started. I also think that this article is missing the simple habit of hanging out with people that make you happy. I am a firm believer that if you surround yourself with the right people that make you smile most aspects of your life will fall into place
it was a pretty comprehensive article about stress and I especially liked how they mentioned the long term health risks of chronic stress. however, they didn’t mention my favorite part about stress which is the evolutionary reason why there are so many people— 77% of the population —who are stressed nowadays. Back in the ancient days before our lives got complicated, our ancestors would face stressors like being chases by a bear and it would trigger the flight or flight response which releases adrenaline and then cortisol (stress hormone) to help them get out of that life threatening situation. Once they escape the bear or whatever, there is usually a physical trigger that tells the body that the threat is over like laying down, letting muscles relax and taking deep breathes, etc. this is why yoga, breathing exercises, and exercising in general, help to lower stress hormones in your body. The problem is, in the modern world we have so many less immediate dangers, like financial burdens, the threat of losing a job, deadlines, etc and these are like really really slow moving bears. And it’s very hard for our body to tell if the threat is over. So a lot of people go through life with elevated levels of stress hormones which is obviously not good for your physical well-being either.
I really appreciated how the author mentioned the physical side effects of stress. I feel like that side is generally forgotten, and there’s a tendency to shove stress under the rug and say it's “all inside your head” when it's really not (and that’s a whole other problem but the point stands it physically impedes people from functioning properly on occasion). I also liked some of the things on the list, like the tried and true of adding exercise and time to reflect on life in general. However, some of the options listed I felt were not practical or accessible for a lot of people, especially people who really are busy a lot of the time. There was a point in the list where it mentions getting a massage or doing a dietary detox for example. A lot of people probably wouldn’t have easy access – especially now – to a massage therapist. Not everyone can just get up one morning and revamp their diet for a day or more. And shouldn’t everyone be able to improve their life?
I think the most surprising thing I learned in this article is that 1 in 4 people aren't stressed. Being me, I can't imagine what that's like. I honestly don't remember the last day I was completely at peace and not worried, anxious, or stressed about something. And I think most of the people I know would say the same. I'm fairly sure I've never even met someone that would classify themselves as not experiencing stress of any kind. I think this article does a good job of helping someone identify where their stress comes from. I had definitely not ever really taken the time to break it down and point to my main stress factor being organizational. I do disagree with their assessment that stress is of our own making due to competitiveness. Personally, I think stress, or at least my stress, stems more from arbitrary deadlines and overwhelming responsibilities and tasks thrust on me by others. Their simplification of stress that pins all the responsibility on the individual was offputting for me.
I always find articles that give you tips to stop procrastinating or tips to stay organizing amusing. They all make it so easy to simply stop having a chaotic life. Obviously, if I started an assignment early, I would get it done early and not procrastinate. The problem is that I don’t have the motivation to start an assignment early. That being said, I kind of liked this article. I appreciated that the article started by defining stress and listing the different types of stress as well as certain things in life that can trigger stress. Seeing the effect on mental and physical health that stress can have on our minds and bodies is also part of what reeled me into reading more of the article. As opposed to giving tips and very simple explanations, this article clearly laid out techniques to manage stress that seem possible. Listing out techniques that we can actively perform and how and when to do so is a lot more helpful than just throwing out tips that we all already know about.
Usually I hate these articles about managing stress or depression or anxiety because the articles don't really go into depth and just give these blanket statements on how one should combat these real issues. I think this article, although it didn't go into huge depth about each aspect, it did break down the types of stress and the affects it can have on your body. I think everyone handles stress very differently and it is shown on people very differently however I do think that everyone can benefit from just listening to your body more. Our bodies are very good at telling us if something is wrong however we choose to power through the soreness or achieve something due to our culture being more work focused. Your body will start to ache and tell you when something is pushing too far or if you just need a break. If your eyes are dry thats a sign that they need a break, if your head hurts that a sign you need a break. We have trained ourselves to listen to outside factors instead of ourselves and I think a lot the steps outlined in the article are just different ways to slow down and listen. Personally yoga is the most effective for me, however it can be very different for the people around me.
I will not lie, I saw this article title and my first thought was "Mamma mia, here we go again." However! This article does not feel like one of those insufferable, choose positivity, here's what neurotypical people do type of article. I like the sections outlining the emotional, physical, behavioral, and mental symptoms of stress. A lot of the times, nowadays included, basically every day, I will experience a lot of the listed symptoms but think nothing of it because I just think that's how my body is or that my body is frail and I'm being weak, but to have someone point things out in such a black and white way is really a wake up call to address these symptoms. I'm not very good at enacting any of the suggested stress management tips, but I know a lot of them are scientifically backed. I have tried them before, but I'm not good at maintaining them either. I suppose a little every so often is better than none at all though.
I am always extremely pessimistic when it comes to articles that have titles like this. Usually they don’t offer much great advice for the situation we are dealing with right now. I did appreciate how the article didn’t just jump right into the tips for dealing with stress. It actually gave the reader some helpful information about what stress is, where it comes from, and how it shows up in our body. As for the tips, some of them actually seemed helpful and would have an effect if you implemented them into your life. Before even reading this article I have been trying to start journaling and doing yoga to help deal with everything going on. It’s also really nice to hear that sometimes it’s more important to just drop a task you have to do then to try and push yourself to a really unhealthy level. I think in school and just society we praise the people who embrace “the grind” even though it’s not healthy or sustainable. I mean I’m guilty of it, but I’m working to change that mindset.
I ALREADY know, that I will be having to slander this article in this comment. Any article that I come across from “lifehack.com” claiming to cure something or find a solution for something mental in just a few short words is going to be garbage. All “lifehack.com” is is a hack. The fact that opening up this article prompted not an AD, but an actual pop-up for the lifehack website asking me if “my body is feeling tired all the time, I might just need some supplements” and the recommending me “fish oil for a sharper brain,” “blended vitamins for focus,” “tumeric for an energy boost,” or “probiotics for a stronger gut” is just fake self care. I used to work at Jamba Juice and this feels scarily similar to any ads we might have put out. God. I don’t even want to waste more of my time here on lifehack.com
These articles are always amusing because as many destressing books and articles don’t seem to be counteracting the epidemic of stress on our culture. Of the list of 10 things, there are three that I most definitely try to follow: the sleep, exercise, and to-do list. Sleep and exercise specifically are pretty obvious ones, but they are both a function of time, which is many times one of the biggest stressors. We all know that eating right, exercising, and getting enough sleep every night makes you so much healthier for a myriad of reasons, but it’s the actually putting into action that causes so many hang ups. Especially because stress causes us to not be able to enjoy the things for ourselves and we have too much to do so we throw that frozen meal in the oven. Having worked jobs that end at the end of the shift and jobs that go home with you (chiefly school) I really do love the break that one gets when there is no more work once the day is over. School is especially stressful because overtime at work is in exchange for money whereas school gains you the experience only.
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